Toon Talk: The Toys Are Back!

Just in time for their upcoming third big screen adventure, Buzz and Woody and all the gang from Andy's room are making their Blu-ray debuts this week with new Special Editions of the computer animated classics Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

As expected, the toys look mighty mint in high definition.  But that's not all, as there are some fresh surprises in these shiny new toy boxes, not the least of which is some exclusive previews of Toy Story 3, due in theaters June 18.  Director Lee Unkrich takes you behind the scenes of this long awaited "threequel", and introduces you to several new toys on the block, including Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty), Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) and Barbie beau Ken (Michael Keaton).

Other new bonus features include footage from Buzz Lightyear's actual mission to the real International Space Station and his debut as a balloon at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, several "Studio Stories" shorts (animated anecdotes of life at Pixar) and a very special tribute to the late Disney and Pixar story artist Joe Ranft.

Click the following for my original Toon Talk reviews of Toy Story and Toy Story 2.

Toon Talk: Of Frogs and Fireflies

Fresh off of its theatrical run and three Academy Award nominations, Disney’s The Princess and the Frog is poised to become the hit it deserves to be with its debut on Disney Blu-ray and DVD this week.

When The Princess and the Frog was released just three months ago, it was met with critical acclaim (including from me) that hailed it as a worthy addition to Disney’s long line of animated classics. However, in the crowded holiday movie marketplace, this Princess never lived up to its full box office potential. But now that it has been released to home video, those families who were too busy with December festivities will have the chance to discover it for themselves ...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of the Princess and the Frog Blu-ray at LaughingPlace.com.

Toon Talk: Through a Looking Glass Darkly

When he first sent a certain young girl down a certain rabbit hole 145 years ago, it is unlikely that author Lewis Carroll had any idea of the longevity of his fantastical creation known as Alice in Wonderland. From movies to stage to television to theme parks to comic books to video games, Alice and the bizarre denizens of Wonderland have endured many, many incarnations over the decades, all of varying degrees of quality and arguably none as iconic as its original literary form.

Director Tim Burton, seemingly a perfect fit for the material, has taken the latest crack at breathing new life into Carroll’s classic creations and the results are, like a lot of his work, mixed. On the one hand, his take on Alice (in theaters now) is a visual treat overflowing with his usual twisty whimsicalness and ironic sense of the absurd. But on the other hand, it has a frustrating lack of focus, characterized by his penchant to be a little too wrapped up in putting his unique imagination on display. If anything, this film’s computer generated landscapes and digitally enhanced characters (plus the added gimmick of 3-D) make this even more obvious.

Promisingly enough, Burton’s Alice is not a direct adaptation of the oft-told tale, but more of a sequel of sorts, a continuation (penned by Beauty and the Beast screenwriter Linda Woolverton) of what would happen if an older Alice returned to Wonderland. Now on the cusp of adulthood, we find our heroine (played by the lovely newcomer Mia Wasikowska) about to be married off to a rich snoot she doesn’t like, let alone love. To escape, she retreats into her childhood fantasies, namely a longtime recurring dream where she visits a fantastic land inhabited by all sorts of curiouser and curiouser beings, from mad hatters to disappearing cats to talking rabbits.

When the latter starts appearing in her reality, Alice once again follows him through the portal to Wonderland, and her adventures there begin again, as she curiously has no memory of ever being there before ...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Alice in Wonderland at LaughingPlace.com.