Customer Reviews

Toy Story & Toy Story 2 (2 Pack)

5 star:		(276)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you're an "extras" hound like me, "Toy Story & Toy Story 2 - The Ultimate Toy Box" is the promised land. Hands down the best goodies of any DVD to this date. Oh yeah, and you get two excellent movies too! :)

I won't spend time on the movies themselves, except to say that they're two of the most entertaining films ever made. Instead, let's focus on why to get the 3-DVD set instead of the 2-DVD set.

The third DVD is truly impressive. You'll find fully-animated deleted scenes; funny & interesting interviews with cast, crew, animators, etc.; an absolutly hysterical debate on "Who's the best character?" with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and the whole cast; some very detailed explanations of the techniques used to create the movies; and so much more. I've spent over three hours on Disc 3 alone so far, and there's a lot more to go!

There are even cool hidden features. For example, on Disc 3 choose 'Toy Story 2.' Under the 'Story' section, choose 'Jesse's Song.' On the next screen that appears, press the 'Left' arrow key on your remote control & you'll see a question mark. With the question mark highlighted, hit 'Enter' for a outtake with an introduction by the directors.

The sound & picture quality on all three discs are the best I've seen on DVD. Helps when the whole movie was CREATED digitally, eh? :)

All in all "The Ultimate Toy Box" is the best DVD set around, bar none. Well worth the extra money!

This is a beautifully packaged collection! Get one while supplies last, it may prove as valuable as a vintage Woody doll. Pixar really came up with something wonderful in these two stories, both provide such engaging accounts of one's [longing] for toys of the past. My kids treasure these two movies and the dialog is witty enough to draw parents into the stories. Toy Story II builds on the former, introducing a wider range of characters and offering a light-hearted parable on the collection mania in America. One too many out of the frying pan and into the fire situations for my taste, but the action keeps kids enthralled throughout. Hanks and Allen lend great voice to the battling lead characters, and there are many other wonderful voices as well. The only drawback (and it is a mild one) is not mixing Pixar toys with real family members. I think that would have made the stories even more compelling.

This 3-Disc Set is truly the 'Ultimate' set for the fans of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. If you havent seen one or both movies, They each are made with kids AND adults in mind, and there are plenty of in-jokes to look for while watching (Spoofs include Airplane, 2001, Star Wars, Spinal Tap, Close Encounters, and Die Hard just to name a FEW). There are even some funny gags from the second movie that play off the first. If your afraid the second falls into the category of 'typical animated sequel,' you'll be pleasantly surprised to find a movie I consider better than the first. The set is a veritable treasure chest of extras -- Toy Shorts from ABC Saturday morning ads, faux onscreen interviews, full-length commentary on both movies, isolated music and fx tracks, Dolby surround, International dubbing sampler, making-of featurette (not a shabby one either), a lesson on how they took a distinctly american transition from the second movie and tweaked it to suit international audiences, 2 animated shorts, and much, much more. I can't recommend this highly enough.

I am a Toy Story lover for many reasons. I love high quality animation, and used to go to animation festivals all the time to watch the craft grow and mature. To see the amazing results of the first-ever true full length movie done solely by computer, and to have its means of creation pale to its incredible storyline, character depth, and general quality of production, is something not often seen in today's motion picture industry.

These two movies (Toy Story 1 and 2) are great for kids. You have themes children can easily relate to - jealousy, losing something you love dearly, dealing with friends, apologizing and making up when you have been mean to someone, you name it. Where a sequel is usually worse than the original, Toy Story 2 again breaks the mold by coming through with a fantastic storyline, as Woody is stolen by a selfish toy collector who wants to sell him for a fortune, to be trapped in a museum forever.

For adults, the series shines as well. The wealth of in-jokes is simply phenomonal. There are references to Star Wars, to old westerns, to literature, you name it. A whole book could be done on the ways in which these movies appeals to the older movie watcher.

The voice actors are all well known - Don Rickles, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, etc. etc. - and they do a stellar job. You really become attached to these toys, which are very dimensional and believable. You understand their failings and applaud their triumphs.

Just getting the two movies on DVD might be enough - but then they made a THIRD DVD which is stuffed full of amazing extras!! How about a guide to the hidden jokes? Reviews of each character, each character's actor, and sketches and history of how they changed over time?

The DVD explains with great video clips how a storyboard is made, how the sound is mixed, how the animation is done, and they even have special features where you can mix the sound YOURSELF to see how effect noises and music affect the movie. Plus SO much more.

