Now that Tophat Sasquatch is officially in business (formerly Saturday Morning Central, if you’re new), I can finally start reviewing the Blu-rays and DVDs that have been piling up over the past few weeks. The one I am probably most excited about is Toy Story 3.
I’m a huge Pixar nut, and the Toy Story trilogy practically defines my life as a movie fan. I saw the first in 1995 when I was just ten, and instantly fell in love with Pixar’s ability to tell stories (and this fancy new CGI thing). Toy Story 2 came a few years later and was one of the first movies I took my first niece to see. I think TS2 surprised everyone.
Fast forward eleven years and the Toy Story characters are back on the screen for the third and final part of the trilogy, this time helmed by Lee Unkrich.
I think Toy Story 3 was the perfect end to the trilogy. It was very funny, had a lot of great characters, and presented an acceptable answer to the question “What happens when Andy grows up?.” After crying like a baby during Up, I didn’t think another Pixar movie would choke me up for a few years, but Toy Story 3 did.
The Blu-ray
Disney sent over the four disc edition of Toy Story 3 on Blu-ray, which comes with the digital copy and DVD. The picture looks amazing in 1080p, and the sound is great too, even out of my average speakers. The Blu-ray comes with a ton of bonus features, including the now Academy Award nominated animated short Day & Night. It’s not as cool without 3D, but it’s still a great short.
For all us toy geeks there is a very cool feature about making the actual toys, and how the filmmakers ended up as toy designers by accident. There are other features about the editorial department, the voice actors, and the Toy Story themed attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland. There’s a lot more I’m not remembering, but it’s jam-packed.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been excited about Toy Story movies for fifteen years now, but nobody really comes close to Pixar’s storytelling. I’m sure if you love Pixar as much as me you already own this, but in case you only bought it on DVD you owe it to yourself to pick up the Blu-ray. In a year with a lot of great titles being released, it’s easily one of my top three.
