The Ultimate Toy Box

Disney | minutes | | | Standard DVD reviewed by: Matt Brighton

Was it Frank Sinatra that said "You've come a long way, baby..."? Probably not. But this rings true when you talk about the status of animation and movies. From the very first cartoon drawings of Mickey Mouse to Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck to the Computer generated creatures of Toy Story and Toy Story 2...animation has certainly arrived. Some five years ago (yes, it's really been that long) Toy Story hit theaters with a bang. Featuring the voices of then (and still) box-office champions Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, Toy Story was an unprecedented hit. It was a few years later that the same team came out with another movie, but this time featuring different characters. Called "A Bug's Life", this focuses on the world of ants and their eternal struggle to make in the "world". So a sequel was inevitable, and last Holiday season, Toy Story 2 graced the screen. Featuring the same cast, plus a few new members, Toy Story 2 was one of the few sequels that was as good, if not better, than the original movie. Of course, the magic that was a movie is now a DVD (a few, actually) and Disney has taken a cue from their impressive "A Bug's Life" success to create what could be the best DVD set...ever. The Ultimate Toy Box contains just over nine hours of material that give you everything you could want to know about two of the most successful animated movies of all time. But first...what are these movies all about?

Toy Story starts out in a boys bedroom. We meet the characters of Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Woody (Tom Hanks) and others right off the bat. It's not long that we discover that Andy (the owner of all the toys) is having a birthday party and is also in the midst of a move to a new house. As a result, the toys are nervous that Andy will get a new toy and one or several of them will not "make the cut" as a toy. As fate would have it, the very last present Andy gets is none other than the newest, coolest toy on the market...Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen)! Buzz has all the gadgets, gizmos and every accessory that you could possibly think of, the only problem is that he doesn't realize he's a toy! All the other toys in Andy's room generally accept Woody as their leader, Woody being Andy's favorite toy and all. It's quite a system that they have, staff meetings and special programs throughout the week. It's clear that this movie isn't just for the kiddies. Under the threat of being dethroned, Woody and the other toys have to accept that Buzz is now the new, favorite toy of Andy. So all of this is all well and good, right? Well, lest we forget about Sid, the boy next door who loves torture innocent toys just because he has nothing better to do. Woody has become jealous as Buzz's playtime with Andy increases, so in a sequence of events, Buzz is thrown out the window and both he and Woody end up at the Pizza Planet (essentially, Showbiz or Chuck E Cheese). Now it's up to the other toys to try and get Buzz back. But what Toy Story shows us is that the outside world can be a very dangerous place.

In Toy Story 2, we see that the gang is still here, along with a lot of other familiar faces (and a few new ones). We see that everything seems to be ok, but in a strange turn of events, Woody is stolen by a toy collector. It turns out that Woody is part of a foursome, and is a very rare, old toy. The other toys are worth a lot, especially as a set, and it's their dream to finally be out of storage. Along with Woody, we meet Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Bullseye the Horse and Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) the Prospector. The fact that Woody has been abducted is the driving force behind Toy Story 2. The other characters must travel across town to get Woody and bring him back to where he rightfully belongs. What Woody is undergoing is something he has never been accustomed to, though. Having a bad arm (the stitches came loose), Woody is polished and fixed up good as new and is actually excited about going overseas to be part of a collection. What the film tries to accentuate, though, is that the love of a child, and to be played with as a toy, is more fun than being admired as part of some collection. We learn a lot more about Woody, and see that they put his mug on just about anything...from bubble blowers, to towels to board games. Woody and his "roundup" are it! It's hard to say, but Toy Story 2, with a larger and more diverse cast, is just as good or better than it's predecessor.

After watching these films back to back, I have to say that first and foremost, they are very, very clever. Obviously written by some pretty creative folks, once you get past how the movies were made, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have a little something for everybody. These films appeal to little kids, but some jokes tend to have hidden meanings read into them, and thereby appeal to a much larger audience. Toy Story 2 was financially successful that it's counterpart, which is a rarity...especially in Hollywood. Disney has pulled out all the stops for this new DVD version of two of the most anticipated titles to hit the format. For those of you who will just watch the movies (over and over...as kids like to do), then a bargain edition of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 is available without any of the supplements. It also features a full-frame version of Toy Story 2 and both have the same audio and video specs. Of course, technology is a wonderful thing, and Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have an added supplement disc that has basically everything you need and/or want to know about the making of the films. Included is an overview of the features (also outlined below in detail), which was another nice touch by Disney. All in all, The Ultimate Toy Box is quite a treat, though it's for a little older audience, as I don't know many kids who like to listen to Director's Commentaries. You will not be disappointed, though! Highly recommended!

