Toy Story

Set in a world where toys have a life of their own when people are not present, "Toy Story" is a sophisticated and delightfully irreverent comedy adventure that represents the first full-length feature ever to be created entirely through the use of computer animation (and also the first collaboration between Disney and the wonderfully inventive Pixar Animation Studios). Viewed mostly through the eyes of two rival toys: Woody (Hanks), a pull-string talking cowboy, and Buzz Lightyear (Allen), a superhero space action figure. The comically mismatched duo eventually learn to put aside their differences when circumstances separate them from their owner—six-year-old Andy—and they discover that the only way to survive a threat from the neighborhood bully is to form an uneasy alliance. (Gary Reber)

Special features include commentary by Director John Lasseter, Co-Writer Andrew Stanton, Supervising Animator Pete Docter, Art Director Ralph Eggleston, Supervising Technical Director Bill Reeves, and Producers Ralph Guggenheim and Bonnie Arnold; Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs; "Blast Off" (HD 03:28); "Paths To Pixar—Artists" (HD 04:47); "Studio Stories: John's Car" (HD 01:28); "Studio Stories: Baby AJ" (HD 01:40); "Studio Stories: Scooter Races" (HD 02:18); "Buzz Takes Manhattan" (HD 02:12); "Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw" (HD 07:36); the "Toy Story 3" sneak peek (HD 02:07); all the classic DVD bonus features; Maximize Your Home Theatre tutorial; sneak a peeks; and BD-Live functionality.

Following several home video releases over the past 10 years, including VHS, LaserDisc, and previous DVD releases, all reviewed in Widescreen Review (except for VHS); the last anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 DVD reviewed in Issue 101 offered a beautiful digital-to-digital transfer that will never cease to amaze. Colors were rich and vibrant, with excellent balance. Images were sharp and finely detailed into "backgrounds." Contrast and shadow delineation were superb, with excellent visual information in the darker scenes. The visuals were absolutely stunning. But this new 1080p AVC Blu-ray Disc™ Special Edition is the best! The transfer faithfully duplicates Pixar's pristine digital source. The color palette is exceptionally vivid, with rich and warm hues that will dazzle your eyesight. The striking and bold colors pop off the screen! Blacks are deep and solid throughout. Resolution is incredibly detailed, sharp, and clear. Every element, whether in the foreground or background, is perfectly descriptive and defined with excellent dimensionality. The picture is absolutely pristine, with no noticeable artifacts, for a perfect visual experience. This is truly a reference-quality picture that deserves the highest praise. This is what high-definition is all about! (Gary Reber)

The previous DVD reviewed in Issue 101 featured Dolby® Digital EX™ and DTS-ES® matrix 5.1-channel soundtracks mixed by original re-recording mixers Gary Rydstrom and Gary Summers. They were fully engaging, with a good use of the surrounds for music and atmospheric effects. Dialogue was generally held to the center channel, but was occasionally directionalized across the front three screen channels to match on-screen locations, and was generally done with precision. All this is true for the new remastering of Rydstrom's and Summers' work in 5.1-channel lossless discrete DTS-HD Master Audio™. Creativity in rendering the spatial soundfield is downright impressive. Sonic imaging is superb and fully-involving, with compelling split surround activity that dramatically opens up the soundstage. Sound effects have been recorded with remarkable clarity and convey a compelling sense of poignancy. Dialogue sounds even more natural and intimate, with good articulation, though, still a bit forward sounding in the mix. Randy Newman's music is very nicely recorded, with an involving, expansive presence that is better resolved in terms of instrument timbre and positioning. Fidelity is pristine—a definite upgrade over the previous releases. The .1 LFE channel is used extensively, with an extremely deep presence at times that develops the low end well, consisting of both subtle low-end foundation to the music and poignant, significant moments with substantial sub-25 Hz extension. While the EX and/or ES center back surround channel (here retained on the French and Spanish EX versions) on the previous DVD added an increase in surround envelopment, with pans across the rear stage much more well defined, the phantom sense of center back surround is still intact, though not as prominent. This soundtrack still stands as a superb sonic presentation, with consistently satisfying holosonic® soundfield envelopment and an essential for the surround sound listening experience. (Gary Reber)