Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1 DVD Review

The Adventures of André and Wally B There’s nothing like a restful nap in a pleasant wooded valley. But when André awakens and is greeted by a pesky yellow-and-black striped insect with a nasty stinger, he ends up taking a quick (and painful) hike.

Luxo Jr. Who would have thought that playing with a ball could be so much fun, whatever you are

Red’s Dream Life as the sole sale item in the clearance corner of Eben’s Bikes can get lonely. So Red, a unicycle, dreams up a clown owner and his own juggling act that steals the show. But all too soon, the applause turns into the sound of rainfall, as reality rushes back. Red must resign himself to sitting in the corner and await his fate.

Tin Toy Babies are hardly monster-like, unless you’re a toy. After escaping a drooling baby, Tinny realises that he wants to be played with after all. But in the amount of time it takes him to discover this, the baby’s attention movies on to other things only an infant could find interesting.

Knick Knack Life on a shelf as a snowman trapped in a snow-globe blizzard can become wearing, especially when you’re surrounded by knickknacks from sunnier locales. When the jaded snowman finally breaks free of his glass hours, his vacation plans are cut short.

Geri’s Game An aging codger names Geri plays a daylong game of chess in the park against himself. Somehow, he begins losing to his livelier opponent. But just when the game’s nearly over, Geri manages to turn the tables.

For the Birds One by one, a flock of small birds perches on a telephone wire. Sitting close together has problems enough, and then comes along a large dopey bird that tries to join them, The birds of a feather can’t help but make fun of him and their clique mentality proves embarrassing in the end

Mike’s new Car Mike discovers that being the top ranking laugh collector at Monster, Inc has its benefits – in particular, earning enough money to buy a six wheel-drive car that’s loaded with gadgets. That new-car smell doesn’t last long enough, however, as Sulley jump-starts an ill-fated road test that teaches Mike the true meaning of buyer’s remorse.

Boundin’ On a high mountain plain lives a lamb with wool of such remarkable sheen that he breaks into high-steppin’ dance. But there comes a day when he loses his lustrous coat and, along with it, his pride. It takes a wise jackalope – a horn-adorned rabbit – to teach the moping lamb that woolly or not, its what’s inside that’ll help him rebound from life’s troubles.

Jack Jack Attack Kari the babysitter thinks she’s in for a night of routine babysitting. She’s prepared to provide neurological stimulation with some soothing musical accompaniment for little Jack-Jack, the smallest member of the incredible Parr family. Little does she know that Jack-Jack will teach her a thing or two about babies with “special needs”.

One Man Band With one coin to make a wish at the piazza fountain, a peasant girl encounters two competing street performers who’d prefer the coin find its way into their tip jars. The little girl, Tippy, is caught in the middle as a musical duel ensues between the one-man-bands.

Meter and the Ghost Light Head back to Radiator Springs and see way Meter is so scared of going into the desert at night.

Lifted When an overconfident teen alien gets behind the controls of a spaceship, he must attempt to abduct a slumbering farmer under the watchful eye of a critical instructor. But abducting humans requires precision and a gentle touch, and within a few missteps it’s painfully clear why more humans don’t go missing every year.

There is much more to Pixar than their big screen computer generated adventures and nothing can chart their evolution better than their award winning short films.

Since 1984, Pixar has been pushing the boundaries of computer animation. When it comes to defining the pioneers of the CG, then the company that started as a hardware and software manufacturer as part of George Lucas’s empire in 1979 and transformed in Pixar Animation Studios is at the top of the pile. Animator John Lasseter and the other founding members of the studio created short film that not only pioneered the new animation techniques but redefined story as well.

From their tentative start with ‘The Adventures of André and Wally B’ in 1984, Pixar has used its short films to pioneer new ideas and new filmmakers. Helping them develop the techniques that would become so invaluable in the future production of their full length feature films like ‘Toy Story’, ‘Finding Nemo’, ‘The Incredibles’ and ‘Ratatouille’, it could have been so easy for the company to stop producing their short film but they have become just as important as their movies.

With original, award winning shorts like ‘For the Birds’, ‘Geri’s Game’, ‘Boundin’’, ‘Tin Toy’, ‘Knick Knack’, ‘One Man Band’ and ‘Lifted’ and shorts that accompany the home entertainment releases of their big screen adventures like ‘Jack-Jack Attacks’, ‘Meter and the Ghost Light’ and ‘Mike’s New Car’, Pixar has been just as inventive with shorts as they have with their main features. The magic of character design is abundant throughout but it is the development of the computer-generated animation that is so evident through the series of shorts that stands out so much.

‘Pixar Short Films: Volume 1’ is a must see for any animation fan or aficionado. Pure creativity and beauty is on show through but is even more abundant is that these are shorts made with real passion and love by some of the most talent people working in animation.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition to 1080p, with Dolby Digital 5.1/2.0 and dts surround sound. As they used to be on DVD, computer animated movies set the standard for High Definition transfers and Pixar have done an extraordinary job with this Blu-Ray.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentaries Watch all thirteen shorts with commentary from the people who created them. Each track is very funny and informative, making you wish that you could work for a company like Pixar.

The Pixar Shorts: A History (25.32 mins/High Definition) Pixar Animation founders Jim Blinn, Eben Ostbly, Craig Good, Loren Carpenter, Ralph Guggenheim, Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith, Bill Reeves, Tom Porter and John Lasseter talk about the evolution of Pixar from its humble beginnings to where it now. This is a fascinating insight into the development of the company and the evolution of computer generated animation.

Sesame Street: Surprise (0.25 mins) Watch the follow up to ‘Luxo Jr.’ that was shown on the hit children’s TV series ‘Sesame Street’

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray presentation of ‘Pixar Short Films: Volume 1’ is every good. The commentaries are first rate and the presentation of the amazing short films shows how good High Definition really is.