Blu-Ray Review: ‘Toy Story’ Films Released in Advance of ‘Toy Story 3’

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CHICAGO – If you don’t at least like the “Toy Story” movies, you’re probably kind of a jerk. Personally, I adore them both and have seen them multiple times on DVD; the standard go-to when babysitting nieces and nephews. And yet watching them again in glorious Disney HD, they still felt new. I’m blinded by love for Pixar, but these are must-owns for anyone with a Blu-ray player.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

Sorta. With “Toy Story 3” coming out this summer, it makes perfect sense that “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” were chosen as the next two Pixar films to hit Blu-ray and the HD transfers alone make these fantastic releases on their own, but you might not want to get rid of your standard sets yet. In 2003, Disney released a fantastic set called “The Ultimate Toy Box” and not all of the bonus material from that release has been imported to Blu-ray. It’s always sad when you can’t merely upgrade and sell/discard your old-ray version but I suppose it’s happened to much worse films than this one.

Toy Story was released on Blu-ray on March 23rd, 2010.
Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

On to the new versions of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2”. First and foremost, these are the kind of HD transfers that could be used to sell TVs and Blu-ray players. They look remarkable with not just bright colors but the “right” colors. The shading, the line detail, the level of color within each frame - it’s all perfect. And the audio mix matches. Disney/Pixar has led the way creatively and they’re leading the way technically when it comes to animation in HD as well.

Each release includes a DVD version of the film as well (although, sadly, no digital copy) along with a sneak peek at “Toy Story 3”. I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait.

Toy Story was released on Blu-ray on March 23rd, 2010. Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

New special features on the “Toy Story” Blu-ray disc include:

o “Toy Story 3” Sneak Peek - The Story
o Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: Blast Off
o 3 Animated Studio Stories
o “Buzz Takes Manhattan”

Imported special features on the “Toy Story” Blu-ray disc include:
o “Making Toy Story”
o “Filmmakers Reflect”
o Deleted Scenes
o Design Galleries
o And Over 90 Minutes More Bonus Material

New special features on the “Toy Story 2” Blu-ray disc include:

o “Toy Story 3” Sneak Peek - The Characters
o Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: International Space Station
o 3 Animated Studio Stories
o “Pixar’s Zoetrope”

Imported special features on the “Toy Story 2” Blu-ray disc include:
o “Making Toy Story 2”
o “Filmmakers Reflect”
o “Toy Box”: Outtakes and Alternate Scenes
o Deleted Scenes
o And Over 60 Minutes More Bonus Material

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com