Rating: 
Summary: Ultimate Toy Box
Review: This is a great collection. Both have perfect picture quality and almost perfect sound. Toy Story is a funny movie. Great animation and story. I didn't really like Tin Toy but it is good to see the history of animation. The Toy Story treats were good. About a half hour of 10 to 30 second shorts. The on set interviews with Buzz and Woody were even funnier. The buzz lightyear commercial was good. The 40 minute making of documentary was basically all the makeing of material for the first movie that you need. Most of the third disc was useless. All that I liked was history, deleted scences, easter eggs, and the Toy Box. Both of the films audio commentries told hidden jokes. Toy Story 2 was almost twice as funny as the first and had better animation. The lamp short was Ok. Same response as Tin Toy. The outtakes were drop on the floor funny. The problem was it didn't have the fullscreen in the two-pack. Toy story was filmed open matte so fullscreen will show more on the top and bottem in some scences. Most of the time I prefered widscreen. I like the Ultimate toy better than the two-pack. I guess thats why they call it ultimate.
Rating: 
Summary: the best
Review: This is the funniest movie ever made. It has comedy, action and romance.
Rating:
Summary: Two great movies and an astonishing DVD package (part 2)
Review: note: This is a continuation of my previous review.After seeing TOY STORY in the theaters, and A BUGS LIFE in astonishing detail on it's first DVD release, I knew going into the theaters that TOY STORY 2 would be a wonderful experience. I looked forward to seeing what amazing visuals John Lasseter and his Pixar crew would conjure up. They delivered. The opening sequence alone was a complete surprise. I won't spoil it by describing it here. I will say that it was a thrilling sequence when I saw it on the big screen. And on this DVD, it is colorful and in splendid detail along with the rest of it. But there is a sequence that demonstrates the magic and power behind this wonderful film. WARNING: IF YOU NEVER SAW THE FILM, READ NO FURTHER. It is the part where the cowgirl Jesse tells Woody the story about when she had an owner just like he did. It is played to a special nominated song by Randy Newman. When I saw it in the theaters, something happened that I never experienced before. The entire audience in the theater during this song was....completely silent. Nobody cried, not even the infants and toddlers in the crowd...Nobody whispered to anybody. There wasn't a single sound in the place. And that silence lasted right until the film cut to the other toys in another room. I have never seen anything like that in a theater, even when I saw "Saving Private Ryan" the year before. Although most of the crowd was quiet during that film, I still heard a cough, and I heard some people crying in the theater. Somebody had to be in tears during that song in TOY STORY 2, but they sure knew how to keep from making a sound. This is the kind of power this film had. Another thing I noticed was the number of in-jokes Pixar put into this movie. I counted "Jurassic Park", "Star Wars", "Superman", and Pixar's earlier short films. These jokes were funny in the way they poked fun at those famous movies. If there were any more I missed them, but the supplement disc in this DVD package has a guide to those in-jokes. Pixar had such a big success with their deliberate outtakes at the end of "A Bug's Life" that they continued the tradition for TOY STORY 2. And these outtakes are even funnier. The TOY STORY 2 DVD also includes a splendid commentary by John Lasseter and his primary crew members just like the TOY STORY disk. And it contains another THX trailer starring Tex the robot. (see my earlier review for more details on that) This trailer is designed for owners of the newer THX Surround EX systems: a 6.1 channel surround setup with the 6th channel between the left and right rear. It's also an exclusive on this 3 disk DVD collection. It also plays extremely well on my 5.1 channel system as well. Bass sounds are deep and loud, and the surround effect has been carefully put together. The supplement disk has so much material on it that I can't even begin to describe it in real detail. It includes early story treatments, development of characters both in story and design, song demos, and a breakdown of the stages in Pixar's computer animation process. It also has an explanation of why John Lasseter decided to do TOY STORY 2. It took me and a friend two nights (with very little free time available) to look at the material covering TOY STORY alone. If you love the DVD format and have a 5.1 Channel surround system (or are lucky enough to have the new THX Surround EX 6.1 format) you are definitely going to want this one. I know it won't be available forever.
Rating:
Summary: New and Improved
Review: In the world that is Toy Story 2, one may find the same gang: Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head, ect. The movie advances when Disney throws a curve ball to get the attention of both the younger and older on-lookers. "Woody has been shelved!" This starts the humorous, warm, and exciting storyline and theme that is this movie. To thicken the plot even more, Woody gets stolen by a toy collector. At this point, it is up to the rest of the gang to save him. Woody discovers the wonders and hardships of fame, while the others are still looking for him. New characters are introduced and are brilliantly brought forth. Stinky Pete (Kelsy Grammer) adds both a bad guy and humor to the movie. As the movie progresses, one learns who Buzz's dad really is and if Woody is dedicated to fame or his friends. Toy Story 2 is a must see for all ages. The movie both plays with childerens imaginations and gives a few humorous antics that only the older watchers would enjoy. A fine example of adult humor is the idea that the Barbie's are protrayed as the typical bimbo. That subject is obviously for the older watcher, but a concept that a child could enjoy. Hint: For those of you who can't get over the idea of the movie actully being over, Disney has something just for you. They have incroporated "take outs" that roll durring the credits.
