SYNOPSIS
Not long after the release of The Ultimate Toy Box special edition of this beloved and treasured animated classic, comes this 10th Anniversary Edition loaded with extras and an enhanced transfer and audio presentation. When studios decide to release special editions upon special editions of the same titles, it can get frustrating and I normally see it as unnecessary ad irritating. But this superb Anniversary Edition of Toy Story is a notable exception.
Toy Story was an enormous critical and commercial success upon its initial release from Disney/Pixar Animation Studio back in 1995. The film, directed by John Lasseter, was the first of its kind, the first animated feature film created 100% in 3D computer animation. It launched a 3D computer animation craze that continues today and it launched Pixar into the stratosphere. The film is a bona-fide classic that is truly entertainment for everyone, regardless of age.
The plot is timeless and simple, when kids aren’t around their toys come alive and have a world of their own in their kid’s room. They have emotions and have a basic desire to be needed, to have a purpose (similar to ourselves). When their kid puts them away and moves on to the next toy they are devastated, but when they are the toys of the moment they are ecstatic. In Andy’s room, the toy of the moment is a cowboy doll named Woody (Tom Hanks). Woody is Andy’s favorite toy and he feels on top of the world. His other friends consist of Rex the toy dinosaur (Wallace Shawn), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky the dog (Jim Varney), Ham the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger), Sarge (R. Lee Ermey) the leader of the toy soldiers and Bo Peep (Annie Potts) among others.
Things are just perfect in Woody’s world until Andy comes home with a new toy, a space ranger doll called Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Andy takes an immediate liking to Buzz and it isn’t long before Woody soon finds himself back up on the shelf. Meanwhile, Buzz is busy impressing all the other toys with his amazing bells and whistles (red laser, retractable wings, you name it) to Woody’s horror. But Buzz actually thinks he is a real space ranger on a mission to save the world and Woody tries desperately to show the other toys how ridiculous Buzz is. Buzz and Woody end up having to team up together to help save another toy from the sadistic boy next door, who spends his days blowing up and torturing other toys. And after Woody finds himself in his own big trouble, it’s up to Buzz to save him, which might bring the two rivals together as friends.
CRITIQUE
Toy Story is a beloved classic that is filled with humor, heart, and substance with striking animation, engaging voice characterizations, and a winning story that leaves a smile on your face no matter what your age. And this 10th Anniversary Edition is the definitive version of the film with an absolutely magnificent, anamorphic widescreen transfer and a mind blowing audio presentation (not to mention the hours worth of substantial extras).
Pixar was put on the map by the film, as was the director John Lasseter, and they have never looked back releasing a string of enormously successful films. But it was Toy Story that got it all started through its tremendous computer animation (that was new and fresh at the time), as well as the true originality and creativity interspersed throughout this sweet natured fable. It was through the wit of the story and dialogue, as well as the wonder of this new medium, that allowed people of all ages to find things to treasure throughout. There weren’t many animated films that had come before it that had such a unique mixture of adult-oriented humor, sweetness, and exciting animated sequences. This was an untapped market that Pixar jumped all over after the outstanding success of Toy Story.
John Lasseter, who really captured the spirit of youth and that overall theme of having purpose and relationships in life, competently and solidly directed the film. The film was very focused and sharp, maintaining its themes while telling an entertaining story mixing in truly hilarious bits and dialogue. He used his cast to their fullest potential, making sure each hit the right comedic notes. The groundbreaking animation is still amazing to look at and yet Pixar has somehow managed to improve on it with each and every new release (the animation in The Incredibles defies logic and makes this animation somewhat dated now). Another strong point of the film is the terrific score composed by Randy Newman who uses his unique style to perfectly suit the mix of sweetness and originality.
The voice characterizations from the all-star cast are nothing short of astounding. Tom Hanks is the true heart and soul of the film making Woody an endearing and lovable everyman that most of us can relate to in someway. And Hanks is such a gifted comedian that he just knocks the comedic parts out of the park, using his frantic mannerisms he’s used to success in many other comedic roles. The comic gem of the voice characterizations is definitely that of Tim Allen. This is actually the best role he’s ever had, Buzz fit his comedic sensibilities perfectly. I don’t think the film would have been anywhere near as good with a different actor voicing Buzz (which isn’t really the case with the others). The other two standout voice characterizations would be that of Wallace Shawn as the neurotic and hilarious Rex and that of Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head. Everytime the two of them are speaking, I was just rolling. The rest of the cast is top notch as well, without any weak links or problems throughout.
