Pixar Short Films Collection 1 [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

A great chance to see Pixar shorts both old and new on one disc.

There are two types of shorts here- the 1980s ones (5 of them) from when CG was brand new, computers were less powerful than today's mobile phones and yet Pixar managed to give character and life to some simple objects in a brilliant way. There's an interesting 30-minute documentary which makes you realise that in the 80s animating was so heavily computer-programming and maths based and very far removed from modern CG packages. You can't fail to be impressed. "Luxo" remains an absolute classic, a defining moment in animation.

Then there's the later shorts (1997 and beyond) which are either test pieces, giving animators and directors their first taste of doing their own film, or spin-off shorts relating to their feature film work. These are still great- especially Jack Jack Attack which is just brilliant- but they're not the sheer technical marvel that the 1980s ones were. Some of them are less impressive than their features and very slightly disappointing. It's still great to see them all in one place though.

I recently got this DVD for my birthday, and we all had a great time watching it.

This DVD collection (also on blu-ray) contains all of Pixar's short films from The Adventures of Andre and Wally B (1984) to Lifted (2006). Although many of these shorts have appeared on home video releases of Pixar's feature length films (be it VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray), this DVD is still well worth it because not only is it nice to have them all available in one place, but also to experience Pixar's earlier works such as Tin Toy, Red's Dream and the aforementioned Andre and Wally B. The extras are also worth a look.

My top five:

- Luxo Jnr
- For The Birds
- Tin Toy
- Lifted
- Mike's New Car

If you like Pixar, then this DVD is a must, even if you have most of these already!

This is a charming collection of Pixar short films plus extras like a brief history of Pixar shorts, segments from Sesame Street and audio commentary. The films range from the very basic like Andre & Wally B from the early days, to the sophisticated like One Man Band, a filmette about 2 street musicians competing for a coin from a little girl in a European town square.

My favorites include Tin Toy in which a destructive baby goes on the rampage while the terrified toys cower under a couch and a drummer-boy toy tries to appease the little urchin, the uplifting Boundin' - the story of a sheep that suffered from depression after shearing until a jackalope comes by and brings out spectacular new talents in the sweet animal. This one has great country music and the story is a rhyming poem.

Jack-Jack Attack is the scary tale of a babysitter trying to control a weird baby who has supernatural powers, and in Knick Knack a snowman desperately tries to join the fun in the sun by attempting escape from his snow dome - the music here is especially charming. Another good one is Mater and the Ghostlight, a story of cars and trucks with a great country & western soundtrack.

I also enjoyed For the Birds, a simple story of little bluebirds who were nasty to a bigger, awkward bird and paid for it by losing their feathers, and Lifted, the story of an attempted UFO abduction that didn't quite work out because of the incompetence of the trainee abductor. Those who have seen Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles will probably not be too impressed, but I found the DVD highly entertaining and informative.