For most of the us, the movie that ushered in the world of computer animation is Toy Story, originally released in theaters in 1995. Has it really been 15 years? My kids were a bit too young at the time to see it in theaters and they didn’t get to see the original until its release on DVD. For me, the Pixar films I couldn’t wait to see on Blu-ray, were the two Toy Story films along with The Incredibles. Well, at least as far as the Toy Story films are concerned, the wait is over, as both are being released on Blu-ray. Was it worth the wait? Yes, as all I can say is WOW!

Film 

What more can you really say about Toy Story? I am sure that you are all well aware of the film which introduced us to characters such as Woody and Buss Lightyear and added the phrase, “To Infinity and Beyond” into the American Lexicon. Toy Story is the film that really started Pixar’s string of incredibly successfully full length animated films and ushered in the amazing potential of computer animated films to the big screen. Toy Story looked incredible in 1995 and the folks at Pixar seem to raise the bar as far as what is possible with computer animation with each successive release. The sky, it seems, is truly limitless, at least insofar as computer animation is concerned.

In Toy Story, we are introduced to Andy’s toys, which come to life in the absence of the presence of humans. Woody is Andy’s favorites and rules the roost, until the introduction of Buzz Lightyear as a gift at Andy’s birthday party. When Buzz is introduced to the gang, Woody is a bit jealous. Woody knocks Buzz out of Andy’s window and the rest of the toys turn on Woody. Both Buzz and Woody come into the possession of Andy’s demented neighbor Sid, a particularly vicious child, and Woody and Buzz set out to rescue each other and bring both of them back to Andy’s room before he and his family move to a new house across town. In doing so, they both come to learn the value of friendship.

Toy Story features the voices of Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. Toy Story was an instant classic upon its release and remains so today 15 years after its initial release. It is truly a film for all ages and is very highly recommended and for me, another must buy.

Video 

I must have seen Toy Story on DVD a hundred times. However, seeing the film on Blu-ray was like seeing the film for the first time, the improvement in picture quality was that substantial. The folks at Disney/Pixar have really pulled out all the stops on this release which looks phenomenal. Given the impressive video quality on the prior Pixar releases, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Toy Story features a bright and bold color palette and just about every color you can imagine. Blacks are as inky as they come and the level of detail is simply off the charts. The level of detail in the texture of each character is amazing. Just take a look at the wood grain on the floors, the nicks on the doors and door jams, the texture of the paint on the doors and woodwork, where the texture of the paint bristles is clearly visible. The sheen on the various toys is amazing as well and in particular, the bright white glaze on Little Boo Peep.

The overall clarity of the image on this release is sensational, with an amazing sense of depth and three dimensionality that is very, very impressive. Given that the images were created without film, there is no film grain present. What you are left with is a picture of exceptional clarity, depth and detail. Hopefully, Toy Story 2 will be just as sensational.

Audio 

The improvement in the DTS HD Master Audio track on this release over the lossy track on the DVD release is just as impressive as the improvement in the video. I have never heard Toy Story sound this good before. Not even close. This is a very immersive sound design with an aggressive use of the surrounds during the entire film. In addition to the overall sense of immersion, the overall dynamics of the sound design are excellent as well, with deep and tight bass. The sound design places you right in the middle of the action, with balls bouncing around you and rockets blasting off to cars speeding across the room and over your head.

The dialogue track is well recorded and front and center in the mix. If I had to quibble with one aspect of the sound, it is that it does get a tad on the bright side at real high volume. However, at more normal listening levels, this brightness is not as noticeable. In addition to the overall brightness, I was a bit disappointed with the fidelity of the music, which lacked the smoothness and transparency of prior Pixar releases and on the spectacular new release of The Princess and the Frog. Other than these two rather minor quibbles, this is a great sounding release and is one that should thrill fans of the film.

Special Features 

Not surprisingly, the Blu-ray release of Toy Story comes loaded with extras. I was provided with a copy of the combo pack which included a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital copy. Disc one is the Blu-ray copy of the film which includes the extras. All of the extras that were included with the prior DVD release of the film are presented here as well in standard definition. However, there were several new extras prepared for this release, all of which are presented in HD.

These new extras include a sneak peek at the upcoming Toy Story 3 due for theatrical release in June as well as Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs Episode One in which Buzz Lightyear reports back on his trip to the International Space Station via the Space Shuttle. Yes, a Buzz Lightyear toy did make its way the the Space Station. Also included is a featurette “Paths to Pixar” Artists” which features interviews with several of the Pixar animators, where they discuss their career paths, offering advice to aspiring filmmakers and animators.

We also get several animated shorts about life at Pixar, including John’s Car where the old beat up jalopy that John Lassiter once owned and drove to work every day is discussed. It was so bad that Steve Jobs bought him a black Volvo after the success of Toy Story. Another of the shorts is “Baby AJ” where one of the animators discusses how he dressed up like the oversized baby from the short Tin Toy to win the prize at a Pixar Halloween party as well as “Scooter Races” which describes the scooter races which were a regular occurrence at Pixar’s old locale.

Also included is the featurette “Buzz Takes Manhattan” which documents Buzz’ first appearance as a balloon at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, with John Lassiter holding one of the many tether wires during the parade. BY far, the most interesting of the the extras is “Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw” in which John Lassiter and others discuss how bad the first rough cut of the film was and how it was nixed by Disney. A short clip of the film, which featured an totally unlikable Woody is included. After the rough cut was nixed by Disney, the folks at Pixar went back to the drawing board for 2 weeks, making the film they wanted to make without studio interference. The rest, as they say, is history.

Final Thoughts 

If you are a fan of Toy Story, you owe it to yourself to check it out again on Blu-ray. It is like seeing the film again for the first time. Very highly recommended and a must own for sure.