Customer Reviews

Disney Pixar Ultimate Movie Collection (Toy Story / Toy Story 2 / Finding Nemo / The Incredibles / A Bug's Life / Monsters, Inc. / Cars / Ratatouille)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought the Disney Pixar Ultimate Movie Collection and have been very happy with the purchase. But the Product Details here are DEAD wrong. Number of discs? 14! FOURTEEN! Cars and Ratatouille are the only singles. All the others are 2-disc sets. Aspect Ratio? WIDESCREEN! Every single one is available in pristine Widescreen glory, not 1.33:1 (A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo each come with both Widescreen and Fullscreen as did their original 2-disc releases). Unless the Collection for sale here is a distinct alternate from the one I bought - which truly would make no sense considering the purpose of the release as a pristine collectible presenting the first eight Pixar films in all their glory - dramatic corrections need to be made, so the customers have the right idea about what they're thinking about buying.

I thought this needed to be said in response to reviews by people who decry the Aspect Ratio and Number of discs displayed under Product Details while admitting that they already own the movies and haven't bought this Collection in the first place. I don't mean to offend anyone; I just want to set the facts right.

My husband and i were looking to catch up on the pixar movies and i found this recommended for me after i bought wall-e. i price checked, all pixar movies are 15.99 so this made it cheaper that buying them seperately.

it arrived today, there was a dent in the packaging just above lightning mcqueen's eyes. it kind of ruins the look of the packaging, but nothing inside is damaged. there are no individual dvd cases, they are packaged like a book, and each dvd is in a plastic holder, and you just turn them to get to the dvd you want.

i think this is great if you havent got any of the other pixar movies. also a great deal.

This is a great collection of Pixar films the only problem is that most Pixar fan already have one or more. And this appears not to have any new special materials to make it worth buying if you are someone like me. But if you are not, this is a great collection. It contains the first eight (and as of writing this review only eight) Pixar films. All of which have received Oscar recognition.

The following are the films included:

Toy Story - Special Oscar Recipient and nominated for three Oscars (writing, music and song) - What do your toys do when you are not around? - Starring Tom Hanks as cowboy Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear

A Bug's Life - Oscar Nominee (Music) - Flik's village is ravaged every year by the Grasshoppers and he goes off to find warrior bugs to help defend it but all he finds is a circus troop. Many people have said that this film was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai. Voices include Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey and Phyliss Diller

Toy Story 2 - Oscar Nominee (Song) - This time around, Woody is stolen by a toy collector. It's Buzz Lightyear (and Gang) to the rescue. But does Woody want to be rescued. Featuring Joan Cusack as Jessie, the Yodeling Cowgirl and Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head.

Monster's Inc. - Oscar Winner (song) and nominated (Animated Film, Score and Sound Editing) - Monsters are sent to scare children through magic doors but what happens when a child finds it way to the monster's world. Can love beat hate? Featuring Billy Crystal and John Goodman

Finding Nemo - Oscar Winner Best Animated Feature and nominated Score, Screenplay and Sound Editing - When Nemo is kidnapped by man, it's up to dad to rescue him. Featuring the voices of Ellen Degeneres, Albert Brooks and Geoffrey Rush

The Incredibles - Oscar Winner Best Animated Feature and Best Sound Editing and nominated for Screenplay and Sound Mixing - Where do superheros go when the retire and what do they do when the retire and can they really stay retired? For the Incredibles it is raise a family but will they return to their superhero life when the world is threatened by an old nemisis? Featuring the voices of Holly Hunter, Craig T Nelson and Samuel L Jackson

Cars - Oscar Nominee (Animated Film and Song) - This is the best of the group. This film actually is a study about professional athletes who become egomaniacs with their success. Lightning McQueen is the newest superstar on the Piston Cup circuit and he is full of himself. His ego gets in his way during the final race of the season and causes a three way tie for the coveted Piston Cup. On his way to the raceoff he get lost in Radiator Springs, a sleepy little town that has gotten all but vanished when the freeway passed it by. Lightning finds the true meaning of life and friendship. Featuring the voices of Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Katherine Helmond and Owen Wilson. (The film has a Pixar retrospective of John Ratzenberger that is wonderful)

Ratatouille - Oscar Winner Best Animated Film and nominated for Screenplay, Score, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing - What happens when the world's greatest chef is a field rat? He goes to Paris and teams up with the inept son a his favorite chef. This is a great farce and a new step for the Pixar franchise. Featuring the voices of Peter O'Toole, Ian Holm and perennials Brad Garret and John Ratzenberger

Once again this is a great collect but is just a compilation of the previously released dvd's. It would have been nice to include the shorts and Pixar documentaries plus something new. But this will make a nice present for expectant mothers or toddlers who may not have the films yet.

I thought this package was great! $110.00 for 8 Pixar movies was a great deal. It comes out to be 13.75 for each movie. I couldn't find any of these movies brand new for less then 16.00. Each movie comes with 2 disc. This was a great buy and my son loved it!

You all know these movies, so I am not going to review the films themselves. They're great; you love 'em; I love 'em; our kids love em;. No surprises there. Instead, I want to say a few words about this specific collection. Amazon has many of the details wrong in their description (though they have changed some of them recently). I ordered this from Amazon a few days ago so can tell you exactly what you are getting.

Even though the product specs say the films are 4:3, they are not. Each of the films is available in widescreen and a few are available in both widescreen and fullscreen. So widescreen snobs like me have nothing to worry about--you'll get the full 16:9 experience. Also, the set comes with 14 DVDs, not 8 as Amazon first stated. There are two discs for most of the films with one for a couple of them. In most cases the second DVD is full of the standard extras.