Toy Story is truly a movie for all ages to enjoy, and this 10th Anniversary Edition is the perfect set to own (even if you have a prior release on your shelf).
THE VIDEO
The transfer is presented in 1:77.1 anamorphic widescreen and is presented in an even higher bit rate than the last DVD edition (which was an amazing transfer in itself). This is honestly the best DVD transfer I have ever seen (seriously its that good), the film just jumps off the screen with truly amazing clarity, definition and intensely vivid colors. This transfer is worth the purchase alone, even if you own a prior DVD release of the film.
THE AUDIO
Toy Story is presented in two outstanding audio presentations, the first is in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX Surround Sound and the second is in Pixar’s first ever DTS 5.1 Audio. The DTS 5.1 is as good as the enhanced transfer; it is one of the best audio presentations I’ve ever heard. The surround is so dynamic and active you truly escape to the theater in the comfort of your home. Everything in the film sounds amazingly clear and terrific.
THE EXTRAS
The extras in this 10th Anniversary edition are so bountiful and comprehensive I’m not sure where to start. There are new extras specifically made for this edition and the extras from the previous releases are also included.
On the first disc, there is the enhanced anamorphic widescreen presentation of the film with both audio presentations available. There is also a brief introduction from John Lasseter discussing what is new in this 10th Anniversary Edition. There is an audio commentary (which was from a prior DVD release) from Lasseter and his creative team; the commentary is very informative and interesting although a little bit on the dry side. A star-studded commentary with Hanks, Allen and other cast members with Lasseter would have been a great addition, but instead we still have this older commentary. The commentary is really only for people that want to know technically how they made it. There is also a brand new featurette called Legacy of Toy Story which features interviews with Hanks, Allen, critic Leonard Maltin, LOTR director Peter Jackson, George Lucas, other Pixar animators and directors, animation historians, and even astronaut Buzz Aldrin! This was such an amazing extra I just wished it was longer (it’s only about 10 minutes long). What a group they got to talk about the film. There are also some sneak peaks at other Buena Vista titles and the upcoming Pixar release Cars.
On the second disc, there are many new extras and a few old ones. First up, is Making Toy Story which was on the prior DVD releases and is a pretty standard behind-the-scenes extra with interviews and making-of footage that was put together before the film’s release. It’s interesting to look back and hear from the Pixar people before this film made them all extremely successful. Then there is a Deleted Scene Gallery, which is new and has a bunch of scenes and drawings that were nixed (each is introduced by someone on the crew). A lot of these are just conceptual with basic animation (not full on CGI) but they are still an interesting and entertaining extra. Another new extra is Filmmakers Reflect which is a roundtable with the Pixar crew and director reflecting on the experiences of making the film, its resounding success, and many other interesting anecdotes. Very interesting and fun extra from a bunch of guys who probably had no idea that this little film was going to make them all so rich and successful. Another new featurette is Designing Toy Story, which talks about the original character design concepts (very interesting and funny extra). There is also a game included for the kids called The Claw Game where you click to pick out your favorite toy out of one of those glass games with a mechanical claw. I usually hate these DVD games that are put on many kids’ movies, but this one is actually a blast. With every toy you grab there is an animated sequence that has the toy talking back at you. Very funny.
Then, under Behind the Scenes there are just a massive amount of extras broken down by the different components of Design (7 extras), Story (3 extras), Production (5 extras), Music & Sound (3 extras), and Publicity (5 extras). I’m not going to break down each extra as it’s pretty self explanatory what each area discusses and goes into, the total running time in this section is around 2 hours worth of extras! There is information on basically everything and anything to do with the film and how it was made. If you go through each section thoroughly, you’ll feel like an animation expert. There are also some good extras for kids in the Publicity section that has most of the characters doing interviews and such. The Music & Sound section lets you play any of the Randy Newman tunes in the film and has a nice new documentary on the score. There is so much information here it is almost overwhelming but they did a wonderful job of breaking it all down into useful sections.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Toy Story is one of the best-animated films of all time and it launched the current 3D computer animation craze that is still going on today (10 years later). The story is timeless and sweet-natured fable with a unique mix of adult-oriented humor and witticism, exciting animated action sequences, and engaging plotting. And this 10th Anniversary edition is the definitive DVD version of the film boasting an absolutely miraculous transfer and audio presentation, as well as a boatload of interesting and engaging extras. Even if you own a prior version of the film on DVD, I would still recommend buying this. Money well spent, trust me.