Rating:
Summary: Two great movies and an astonishing DVD package (part 1)
Review: (note) for word limitations, this review is a two part one) TOY STORY was a terrific experience in the theaters when I saw it in December of 1995. Although the story was the buddy action drama that's been done countless times, the film made it work all over again. The feeling Woody has that Buzz has taken everything that he cared about (He is no longer Andy's favorite toy, the other toys seem to look at him as an old hat once they meet Buzz) makes it understandable that he would try to get rid of this space toy. And Buzz is an endearing character because he has no idea he's just a toy. It's an interesting thing at how the story sets it up so that Woody accepts that he isn't Andy's favorite toy at the same time Woody accepts that a toy is what he really is. This is proven in Sid's bedroom during the rainy night where they both wait for the next day when Buzz would get blown to pieces. While this is going on, the action and animation is just astonishing. The detail that the Pixar team put into every frame had my eyes bulging out of their sockets. I didn't think that would occur when I saw it again, but watching TOY STORY on a friend's DVD ROM computer, it did. Not only that, but I saw little touches in the background that I didn't realize before, such as the titles of the books in Andy's room. (I won't spoil the titles here, only say that they're a Pixar in-joke) The Dolby Digital 5.1 effect on TOY STORY is excellent. The bass effect is well demonstrated in scenes such as when a truck nearly runs over Woody. If you have a top quality 5.1 channel surround sound theater, I highly recommend that you purchase this box set while you still can. Both movies are THX certified with THX Optimode (for adjusting picture and sound quality), but they also contain an exclusive bonus. For TOY STORY, Pixar created a THX trailer starring a little robot named "Tex" that demonstrates the 5.1 surround effect. Pixar also included its Academy Award winning short "TIN TOY" (1988) on the TOY STORY disc as well as a commentary by John Lasseter and several members of Pixar.
Rating:
Summary: Second "Story" is First Rate!
Review: One of the few sequels better than the original, "Toy Story 2" captivated me from the beginning. With it's warmth, humor, and compelling storyline, it's a rare bird, A true "kids film" for adults to enjoy as well (and I'm not counting those other factory produced Disney and Don Bluth cartoons either). My three year old loves it and so do I. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the Barbies portrayed as bimbos and phonies. But I'm giving it away, see "T.S. II" today!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect DVD for a well rounded collection
Review: Even though I own relatively few DVD's, including but not limited to childrens, cult classics, horror, and Japanese animation, these two DVD's are my favorites. They were well worth the money I paid for them. Any good well rounded DVD collection should have these in it. This goes especially if you have children.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Entertainment !
Review: When I saw the first Toy Story on theater, I thought Disney/PIXAR have reached perfection. Then Toy Story 2 came out and overshadowed his ancestor. Now when Disney/PIXAR combined those two movies and added all the other cool stuff, well ... we get hours of pure entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I would consider the task not being able to even snicker once through this entire movie would be impossible. It's fantastic. When I was watching it for the first time ever, my brother fell out of his chair because he was laughing so hard! It's excellent for people the age of 5 through who the heck knows! A superb masterpiece to add to your Disney collection.
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Toy Box - A must buy for any DVD Collection
Review: In 1995 and 1999 Disney released Toy Story and Toy Story 2 respectively. Now these two great movies are available to buy in the definitive 3 Disc Set - The Ultimate Toy Box. Both movies contain amazing CGI characters that are brought to life by actors such as Tom Hanks (Woody) and Tim Allen (Buzz). These movies are fun for all the family and are highly recommended. The DVDs for the movies themselves are nothing short of spectacular. The straight to digital transfers really shine and are anamorphic in their original widescreen aspect ratio. The sound for both films is very impressive and makes great use of all the surround channels. The opening of Toy Story 2 for example is great for showing off your Home Theater system. The supplemental material is where this DVD set really shines. If anyone was slightly interested in seeing how they made these amazing movies then the third disc is full of entertaining information. Each movie gets its own supplemental section with tons of information on how the story developed and how the animation was done. To music videos and clips of the actors speaking about their favourite characters. There is just so much on this third disc! Lastly a mention must go to the two very entertaining audio commentaries (one for Toy Story and another for Toy Story 2). They make a great listen and are full of insight into the making of these two very fine movies. The Ultimate Toy Box cannot be recommended more highly. Stunning transfers with a huge amount of supplemental materials make this a worthy addition to any DVD collection.
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