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Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1 DVD Review

by Kam Williams

A Baker's Dozen of Bite-Sized Animated Masterpieces Out on DVD

Originally founded by George Lucas as a division of LucasFilm, Pixar is probably a leading producer of state-of-the-art, computer-generated images which almost single-handedly changed the face of animated features. Since debuting with Toy Story in 1995, Pixar has produced an enviable string of hits, including A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monster's, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars and, most recently, Ratatouille.

The company was recently acquired by Walt Disney, which all but ensures a continued commitment to the highest quality family-oriented fare. What some might forget is that besides full-length cartoons, it has also made a number of memorable shorts. Now 13 of these have been packaged together on one DVD for the first time, though all but 2, The Adventures of Andre & Wall B. and Red's Dream, have been previously paired with a Pixar hit flick.

The Adventures of Andre & Wall B (2 minutes ) is not exactly new, but actually quite the opposite, as it resulted from an early experiment in computer animation from 1984. The same can be said of Red's Dream (4 minutes), a tale from 1987 about a unicycle sitting in the bargain bin of a toy store.

The rest, you're probably already familiar with if you're a serious enough Pixar fan to be considering this collection. Tin Toy (5 minutes long) accompanied Toy Story, Geri's Game (4 minutes) was released with A Bug's Life, the Oscar-nominated Luxo Jr. (2 minutes) came with Toy Story 2, while Mike's New Car (4 minutes) and For the Birds (3 minutes) can be found with Monsters, Inc. Then there's Knick Knack (4 minutes) which went with Finding Nemo, Boundin' (5 minutes) and Jack-Jack Attack (5 minutes), both with The Incredibles, One Man Band (4 minutes) with Cars and Mater and the Ghostlight (7 minutes), both with Cars, and last but not least Lifted (5 minutes), from Ratatouille.

A bounty of enchanting, bite-sized treats guaranteed to delight young and old alike for years to come.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated G
Running time: 54 minutes
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: A short history of the Pixar Shorts, audio commentaries, and more.