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Specifications: - Two discs Disc 1: "Toy Story" Disc 2: "Toy Story 2" - Region 1 - Run time: approx. 81/92 minutes - Subtitle: English -
Menus: Static - Package: Keep case (double disc) - THX Digitally Mastered - 30/35 chapters
Video Features: Disc 1: "Toy Story"
Disc 2: "Toy Story 2" - Full frame 4:3 aspect ratio, or
Audio Features: Disc 1: "Toy Story" - English: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English: Dolby Surround
Disc 2: "Toy Story 2" - English: THX Surround EX - English: Dolby Surround
Bonus Materials: Disc 1: "Toy Story" -
"Tin Toy", Pixar's 1988 Academy - THX Optimode feature
Disc 2: "Toy Story 2" - "Luxo Jr.", Pixar's 1986 Academy Award®-nominated animated short -
preview of Disney-Pixar's upcoming - THX Optimode feature
Release Dates: Theatrical Release: 1995 & 1999 DVD Release: 10/17/00 Review Date: 03/22/01
List price: $ 39.95 On-line price: $ 26.49 Pre-order price was: $ 24.95
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| Toy
Story & Toy Story 2 Double Features - 2-Disc Set |
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Starring
the voice talents of: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen,
Knight, Estelle Harris, Jodi Benson Director: John Lasseter
MPAA Rating: G (both movies) Genre: Family - Action - Adventure - Animation Studio: Pixar
- Disney (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) |
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Movie: A+/A Video: A+/A+ Audio: A/A+ Extras: B
Summary:
"Toy
Story" and "Toy Story 2" are two great family-oriented
full-length our distinguished list of "Top 10 DVDs of the Year 2000". Need we say more?
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This review covers the Toy Story 2-Pack DVD, a two-disc set that includes both "Toy Story" & "Toy Story 2" and then some. Also available are a 3-disc "Ultimate Toy Box" set, "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" as individual DVDs. The individual DVD titles are identical in content as this 2-pack set, with "Toy Story" on disc 1 and "Toy Story 2" on disc 2.
Toy Story
"Toy Story" is a Pixar computer animated full-length feature film about the life of toys--what it means to be a child's play thing. Woody (featuring the voice talent of Tom Hanks) is a fictional sheriff/cowboy action figure with a pull-string voice box. He is Andy's favorite toy. Woody and the rest of Andy's toys (many of which are real-life toys that you can find in any toy store today, like Mr. Potato Head®, Slinky® Dog, Little Tykes®, Speak and Spell®) come alive when humans are not present. All of the toy characters are rich in personality, many are lovable while some border on obnoxiousness. Woody's favorite toy status with Andy is threatened when Andy's mother gets him the cool Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) space ranger action figure for his birthday.
Buzz immediately wins the heart of the Andy's other toys with his myriad of cool laser gun and pop-out wings. As a result, Woody becomes overly jealous and plots to get Buzz stuck behind the desk in Andy's room. Woody's plan goes awry and Buzz is accidentally pushed out of the window. The other toys quickly realize that it was Woody's fault. On the way to the Pizza Planet eatery, Andy's mom stops for gas, and Woody who comes along with Andy realizes that Buzz has managed to come along for the ride. Woody and Buzz fight and find themselves left behind at the gas station. Now, they have to work together to find their way home before Andy and his family move to their new home across town.
The story teaches young viewers friendship, teamwork, and caring of their toys. For the adults, there are plenty of good humor with occasional references of "grown-up". There's something for everyone in the family. There are a number of good songs like "You've Got A Friend In Me". The computer generated animation is incredibly life-like and defines the state-of-the-art of what is to come from Pixar Animation Studios (e.g., "A Bug's Life" and "Toy Story 2").
Toy Story 2
"Toy Story 2" is a surprising good sequel that I consider to be on par of the original "Toy Story". It is a feature film that was released to theaters in 2000. This time, the story deals with aging toys that are worn or broken and become neglected. Andy and his family is living in their new home, which they had just moved into at the end of the original "Toy Story". Woody's arm is partly torn at the shoulder, during routine play. When Woody is placed on a high shelf, he discovers that Wheezy, the squeaking penguin, has been neglected and pushed towards the back of the shelf. When Wheezy is taken out for a yard sale, Woody heroically tries to rescue him. While in the process, a greedy toy collector, Al McWhiggin, kidnaps Woody.
When Woody is taken to Al's home, he realizes that the greedy proprietor of Al's Toy Barn stole him to complete a highly valued collection of toys from "Woody's Roundup", a 1950s children's TV show that was unexpectedly cancelled. Woody befriends the other toys from that collection, including Bullseye his horse, Jessie the cowgirl, and Stinky Pete the prospector. After getting over the novelty of discovering that he had his own TV show, Woody realizes that he has to return to Andy. However, his new friends try to persuade him to stay and complete the collection as they are being sold to a Japanese museum. Otherwise they face an extended period in storage until another Woody action figure doll can be found. Torn between his new sense of obligation and his loyalty to Andy, Woody struggles to make up his mind whether he go with the toy collection or return home. Meanwhile, Buzz leads a team of toys from the original "Toy Story" to locate and rescue Woody from his kidnapper through countless adventurous mishaps.
For our young ones, this sequel reinforces the values of loyalty, friendship, and teamwork. And like the prequel, there's something for everyone in the family. The composer of the original "Toy Story", Randy Newman, returns and adds "When She Loved Me" to the list of lovable songs. The computer generated animation inches up a few more notch from what was already awesome in the prequel four years before. This time, the human character's faces are rendered with incredible realism.
Video & Audio
The direct digital transfer from the computer generated image source to the DVD is stunning. The image quality of these anamorphic widescreen DVDs is top notch. The colors are accurate and saturated, while shadow details are excellent.
The original "Toy Story" DVD features an aggressive Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix, with plenty of surround channel effects. The mix is well balanced, with clear dialogue and musical score.
The "Toy Story 2" DVD features both THX Surround EX (which is the more correct term than Dolby Digital EX, which is really the theatrical version) surround sound. This sound mix incorporates a matrix back surround channel for a more impressive surround sound experience. The surround sound channels were even more aggressively mixed. We used our Sony STR-V444ES receiver which features Sony's proprietary virtual 6.1 matrix surround sound processing, which simulates the effects of a back surround channel with just the usual left and right surround speakers. The sound mix is hair raising. In Chapter 16, when the toys cross the road, the surround sound channels were amazing as cars and trucks were zooming by, and the concrete pipe rolled knocking over the streetlight. You feel as though you're crossing the road along with the toys. The mix is very well-balanced and effective. The dialogue is crystal clear as is the engaging musical score which greatly enhances the mood of the movie.
Recommendation
I highly recommend this "Toy Story 2-Pack" DVD. Even if you only collect a few DVD titles each year, make sure you to pick up this title. It's awesome entertainment and an awesome value. That is unless you prefer to get the "Toy Story Ultimate Toy Box" 3-disc collector's edition.
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