Blu-ray Review: Pixar Shorts Collection

THE MOVIE: 5 stars out of 5

Most of this release is a documentary presenting the history of Pixar, from its beginnings as a hardware company making computers with a few guys in the back room playing with and stretching the boundaries of computer animation to its present status as the king of computer animation. Presented in full high definition with some standard def thrown in, the main feature presents the history as told by the individuals who made it. I found it to be very informative and to be very enlightening. As good as the documentary is , the real stars of this release are the wonderful Pixar animated shorts. Included are The Adventures of Andre & Wally B, Luxo, Jr., Tin Toy, Red’s Dream, Knick Knack, Geri’s Game, MIke’s New Car, For the Birds, Jack-Jack Attack, Mater and the Ghostlight, One Man Band and Lifted. While all are excellent and all groundbreaking in their own right, my favorites are For the Birds, Jack-Jack Attack and One Man Band. Wonderful stuff and a must have for all fans of animation, computer or otherwise.

THE VIDEO: From 3 to 5 out of 5 stars

The video on this title ranges from good to great. The main feature is presented in HD with some SD cut in with side “curtains”. The video on the documentary rates 4 stars overall, good but not outstanding. It looks about what you would expect it to. The earliest documentaries also look good but are obviously not up to the level of the later ones. Given their age and the state of the art back then, they are nonetheless amazing. However, the video on the later Pixar efforts is simply astounding. My particular favorite is For the Birds. It looks utterly spectacular with rich bold colors and incredible detail and deep blacks that just jump off the screen. The details in the feathers, with their subtle color variations, as well as the lines on the beaks and feet are clear, sharp and distinct. The birds look totally three dimensional. It is amazing that you can get this quality video at home. The same is true of Jack-Jack Attack, so much so that one must drool over the propsect of the release of The Incredibles on high def. They all look great, from Luxor, Jr. to the last, Lifted. Truely state of the art. Outstanding and a joy to watch.

THE AUDIO: From 3 stars to 4 3/4 stars

My comments for the video also apply to the audio. The audio on the feature is clear and distinct but is essentially all dialogue. The audio on the earliest shorts is good and the audio on the last few shorts is excellent, although falling short of the audio on Cars. All of the shorts are presented in Uncompressed PCM 48 kHz/24 bit ranging from 5.1 to 2.0. The overall audio is smooth and well balanced. The earliest shorts are in stereo and overall, kind of flat sounding and a little on the bright side. The audio on One Man Band is excellent and almost up to the standard set in cars and the other Pixar feature films with full and deep bass, excellent detail and an immersive soundfield.

IN CONCLUSION
This is another stellar presentation from the folks at Disney and is a must have of all fans of animation. Highly recommended.

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