Probably boasting something that very few other movies on DVD can...this is a completely digital to digital transfer. Since no cameras were used to film the action (it was all done on a computer...), all of the "film" is in the digital domain, hence giving us one of the best, if not the best images currently available on DVD. The characters, especially the toys, seem to have a 3-D effect that gives the image all that much more realism. The image looked good in theaters, but it looks almost twice as good on home theaters. On top of all this, the images are 16:9 enhanced at a 1.77:1 ratio. Toy Story seems to have a lot of bluish tones to it, as most of the movie takes place in Andy's room (the walls are painted blue and hence the effect). Toy Story 2 has a lot more "locations", but the image is not sacrificed in the least. Everything about both the transfers is perfect. There is no edge enhancement, no black level problems, no pixelation and no shimmering at all. Every detail is so precise and fine that I challenge the person to find a flaw with these transfers. Being designed in a computer, the humans that are in the film look a bit odd, but it goes with the whole theme of the movie. I noticed a lot more human activity in the Toy Story 2 than in the original, but it's not distracting in the least. I trust the point has been made when I say that this is reference quality material for your DVD Player. If you want to convince someone to show them how good a DVD can look, pop in a copy of either Toy Story, Toy Story 2 or even A Bug's Life...you won't be disappointed!

As much as the video can have an impact on you, so does the audio. Toy Story is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, where Toy Story 2 is presented in a Dolby Digital EX mix (that's what four years in between movies will do). Either of the movies sound great. Toy Story has it's moments, most noticeably during the moving van scene where all channels positively radiate sound. The LFE for the movies is always active, more so on Toy Story 2, and you'd be hard pressed to find an error in this soundtrack as well. Dialog on both movies is sharp and clean, and knowing who the voices behind the characters are, makes it fun to listen. In Toy Story 2, a lot of new characters have been added, and I purposely didn't look to see who they were. It's kind of fun to try and guess who the new character voices are...well, for me anyway. Toy Story 2's soundtrack, as hard as it is to believe, sounds as good or even better than the original. Woody's Roundup (the fictitious show that Woody and the gang were the stars of) theme song is played throughout and is very catchy. The high pitched violins that make up the song stood out as really reminding me of what a really great, ambient soundtrack is like. As much as I can say, the audio of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 stand out as much as the video, however if you don't have a Home Theater setup, you can't really take advantage of all these tracks have to offer. Therefore, the video is a bit more appealing (to the eyes, especially) of the two. I can say this...you won't be disappointed by these audio mixes. As if it weren't enough, both of these discs are THX certified, adding a new audio and video standard to the movies. Each of the movies has a different THX trailer (once we've all seen before, and one is new to DVD as far as I can tell). I won't tell you which one, but it's neat to see a new THX trailer on discs. Little stuff for sure, but it's all indicative of how much effort has been put into these discs.

Disney recently announced that they have a new attitude with their new DVD releases. All I can say is "Yes" (right after I say "It's about time"). They have shown us that they can do great special edition releases like "A Bug's Life", but they charge an arm and a leg for them. So titles like Shanghai Noon and Keeping the Faith are among some of the first to get some special features that rightfully belong on the disc. Among the supplemental material is a feature-length commentary with Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson and Director Tom Dey. Chan also produced this movie, so he serves two roles as actor and producer. The commentary is nearly as entertaining as the movie itself. While Chan's English isn't all that great, I just laugh hearing Owen Wilson talk sometimes. In addition to the commentary track, there are a total of seven deleted scenes, including a train wreck sequence that was amazing. Still, it's clear why these weren't included in the movie...though I felt that the train wreck would have made for a good scene. Also included are some featurettes, "Shanghai Surprise", "Action Overload" and a behind the scenes featurette of the film's production concentrating on the special effects and the stunts of Jackie Chan. A music video by Uncle Kracker is the icing on the cake. Overall, a nice little disc here. The supplements surprised me, and it's a good sign to know that Disney will finally be doing what we've hoped they would have done from the start. But hey...better late than never.