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Pixar Films

Toy Story

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Original release date: November 22, 1995. It premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on November 19.

Rating: G

Length: 1 hour, 22 minutes

Background:

For many of us, it seems like Buzz and Woody have always been in our lives. However, for those that were alive before 1995, there was a time before “Toy Story.” (1995 was also the first year that the Internet was readily available to the public thanks to AOL and Prodigy, so 1995 was good to us.)

The story of “Toy Story” goes all the way back to the 1988 Pixar short “Tin Toy,” produced by John Lasseter, then a Pixar visionary and now a disgraced former Pixar visionary. John produced “Tin Toy,” which grabbed the attention of the Academy Awards by being the first computer-animated short to win the Best Animated Short Form award.

“Tin Toy” caught the attention of Disney, encouraging them to bring Lasseter back into the company (he was fired years before following a failed pitch). This brought Disney and Pixar together for the first time, a relationship which would be complicated.

Part of the complications came early, with Disney not liking the scripts John and the Pixar team were bringing them. It was noted that all of the toys seemed mean-spirited, and that’s not what they were going for.

There was more argument over the music, as Disney wanted it to be a… well, Disney movie with singing characters. Pixar? No. They met in the middle, using background songs by Randy Newman instead of having singing characters.

Well, the movie eventually did get released and didn’t do so well.

No, it did great. It began a phenom of a series, a world of characters and merchandising, and launched Pixar to new levels. On its opening weekend, it brought in 29 million dollars, with a worldwide run that would end at $404 million. Decent!

That includes a 2009 3D rerelease – back when the big 3D boom was happening and everything got rereleased in 3D – that brought in $41 million.

It won a special achievement Academy Award as well as a slew of Annie Awards. It spawned the Toy Story Cinematic Universe, with three sequels, multiple shorts, theme park attractions across the world, and roughly 500 gazillion toys.

A movie-based game was released for the Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Game Boy and PC with a racer game released for the PlayStation.

Casting was strong, with Tim Allen and Tom Hanks starring as Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

Review:

Well, the feature character in the film is named Andy. It’s a fine name for a character and really makes him the star of the movie.

Okay, fine. Andy is a child who owns toys, like every other child. His favorite is a vintage cowboy named Woody, complete with “ANDY” written on his foot.

However, Andy has no idea that his toys come to life when he and other humans aren’t around. This includes a motley crew including nervous dinosaur Rex, snarky Mr. Potato Head and a whole crew of Green Army Men.

The Army Men come in quickly as they spy on – and report back to Woody via walkie-talkie – possible new toys in Andy’s birthday presents. They miss the big one though, however he will definitely introduce himself shortly after.

Buzz Lightyear himself joins the crew, however unlike the others he believes he is a real space ranger. This leads to hijinks as well as a little eventual jealousy.

As the story goes on, it becomes a rescue mission as Buzz gets lost/kidnapped. I don’t want to spoil anything, but… they make three more movies so it probably turns out okay.

“Toy Story” is one of those movies that everyone loves. We all know the world of the toys, can hear the music in their head, and can likely quote ten different quotes from it.

The movie looks great in HD though it’s a far cry from the more recent movies. The toys still look a little weird, color is off at times, and the humans are less human-looking than they will be in future movies. However it is still beautiful, the music is fantastic, and the story is great.

Extras:

Toy Story Clip (29s) – Yep, it’s a clip.

Disney as Told By Emoji: Toy Story (4m) – As they have for many other movies, Disney has made emoji-fied stories of their movies for little social media videos. I’m not sure if we need one for Toy Story since literally everybody has seen it, but here we are.

Deleted Scenes: Alternate Opening – Buzz Show (2m), Alternate Opening – Shootout (1m), Eastern Gate (3m), Rain (1m), and Woody’s Nightmare (1m) – These are all worth it. Not only do they give you a “what could have been” story, but they include storyboards which are cool to see.

Should you watch it?

Let’s be real. You already HAVE watched it. But yes, watch it. It’s the Pixar movie of all Pixar movies and required viewing to be a human being.

Pixar Films

Up

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Original release date: May 29, 2009.

Rating: PG

Length: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Background:

Adventure is out there! That’s the story of “Up,” one of many Pixar films designed to make you laugh and cry.

Development began in 2004 under awesome director Pete Docter, who also directed “Monsters, Inc.” and several other emotion-grabbing Pixar movies including the upcoming “Soul.” He was joined by music director Michael Giacchino, the mind behind the music of “The Incredibles.” The deck was stacked early, friends.