I would pay more than the movie DVD cost to get this extra DVD, because it is a superb way for both adults and children to learn a wealth of information about making movies and how things are done. Who knows, after watching the special DVD, your kids might suddenly decide to become a sound magician, or a lighting expert, because they see how these roles can have a huge impact on a film like this.

I highly recommend that every household with a DVD get your hands on this three-pack, and if you don't have a DVD player, this is the perfect reason to get it. Even if you have the video copy, give that away to your local library and buy this. It is priceless.

As good as the "Bug's Life" special edition DVD was, this wonderful 3 disc set is even better. I loved the original "Toy Story" from the first time I saw it. I was very happy to see that the same care and attention to story was put into the sequel. And I was overjoyed at how great this DVD set is.
Like any good special edition of an animated film, this DVD has piles of artwork of everything from Woody's origins as a ventriloquist's dummy to the anthropomorphic female cactus that became Jessie to the layout of Andy's room to the toys on the shelves at Al's Toy Barn. The original plot of the first movie is available for reading. Storyboards run alongside completed scenes or outline abandoned concepts. One particularly odd feature lets you look at a few rendering glitches which result in characters' body parts being switched or misplaced, giving lie to the idea that having an animated film "done with computers" makes things significantly easier. The commentary alone is worth the price of this whole set. The head honchos of Pixar talk about their film with an enthusiasm which shows the time and care that went into their making.
I can pretty honestly reccomend this DVD to just about anyone. There's so much stuff supporting these two great films that you're bound to find something you like. Probably a whole lot of somethings.

Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are among the classics of animation! It's lots of fun to sit back, watch Toy Story and then follow it up with Toy Story 2, which is just as vibrant, funny, and heartwarming as the first one. Toy Story 2 concerns itself with what happens when Woody is abducted by an evil, money-grubbing toy collector. Without making it into a lecture, the movie points out the ugly greed of toy collecting for profit, not fun. The movie gently asserts that toys are for us to play with and to enjoy, not to be stuffed on to a shelf to gather dust. It'll break your heart when you see Wheezy included among the yard sale items; you'll want to rescue him yourself. TS 2 introduces a funny, non-enlightened version of Buzz, and the real Buzz thinks out loud, "Was I ever this deluded?" Turns out that the 2nd Buzz is necessary to the story, even though he's a pompous Space Ranger.

TS 2 also includes some special touches that carry over from TS. The Pizza Planet delivery truck makes an appearance in TS2, and the results are hilarious when the toys attempt to drive. At one point, the toys must cross the street to get to Al'S Toy Barn, and they do this by hiding under orange road cones, with hilarious/disastrous results -- it reminds you of how Woody and Buzz sneaked into Pizza Planet in TS. It's little touches like these that really illustrate how much they tried to make TS2 feel like the original.

The extras on the DVD are great, especially the outtakes reel. There's previews for upcoming releases, one of which is "Monsters, Inc." The whole set is definitely worth the money and would make an awesome gift for any TS fan!

These 2 movies always seem to make our entire family laugh together and not at each other for a change. I like them alot. You will too. AT 15 I'm only supposed to like hip-hop stuff. But Buzz IS hip!

If you're thinking of getting the Toy Story movies on DVD, then spend the extra money and get the box set over the 2-disc set. You wont be sorry. The box itself is pretty amazing - with a silver background that has sketches of the characters, and a big plastic protective cover with the color versions of Woody and Buzz. The plastic slides over the main silver box where the individual DVD cases are stored, and matches the sketch drawings. Very slick.

The box set includes 3 DVDs: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and a special third DVD jam-packed with so many extras from both movies, that it took me 2 hours to get through it all! You'll be amazed at all the work that went into creating the two features. It's fun to look through stuff like early sketches of Woody, interview clips with the stars who provided the voices (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, etc), storyboards, trailers, publicity posters, outtakes, deleted scenes, and much much more. Did you know that the first draft for Toy Story was in 1991? Me either! Lots of little fun facts in there as well.

Pixar really takes DVD technology seriously, and it shows with The Ultimate Toy Story Box set. This has become my new "show off" DVD, which I use to demonstrate the power of DVD technology to friends who are still using VCRs.

I strongly recommend this to anyone who is a big fan of the Toy Story movies. The picture quality is wonderful. If you also love getting tons of extra features on DVD for your hard earned money, then you'll be in total heaven with this set.