So here is what you're getting: all of the Pixar films up through Ratatouille. They are all widescreen (with a few having the option to watch in fullscreen) and all have at least some extras. The package comes in a nice "accordian style" case where each of the fourteen "pages" holds one of the DVDs.

It's a great set and exactly what those of us need who don't care to buy each of the movies on its own. Kudos to Pixar for the great set. Now if only they had waited until *after* Wall-E...

We bought this for Christmas and are slowly making our way through the movies. We found out last night that the Toy Story 2 disc doesn't play properly, it started freezing during the first scene. I took it out and looked at the disc (first time ever played) and it looked smudged but it wasn't dirty, it was actually ingrained into the disc in a spot. We had to skip through a few scenes to watch the movie, very disappointing.
If it wasn't for that, the set has been great so far (we're about 3/4 through the movies, haven't touched any of the numerous bonus disc). Nice collection of movies, lots of bonus discs. However having a movie that doesn't play from the start was a HUGE let down. :(

Since I have (or will) review each of these movies separately, I thought the best way to review this box set is by ranking the films by the number of times my children have watched the films (2 boys, now aged 2 and 4.5, I've had the set for one year). I've also given a rating out of 5 stars based on my own opinion.

1. Cars (4 stars) - BY FAR the most popular with my boys. Hotshot racecar Lightning McQueen gets lost while being transported across country, and ends up in desert-rural Radiator Springs where life is considerably slower than he's used to. The opening race scene is amazingly good. At 2 hours, perhaps a little long for one sitting.

2. Toy Story 2 (5 stars) - Woody the Cowboy is kidnapped by a collector who intends to sell him to a toy museum in Japan, and it's up to Buzz and others to rescue him. Features a memorable visit to a Toys R Us-like store complete with a Barbie tour guide and a complete wall-full of Buzz Lightyears.

3. Ratatouille (4 stars) - a surprisingly engaging story about a rat who can cook. He helps a young sous-chef make something of himself. The "climax" with the food critic (and the eponymous dish of food) are surprisingly moving. Oddly, the quality of the computer animation makes the rats creepier than, say, the mice/rats in Disney's Great Mouse Detective or The Rescuers.

4. The Incredibles (5 stars) - Forced into retirement amid lawsuits and public relation disasters, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl are try to raise kids (also with super powers) like a normal family. Craving adventure like the old days, Mr. Incredible gets drawn into a sinister plot and it's up to the rest of the family to rescue him. Great fun all the way through.

5. Finding Nemo (3 stars) - visually spectacular story of a father Clown Fish's attempt to find and rescue his son, captured by a diver and put into a dentist's aquarium. Unfortunately, it often feels like a string of action set pieces which makes it less enjoyable for an adult on repeated viewings.

6. Toy Story (5 stars) - the film that started it all: Sheriff Woody is replaced as Andy's favourite toy by upstart (and delusional) Buzz Lightyear. But when they get lost they must work together to find their way back to Andy's house. Great fun and stands up very well on repeated viewings.

All 6 of the above have, at some point, been my elder son's favourite. The final two are rarely (if ever) requested by either of my boys.

7. A Bug's Life (3 stars) - somewhat contrived second effort from Pixar, probably the least re-watchable film in this set. Cars and toys lend themselves especially well to computer animation. These bugs look blocky and generic, and the story is predictable animated adventure fare (and therefore a little dull).

8. Monster's Inc. (? stars) - I have never seen this film all the way through, because my boys simply do not watch it! Perhaps that tells you everything you need to know about the film.

It's too bad this box set is no longer available - it was $75-ish when I bought it, and I've certainly got my money's worth. All these films (except Bug's Life, and possibly Monster's Inc) are very rewatchable and can be enjoyed over and over, which is good because we all know how kids like to rewatch the same things over and over..... 6 of the 8 films are the 2-disc special editions (Cars and Ratatouille are not), so there's also lots of extras for the adult animation fan to enjoy after the kids have gone to bed.

I am really happy with my collection,the only problem I had is that when I received it one of the cases was broken but the DVD was fine. My grandchildren love the movies.

grandma from Oregon

We got this for my 2.5 year old son. He hasn't watched everything yet, but this is just a great selection of movies for kids. And even adults can enjoy too. We like to take it for trips and the case does not sepalate to individual DVD, so that is only the Con. Either take the entire case or put it in a separate jewery box.

I chose to review this product as it is the closest thing to being able to review all the pixar movies without reviewing each individual one. I love all of them. The only one that I kind of thought could have been a little better was WALL-E. It was a fine movie for adults, but it does not catch my son's attention fast enough to make him want to watch it. He loves the rest of the movies, and can't get enough of them. His favorite ones are Cars, Monster Inc., and Ratatouille. Pixar movies seem to be all he wants to watch everyday. I haven't seen UP yet, but from what I have heard, I am looking forward to seeing it. The thing I really like about these movies, is that they a very kid friendly, and you don't have to worry about your kids seeing or hearing things that they shouldn't, unlike a lot of the Dreamworks cartoons. The other nice thing about these movies is that they are enjoyable for adults to watch with your kids. They are not corny like most cartoons out there today. I would recommend any these films to anyone who likes to watch movies with there kids, or just likes to watch movies to take themselves back to their childhood.

So if don't own any of this films, and would like to, this set is a great place to start. The only one it doesn't have in it is WALL-E.