The cast didn’t feature a lot of big names, but Ed Asner took on the starring role as the voice of Carl Fredrickson. Ed is the most honored male performer in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards largely due to his time on the “Mary Tyler Moore Show,” but today’s generations might best know him as Santa in “Elf.”

Unlike many of the Pixar films before it, there wasn’t much merchandise for “Up” outside of stuffed animals. The marketing machine that churned out thousands of toys of “Toy Story” and “Cars” couldn’t quite find the marketing hook for the old man movie.

The movie did well, earning $293 million in North American box office tickets and $735 million worldwide.

In the land of the critics, it performed remarkably. It was only the second animated film in history to be nominated for Best Picture – the big prize – at the Academy Awards, following in the footsteps of “Beauty & the Beast.” It didn’t win the big one, but it did win Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.

Among many other awards, it brought home two Annie Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Teen Choice Award and a sea of others.

As most games of its time did, “Up” spawned a video game of the same name. I don’t remember it and can’t even imagine what it would be like, but it hit the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, PC, PSP, and even Apple’s App Store.

Review:

The story of “Up” is a tale of love and adventure. As the film starts with the tune “Married Life,” those who have seen it prepare the waterworks. Those who haven’t are in for it.

We meet the childhood version of Carol Fredrickson, who meets a rambunctious redhead named Ellie. They grow together in love and begin working towards her dream of living on top of Paradise Falls. As life happens, the piggy bank instead gets spent on other things. They never reach the goal as Ellie dies and we all cry. If you don’t cry, you have no heart.

The film moves to present day and crotchety old man Carl, still living in the house he and Ellie grew in marriage in. However, the town as grown up around him, with his little house being the only resemblance of a neighborhood left surrounded by large buildings.

We meet Russell, an eager Wilderness Explorer trying to earn his last badge by helping Carl. Carl, naturally as an old cranky man does, says no.

Carl loses his house in a court battle, with the courts declaring he needs to move to a retirement home. Carl handles this in his own way, unleashing a barrage of helium balloons that fly his house up – hey, that’s the movie title! – and away. Little does Carl know, however, that Russell was on the porch. Air balloon house, party of two!

The story goes on as they crash land far earlier than their target, meet a great talking dog named Russell, several less-great talking dogs, and a giant female bird named Kevin. For storyline purposes, they also meet Charles Muntz, a historic explorer who doesn’t quite end up the hero he’s thought to be. Shock!

It’s a great movie that will alternate you between laughing and on the edge of your seat. This is one of those movies that make you appreciate the HD, as you can see the individual balloons.

Extras:

“Up Trailer” – a two minute trailer. Just watch the movie.

“Alternate Scene: Married Life” – This four minute clip includes an early storyboard draft of the opening sequence.

“Disney As Told by Emoji: Up” – The “Told by Emoji” series has covered many Disney movies as a way to seem hip (doesn’t work) and promote the Emoji Blitz phone game (works).

“Russell: Wilderness Explorer” – This nine minute feature introduces Russell, his real-life inspiration, and his young voice actor.

Should you watch it?

A million times yes, watch it. It’s one of the best of the best Pixar movies.

Pixar Shorts

Mike’s New Car

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Original release date: September 12, 2002.

Rating: TV-G

Length: four minutes

Background:

Outside of their fantastic movies, Pixar is well known for their shorts. “Mike’s New Car” was the first time the two were smashed together.

Not surprisingly, Mike and Sulley were very popular following the release of “Monsters, Inc.” in 2001. When time came for the DVD release, the Pixar crew decided to include a bonus short as a special feature.

For the first time, Pixar decided to dive back into a world they had created – in this case, Monstropolis – and visit with characters we had seen before.

Review:

The first thing that screams – like the children in the movie – is how GREAT Sulley’s fur looks in HD. While the short isn’t full-screen and features the black side panels, everything within those two panels looks fantastic.

So Mike has bought a fancy new yellow car. He lets Sulley in to check it out, which involves lots of hijinks. Sulley takes the seat up and down, ejects Mike and grinds him up a bit in the motor gears. Oops.

Mike finally makes it in and just can’t figure out the 900 buttons on his car console. I can’t even figure out the 24 on mine, I get it.

Various button pressing causes various issues, Mike finally being so angry he throws Sulley out. Mike zooms off and… well, kaboom.

It’s a short short but full of visual gags. The original voices – John Goodman and Billy Crystal – are present.

Extras:

No extras for you.

Should you watch it?

Sure, watch it. The Monsters universe is a fun place that is a visual delight, and that shows in the short time the short runs.

Pixar Shorts

Luxo Jr.

