Toy Story that Time Forgot - Blu-ray Review

Title: Toy Story that Time Forgot

Movie: :3.5stars:
Video: :4.5stars:
Audio: :4.5stars:
Extras: :3stars:

HTS Overall Score:83




Summary
“Toy Story” is still going after 20 years. Yes, you read that right. 20…years… I was just a teenager when the first “Toy Story” came out, and its heavy use of CGI was revolutionary to the industry. When “Toy Story 2” came out we were all worried about the story suffering due to the fact that Pixar wasn’t exactly known for sequels. After the second being BETTER than the first, I was a little more lenient to the 3rd movie in the franchise, only to be blown away how close in quality it came to the first two. To put it mildly, Pixar has struck pay dirt with the franchise, and they show no signs of slowing down.

It’s Christmas time again, and Buzz (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the crowd are all having a fun time with their new owner, Bonnie. Since Andy has grown up, they have made new toy friends and even more toys have been added to the inner circle. Trixie (Kristen Schaal) the dinosaur is having some problems this year. She’s a little frustrated that Bonnie has been dressing her up as something OTHER than a dinosaur during their playtimes, and it’s a bit humiliating for her. When the toys go to Bonnie’s friend Mason’s house, they run into a group of toys that are running out of control.

Mason is your average young kid in today’s modern world. Instead of playing with his tons and tons of Battlesaur toys that he got for Christmas a couple days ago, he’s acquiesced to the allure of his new gaming console. The only problem is that when the boy is stuck in front of the TV, his toys are allowed to get a bit out of control. Stumbling into his playroom, Trixie, Buzz, Woody and Rex (Wallace Shawn) stumble upon the huge cadre of Battlesaurs. Captured by the evil Ray-Gon (Jonathon Kidd), the group are forced to battle to the death against the infamous Reptillus Maximus (Kevin McKidd). The only thing is, the other Battlesaurs don’t know that they are TOYS, and that there is a whole new life ahead of them besides the epic conquest foisted upon them by Ray-Gon and his goons.


“Toy Story that Time Forgot” is a fun little adventure that’s meant to teach people two things. One…. that it’s ok to be something different than what you think you’re destined to be. Just because you’re not a fierce dinosaur, or your “owner” doesn’t play with you the way that you wanted doesn’t mean that you don’t have a purpose. The second aspect of the movie deals with the modern babysitter that is video games. Now don’t think that I’m bashing video games, I love them to death and have a lot of fun even as an adult. However, too many kids get sucked into the world of video games at such a young age that they forgo the simple pleasure of playing with your physical toys and exercise their growing and formative years doing something creative. There’s a time and a place for everything, and that means there is a time and place for imaginative creativity with some toys as well as blasting space aliens on the newest iteration of the Xbox or Playstation.




Rating:

Rated TV-G for General Audiences



Video :4.5stars:
Even though this is just a basic TV special, Disney/Pixar has done an incredible job with the digital animation that is so famous in the “Toy Story” universe. Colors are bright and richly saturated, showing all sorts of primaries and other shades in rainbow. Textures are nice and detailed, with wonderful animation for the toys themselves. Trixie and Rex show some great stippling on their hide, and the Battlesaurs’ weaponry is complex and finely detailed. I didn’t notice any banding or other artifacting on the disc, and it really shouldn’t have any with only a 22 minute runtime. That disc has PLENTY of room to breathe. Blacks are deep and inky, with no crush or other issues with the levels. The image is just this short of 100% perfect, and that’s only because it doesn’t have the budget that multi hundred million dollar blockbuster like “Toy Story 3” would have.







Audio :4.5stars:
“Toy Story that Time Forgot” has quite the multitude of audio options. As well as the usual assortment of foreign lossy audio tracks, the little short comes with a 7.1 DTS-HD MA lossless track, a 5.1 DTS-HD Hi Res audio track as well as 2.0 Dolby Digital. The lossless is the main feature that we’ll review today and it is superb. Dialog is crisp and clean, with no distortions or fluctuations to hear. Dynamic range is quite strong, with vocals rising up to thundering LFE and crashing surrounds in the Battlelsaur ring. Bass isn’t constant, but it IS quite prevalent as you hear Rex smashing through a line of Battlesaurs, or the whoop whoop of the heavy fan blade that Woody and Buzz are about to be thrown into. Surrounds are active with the sounds of battle, or just the clinking and clacking of little toys being tipped over.





Extras :3stars:

• Reptillus!
• Toy Story Goes to Comic-Con
• Karaoke: My Unexpected Friend
• Battlesaurs -- Animated Opening
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary
• Sneak Peaks






Overall: :4stars:

“Toy Story” never fails to make a grown man shed a few tears, that’s for sure. It’s a heartfelt series that doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon (not with the announcement of “Toy Story 4”), and I’m rather glad of it. Even these TV specials for the franchise work better than your average animated movie. “Toy Story that Time Forgot” is the weakest in the franchise, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t enjoyable at all. It just wasn’t AS fun as “Toy Story of Terror” or the original 3 movies to date. Audio and video are spectacular, as usual, and there’s a decent array of extras to enjoy. For a $10 ish price point, it’s not a bad buy at all. Recommended.


Additional Information:

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Kristen Schaal
Directed by: Steve Purcell
Written by: Steve Purcell
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: ENGLISH: DTS-HD MA 7.1, English DTS-HD HR 5.1, French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DD 2.0
Studio: Pixar/Disney
Rated: TV-G
Runtime: 22 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 3rd, 2015



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