Pixar Short Films Collection: Vol. 2 Blu-ray (Rental)

Product Description Disney and Pixar present an incredible new collection of 12 short films, featuring multiple Academy Award(R) nominees (Best Short Film, Animated: "Presto," 2008; "Day & Night," 2010; "La Luna," 2011) and a host of family favorites. Join the celebration of imagination with this must-own collection, packed with unforgettable animation, fantastic stories and captivating characters. Plus, enjoy all-new extras that share how Pixar's storied talent got their start -- including student films from acclaimed directors John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter! Amazon.com The artists at the Pixar Studio used their early short films the way Walt Disney's artists used the "Silly Symphonies": to explore the medium of animation and to hone their skills in preparation for their first features, Toy Story and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, respectively. Today, Pixar is the most successful animation studio in the world and they continue to test ideas, techniques, technologies, and artists in short films. "Day & Night," Teddy Newton's clever study of two characters who look alike but act differently, and "Presto," Doug Sweetland's slapstick duel between a fussy magician and his recalcitrant rabbit, recall the great Warner Bros. and MGM cartoons of the '40s and '50s. In contrast, a gentle nostalgia pervades Enrico Casarosa's charming "La Luna," the story of a small boy finding his own way of performing a magical job. All three films earned Oscar nominations. Other shorts bring back characters the artists still enjoy animating: Remy from Ratatouille, Dug from Up, Mater from Cars, and the whole Toy Story gang. The tone and the look of the films vary widely, but they all exhibit a palpable delight in the art of animation and a desire to push the medium in new directions. The bonus features include student films by Oscar-winning directors John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter. It's fun to look for the roots of the great Pixar films in these early works: the turquoise and purple monster in Stanton's "A Story" looks a bit like Sully in Monsters, Inc.; the little boy's room in Lasseter's "Nitemare" anticipates Andy's room in Toy Story. This delightful collection is an all-too-rare family entertainment that an entire family can actually enjoy together. (Rated G: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon (Your Friend the Rat, Presto, Burn-E, Partly Cloudy, Dug's Special Mission, George & A. J., Day & Night, Hawaiian Vacation, Air Mater, Small Fry, Time Travel Mater, La Luna)