Pixar Short Films Collection – Volume 1

Pixar has become somewhat of a fixture around here, as I suspect it has in many homes across the world. For the most part the films have been nothing short of magic. I’m not only talking about the ever improving technological breakthroughs the company seems to have an endless supply of. The films often contain a warmth and friendliness that wear easily like a favorite shirt. They comfort and entertain all at the same time. It’s really a pretty good mix that they ended up at Walt Disney, which did the same thing for decades in hand drawn animation. To date there have been many copies but no equals.

Pixar began as a hardware development company. They were in the business of developing and selling machines to do advanced graphic work. The animation team was a small, often overlooked unit that used the power of Pixar’s machines to create animation shorts mostly intended to demonstrate the stuff’s ability. Soon these shorts became the way the company was identified. Today that’s all they do. It’s great that we’re getting a look at these milestones in the company’s history. Unfortunately there’s not a ton of material here, and most of it has already been released on other Pixar DVD’s.

Still, this is a great little collection. From each short to the next you begin to see the evolution from simple wire frame animation to the complicated renderings of films like Monsters, Inc. and Cars. The shorts range from 2 minutes to a little over 7.

Here are the shorts contained in this DVD: 

The Adventures Of Andre and Wally B: This short was produced before there even was a Pixar. It was developed under the roof of the Empire’s own Lord Lucas as an experiment in CG rendering. The story, as in all of these shorts, is simple: a Loony Tunes style chase between a guy and a bee.

Luxo, Jr.: This might be the most famous of Pixar’s shorts. It was really the first and the baby lamp is part of the Pixar logo. A parent lamp plays ball with an energetic baby lamp. The beginning of the Pixar style is born here. The film also created enough WOW factor to enable the unit to expand.

Red’s Dream: This is likely my least favorite. It’s a little long for the concept. A unicycle and clown have the cycle stealing the show. Of course, the cycle is actually an unwanted toy in a store.

Tin Toy: For anyone who has seen Toy Story, it’s not going to surprise you that it all started here. Not only were some of the ideas first planted, but the short became the first CG short to win an Oscar. A rather unpleasant baby is destructive to his toys, causing one of them to fear for his safety. 

Knick Knack: I used to see this a lot. The Regency Theaters in Tampa used to show this short a lot during the pre-trailer run. The film integrates music, in the form of Bobby Darin, with the animation as a serious of tourist knick knacks come to life. This is not the version shown at that time, but a censored version made to fit the child audience of Finding Nemo. The alluring Florida girl was far more endowed in the original version.

Geri’s Game: This one man chess match also won an Oscar and marked a return to shorts after the company’s focus on feature films.

For The Birds: This is likely the most comedic of the shorts. Pixar has a subtle dark side that wasn’t so much a part of this “birds on a wire” farce. It was likely intended for a few laughs from the kids. It was coupled with Monster’s Inc. at theaters.

Mike’s New Car: This little story using the two main characters from Monsters, Inc was included on the film’s DVD release. Crystal and Goodman provided the voices as Mike gets a new car that’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

Boundin’: This is another one I didn’t care for so much. It was silly and I never found it entertaining. Bud Luckey provides the first Pixar short narration.

Jack Jack Attack: This one’s pretty sweet. It was made for the DVD release of The Incredibles. A babysitter attempts to sit for lovable Jack Jack who can’t help but use his super powers.

One Man Band: This might be the funniest of the Pixar shorts. You first saw it at the theater before Cars. Two one man bands compete for the attention, and the coin, of a little tyke.

Mater and the Ghost Light: Again Pixar created this as a DVD extra using the original voice actor’s from the film Cars. The story has the gang getting a little revenge on Mater who is always trying to scare everybody.

Lifted: This effort appeared in theaters before Ratatouille. A young alien is trying to learn how to use the abduction beam and ends up giving his abductees a wild ride through his bedroom.

Video

All but the first short are presented in some form of wide presentation. The aspect ratios vary. All of the shorts exhibit remarkable sharpness and wonderful contrast. These are digital images reproduced flawlessly in a digital domain. Colors are bright and shiny. I can’t imagine these shorts could have been presented in crisper detail.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is honestly a secondary concern. The sound isn’t what drives most of these shorts. When needed the sound does deliver. Music is great with plenty of dynamic range. The little bit of dialog is always clear. Squeaks and rattles are almost annoyingly accurate. There’s even an occasional sub rumble.

Special Features
Every short carries an engaging and often entertaining audio commentary. These guys have a lot of fun doing what they do, and it shows here. They are also generous in sharing their secrets.

Sesame Street Shorts: These are very short, never over a minute. They were created for the popular educational program to demonstrate such concepts as light/heavy, up/down, and back/front using Luxo, Jr.

The Pixar Shorts – A Short History:  The history of Pixar as told by the folks themselves is the best way to describe this 23 minute feature. The group talks about how the unit went from being the company’s closet animators to eventually controlling it all. The evolution of the animation and the technology created to do these things is explained in good detail. There are also archive clips not seen on DVD before.

Final Thoughts
I’ll admit it. There’s a soft spot in my heart for the gang at Pixar. I can’t draw, and my programming skills wouldn’t match the average 5 year old. Still, sometimes I want to run away and join Pixar like kids used to join the circus. How cool it must be to enjoy your work. Of course, it isn’t so bad watching movies and telling you guys about them either. This Pixar collection, the first in what I hope will be many more, is something to see. Like what, you ask? “Have you ever seen an exploding baby before?”