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Original release date: August 17, 1986 at the SIGGRAPH conference and then dusted off to be premiered to the world as the short before “Toy Story 2” debuting on November 24, 1999.

Rating: G

Length: two whole minutes

Background:

“Luxo Jr.” is one of those shorts that has transcended its original placement and has become the icon of Pixar.

The star of “Luxo Jr.” is a little lamp with the same name. That lamp has appeared at the beginning of every Pixar film since. You know the lamp.

Written and directed by John Lasseter, the Hawaiian shirt-wearing estranged mastermind of Pixar fame, the short debuted at the SIGGRAPH conference. It would go on to be the first CGI animation film to receive an Academy Award nomination for “Best Animated Short Film.”

Luxo Jr. now serves as the icon for Pixar, much like the castle for Disney. Giant versions of Luxo Jr. sit on the Pixar campus as well as Disney’s California Adventure, and Lexo Jr. is a playable character in “LEGO The Incredibles” for modern systems.

Review:

This thing is two minutes, so don’t expect a grand review.

We start with the original Pixar logo, un ugly little square that thankfully was replaced with our star.

The iconic red-starred ball seen across the Pixar Multiverse rolls into a giant lamp named Luxo. Luxo rolls it back, only for it to come back… and a diminuative lamp of the Jr. variety appears.

Luxo Jr., playful as ever, jumps on the ball… and it deflates. Sadness emerges, and this is when you really see the lifelike reactions animations were going for.

Luxo Jr. finds a beach ball, ending the short on a happy note, and rolls it right past the dejected parental lamp.

Extras:

No extras for you.

Should you watch it?

It’s a piece of Disney history that introduces Pixar lore… and it is two minutes long. Of course you should watch it.

Pixar Shorts, SparkShorts

Kitbull

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Original release date: February 18, 2019 worldwide on YouTube. It debuted at the SIGGRAPH conference on August 14, 2018, before having a limited release at the El Capitan Theatre on January 18, 2019 with two other shorts.

Rating: PG

Length: nine minutes

Background:

“Kitbull” is one of Pixar’s “SparkShorts.” What’s a SparkShort, you ask?

Besides having great movies (and also the “Cars” series), Pixar is known for their dynamic shorts that typically run before movies. They decided to go in a different direction with the SparkShorts program in 2018, giving employees six months and a limited budget to see what they could create.

Not surprisingly, the Pixar employees knocked it out of the park by creating fun, advanced, and mind-blowing shorts. “Kitbull” might be the most acclaimed of them thus far, scoring an Academy Award nomination for 2020’s ceremony for “Best Animated Short Film,” a category it would lose to the short “Hair Love.”

Review:

“Kitbull” immediately begins with a gorgeous animation style and a little black kitten on the prowl, searching for somewhere to eat the fish it had claimed. The kitten finds a warm box and falls asleep under a stuffed elephant, only to be awoken by a drooling pit bull.

The cat is confrontational and the pit bull just wants to play, which is definitely something I’ve learned from having a pit breed myself. Unfortunately for the pit bull, it gets chained up outside and ignored by its owners.

The curious kitten finds a bottlecap to play with, eventually knocking it to the pit bull. The pit bull knocks it back, scaring the cat. However, the neurotic cat begins a game of knocking it back and forth before becoming scared of the pit bull’s playful ripping of a stuffed animal’s head off. Fair.

Night comes and we see the pit bull’s owners actually kicking it out of the house and into the rain. Heartbreaking. Meanwhile, the cat finds its way stuck in a six-pack of soda can rings.

The pit bull lets helps the cat out, who scratches it because A) cats are mean and B) the cat was intimidated. The poor pit goes back to its house as we see more cuts on the pit, which again is heartbreaking.

Kitty feels sorrow later and tries to pass the bottlecap back to the pit who has fallen asleep. When the pit doesn’t do it, the kitten bravely goes into its kennel and starts kicking its wounds before cuddling up to it and falling asleep, causing the pit to wag and thump its tail.

The pair go out to play as they hear the owner starting to open the door and come out with a chain. The duo escape, freeing the pit from its cruel owner and giving it a friend for life in the kitten.

As the story ends, the pair find two owners who love them for exactly who they are.

Extras:

“The Making of Kitbull” is about four minutes and is exactly as it sounds, featuring footage and interviews of the animators discussing and making their masterpiece.

Should you watch it?

Maybe it is because I have a rescue pit breed dog myself who came from a bad home, but this short hit me HARD. I felt strong emotions of anger at the owners, pity for the poor pup, and I swear my heart grew three sizes bigger at the end. I can’t recommend this short enough. Show it to everybody you know. Watch it.