Disney/Pixar Collection (Box Set) (DVD)

I've always loved the Pixar films, let's face it - who doesn't have one all time favourite one. And getting all seven currently films for around £50 seemed well worth it!

The films are really well packaged, they manage to fit 12 disks into an 8cm wide box, saving on a whole lot of packaging. They've made it really easy to flick through the disks and choose exactly which one you want to watch. There's even a little pocket where they ...
...a nice little extra. The plastic that the CD trays is made of is not very thick, so is quite easily cracked - however sensible and careful use shouldn't see this product falling apart too easily.

The films in this set are:
Toy Story
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2
Monsters Inc.
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Cars

Since you can find much more detailed overviews of these films elsewhere ... more

I've always loved the Pixar films, let's face it - who doesn't have one all time favourite one. And getting all seven currently films for around £50 seemed well worth it!

The films are really well packaged, they manage to fit 12 disks into an 8cm wide box, saving on a whole lot of packaging. They've made it really easy to flick through the disks and choose exactly which one you want to watch. There's even a little pocket where they put some postcard sized images from the films, which is a nice little extra. The plastic that the CD trays is made of is not very thick, so is quite easily cracked - however sensible and careful use shouldn't see this product falling apart too easily.

The films in this set are:
Toy Story
A Bug's Life
Toy Story 2
Monsters Inc.
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Cars

Since you can find much more detailed overviews of these films elsewhere I will only record a short amount about each.
Toy story :
Rated as 'PG'
Running Time: '87 mins'
Is an excellent film for young children (and those of us not so young too). It's based around the idea that toys are alive (not scary alive - just friendly alive). We meet Woody and Buzz (the two main toys) and follow their adventures and rivalries. The 'baddie' in this film is Spike, and whilst seeming quite scary he shouldn't pose a problem for young children watching it on their own. That said, you'll be hard pushed to actually leave the room once the film's on as, like all Pixar movies, there's something to pleases everyone. The voice acting is first class and the animation is fantastic! A definite five-star film.
This collection features the Toy Story film as a '10th Anniversary Edition' this means that there are loads of extra features (a whole other disk of them). Being honest I can't see many people watching disk 2 more than once - but it's the kind of thing that it's nice to have seen.
A Bug's Life:
Rated: 'U'
Running Time: '93 mins'
This is an amusing tale of friendship, hardship and 'being different'. Appeals to lots of children (and adults) who've ever felt that they 'didn't quite fit in'. Flik (an ant) is an inventor by nature, and amazingly clumsy. He's forced to leave on a suicide mission to find 'Warrior Bugs'. After an amusing, yet quite believable misunderstanding he brings back Circus Bugs - here we meet some hilarious characters such as Francis the MALE Ladybird and Heimlich the incredibly fat caterpillar. When the rest of the colony discover that he's brought back Circus Bugs it's all down to Flik to convince them his plan is right and to save the day. Perhaps not so well known as Toy Story it has some killer lines and some really beautiful artwork in it. I promise you will never look at ants in quite the same way again! Even the credits are worth watching!
A five-star film.
This film also comes with a disk 2 packed with special features commentaries and amusing little animations, much like the Toy Story Disk 2, you probably won't watch it too much, but it's nice to have the complete set.
Toy Story 2:
Rated: 'U'
Running Time: '88 mins'
This story introduces a number of new characters to the original Toy Story cast. Our main newcomer is Jessie the Cow-girl. The story centres around Woody being 'toynapped' and stolen by a fat toy store owner. Woody then meets his fellow cast members from 'Woody's Roundup'; these are all toys who have not been played with in years (if at all) and Woody must make the decision to save them (by going to a museum) to return to Andy. Whilst he's deliberating Buzz is leading a rescue attempt, where he meets and fights with Emperor Zurg. Some young children may actually find Woody being stolen quite upsetting, so it may be best to watch it with your child first, however, like all Pixar films everything turns out alright in the end! Toy Story 2 continues a funny idea, however like most sequels it's not as good as the original. The musical score lets it down slightly in many places, over all a four-star film.
This comes with a second disk filled to bursting with extras and bonus material, which is always good fun!
Monsters, Inc.:
Rated: 'U'
Running Time: '88 mins'
Possibly one of the best films ever made! Set in Monseropolis, a city of monsters powered by the screams of young children, it is a tale about friendship, trust and standing-up for what you believe in. Sully and Mike work at Monsters, Inc producing scream power for the city, however when Sully accidentally releases a child (apparently the most deadly thing to all monsters) into the city life becomes one big battle to protect themselves and the girl (named Boo). They uncover a secret evil plot, foil it and make Monsteropolis a better place. The animation in this film is beyond amazing, each monster looks tactile and the sounds are fabulous. This film is so funny that you can watch it time, after time, after time and still see new things. A stunning film that easily gets five-stars! The only annoying part is how long the menu takes to load for this disk!
Only one disk here, but that's probably enough featuring a 'find the pieces of Boo's door game' and several 'cut scenes'.
Finding Nemo:
Rating: 'U'
Running Time: '96 mins'
When Nemo goes missing his father, Marlin, goes into a panic and must 'Find Nemo', he enlists the help of a memory-deprived fish called Dory. Though annoying she's actually quite loveable. On their way to rescue Nemo they traverse many difficult situations including coming head-to-head with a shark. This film can feel a little bit 'preachy' at times but the colourful characters keep it moving and the jokes keep you laughing. It's an amusing film, with amazing undersea graphics - however it does not stand up to the continued watching that Monsters, Inc or Toy Story does. Over all a four-star film.
This boxed set gives you an extra disk of bonus features for Finding Nemo, I personally didn't enjoy them as much as the others - but then, I didn't enjoy Finding Nemo as much as the other films either!
The Incredibles:
Rating: 'U'
Running Time: '110 mins'
Wow. That's all I can say. Wow and hahah! This film is amazing! Based around two married ex-superheros and their superpowered family, this film sees normal nuances of family life exposed and mocked. I know I cannot write a review of this film that would do it justice. The voice acting in it is beautifully chosen (especially 'E') and the situations (such as Mr. Incredible denting his car) seem all too real. You can watch this film as many times as you like and still laugh at all the jokes. Children will dote on it and adults will revel in it - it's a well written and well constructed piece of animation. This film is easily awarded with five-stars.
The extras on disk 2 are well worth watching, at least once. They're amusing and often provide an interesting insight to the film.
Cars:
Rating: 'PG'
Running Time: '112 mins'
The newest of the Pixar bunch and probably the shiniest too. Here we follow a story that's more about maturing and respect than it is about racing! Lightning McQueen, race car and all time jerk, manages to get lost on his way to the big race, as he speeds across the country looking for the racetrack he ends up trashing the road in Radiator Springs. He's charged and forced to fix it. He bucks against this and tries to cheat his way out of it every time, but eventually he grows up a bit and with the aid of his love interest, Sally, he realises that there is much more to life than racing along at full speed. There are a lot of twists and turns to this film, which helps to keep your interest (even if you hate cars and racing). This film comes with many of the little quirks that we have come to love from Pixar, silly credits, cheesiness and a good dose of morals. This is a good fun family film, five-stars.
This disk has some bonus features on it, which are good for a quick giggle. Young girls may feel instantly opposed to the film, however if they perserver they'll find something to laugh at.

General notes:
All the films have subtitles and various customisable options for sound. All the disks have reasonable copy protection (however The Incredibles and Cars have very good copy protection). The disks are in the Dual Layer Format and support Dolby Digital 5.1 playing. 

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