I only buy great DVDs that really give me something extra for my money, and this is the best set I've bought yet, perhaps even the best set of DVDs ever made. Great movies, the best possible conversion, and more extras than you could ever hope to explore - this is worthy of your time and money!

The Movies - If you missed one of both of these films, you've missed perhaps the best animated movies ever made. I can't possibly describe these wonderfully detailed plots and characters, but I will tell you that both films contain adult themes of loss and growing old, and are deeply moving. To see toys that we have all played with come to life - Mr Potato Head, Speak 'n Spell, Hot Wheels, Barbies, piggy banks, and one precious "operation" performed by little green plastic Army Men - this is pure movie magic. Kids are not required to watch these movies! Even granparents can relate. The original was the first completely computer-animated film, but it's effects are by no means primative - they are jaw-dropping. The sequel is more satisfying and engrossing than the first. There are actually moments in the sequel were the human beings look absolutely real. Of course, because of their subject matter, any child is guaranteed to watch these movies over and over.

The DVDs - No other DVD can possibily match the visual conversion in this box set. Because the original movies were made entirely with computers, the animators simply had the entire film recreated specifically for the DVD medium. There are absolutely no scratches, no specks of dust, no artifacting, nothing wrong at all. I would dare say that it is physically impossible for a movie shot on film to look this good on DVD. The sound is wonderful as well, some of the best soundtracks in animation: crisp, full sound fx combined with nostalgic music and hilarious acting by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and a cast of other familiar voices.

The Extras - Hours and hours of extras. The directors and writers give you a guided tour of every aspect of both both films - the character design, the virtual sets, test shoots, deleted scenes, previews, old Pixar short films, even "outakes" and "interviews" with the animated characters themselves. Wonderful stuff that will tell you more than you ever wanted to know! It's worth it - get this box set!

Both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were big hits, thanks to the craftmanship of John Lasseter and everyone at Pixar. If you enjoyed both movies and don't yet have them on DVD (or are an avid collector of all things Disney), The Toy Box is the format to get them in!

In Toy Story, Tom Cruise plays Woody, a lovable cowboy who starts out as Andy's favourite toy. Other toys include the nervous TRex, Hamm, Little Bo Peep, an Etch a Sketch, Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and Slinkey Dog (voiced by the late Jim Varney). At Andy's birthday party, Woody gathers the toy troops to find out what new presents Andy got for his birthday. Woody soon dicovers that his popularity is in question when a new toy enters Andy's life, Buzz Lightyear (played by Tim Allen). Woody gets a little jealous of the attention Buzz gets. With all the fun little gadgets Buzz comes with, he only has one flaw- he doesn't realize he's just a toy. Woody causes more trouble for Buzz than he had intended when the 2 of them wind up outside Andy's house. To rectify this, Woody tries his best to get himself and Buzz back to Andy's house and away from the clutches of bratty neighbour Sid. The DVD includes The Tin Toy, a 1988 film by Pixar.

Both movies feature the musical score of the talented Randy Newman and the winsome song "You've Got a Friend in Me."

Toy Story 2 starts out with Andy going away to Cowboy Camp. He can't take Woody with him after Woody nearly loses his right arm. However, someone else is interested in Woody- greedy Toy Barn owner Al, who gets possession of Woody and plans to use Woody in an exhibition in Japan. Here, Woody finds out that he came from an old Western show for kids called Woody's Roundup. Here he meets the Roundup Gang. There's Bullseye the horse, Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) and the feisty but vulnerable Jessie (Joan Cusak). It's up to Buzz to help Woody see there's more happiness in being Andy's toy than being on display with nobody to play with. Other new characters include Buzz's supercool nemesis Zurg, who's introduced in the beginning of the movie and the cute Wheezy the penguin. This DVD also features outtakes which were shown during the credits and the cartoon short Luxo, jr, who wound up as the mascot for Pixar.

And now for the extra disk, give yourself a week or 2 to enjoy all the features which include interviews with the animators, producers and some of the voices. Outtakes, animation secrets, inside jokes and full-length commentaries of both movies are included. Demos of Randy Newman's songs and a video from Riders in the Sky performing the "Woody's Roundup Theme" are included as well as the history of the original concepts that Pixar worked on. But get this soon, because it will soon be out of print and you may have to schill out lots of money in auctions to get it!