Any opportunity to place the beloved Toy Story characters into an alien environment that tests their skills and moxie is an opportunity worth pursuing, and Toy Story That Time Forgot, last year’s Christmas-themed TV special, is one such event. While possibly not quite matching the wit and adventure of the previous year’s Toy Story of Terror! special, this new adventure nevertheless offers action and charm in equal measure, introduces some fun new characters, and puts another of its relatively minor characters into the spotlight for a brief moment of glory.
Studio: Disney
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English 2.0 DD, English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD, Other
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: TV-G
Run Time: 22 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, Digital Copy
keep case in a slipcoverDisc Type: BD25 (single layer)
Region: ABC
Release Date: 11/03/2015
MSRP: $14.99
The Production Rating: 4/5
Invited over to her friend Mason’s (R.C. Cope) for a Christmas day playdate, Bonnie (Emily Hahn) packs up Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Trixie (Kristen Schaal), and Christmas ornament Angel Kitty (Emma Hudak) to take with her. Once there, however, Mason is busy with a new video game system, so Bonnie flings her toys into Mason’s room filled with his new Christmas toys which he’s abandoned for the new game system. Among them is a collection of aggressive action figures from a new children’s TV series Battlesaurs who have no idea they’re toys and have established a ruthless colony of warrior-bots led by the despotic Cleric (the special’s director Steve Purcell) who has champion warrior Reptillus Maximus (Kevin McKidd) at the head of his army. Maximus is intrigued by triceratops Trixie who loves being accepted as a dinosaur for a change (Bonnie has always imagined her in other roles), but when Woody and Buzz are captured and sent to the arena to be fodder for slaughter, only Trixie may be able to come to their rescue.
Writer-director Steve Purcell has managed to squeeze an incredible amount of humor and action into less than 22 minutes of screen time. Trixie’s primary desire to be accepted as a dinosaur soon seems secondary to the safety of her friends, and her impassioned plea to Maximus to become the toy he was meant to be is only one of several gently stated themes the show presents during its brief running time. (The new ornament character of Angel Kitty gets to spout several other sweet homilies during the program.) The new creation of the Battlesaurs is another genius Pixar invention, and with the evil Cleric running the show (and loving it) doing all that he can to preserve their current status as masters of their own little universe, there is genuine conflict built into the storytelling that makes the show’s brief running time practically fly by. Funny sight gags with Rex having new robot arms he’s always dreamed of and Woody and Buzz using their wits to survive combat in the arena against the powerful Maximus highlight the special. And, as expected, the patented Pixar charm and heart win out over all obstacles.
While Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are certainly around as Woody and Buzz, once again they become minor characters in these TV specials with the spotlight falling on the relatively secondary character of Trixie sweetly intoned by Kristen Schaal and new creation Maximus voiced expertly Kevin McKidd. McKidd especially steals the show with his bravado and authority and undergoes a lovely transformation in the program’s final sequences. Director Steve Purcell gets to play the bad guy with gleefully evil panache while the familiar Rex of Wallace Shawn is his usual delightful self. Timothy Dalton’s Mr. Pricklepants, Don Rickles’ Mr. Potato Head, and Joan Cusack’s Jessie likewise all score nicely in their brief moments on camera.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
The program’s 1.78:1 widescreen television aspect ratio is faithfully rendered in this 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. All of the attributes of CG animation are brought to the fore in this wonderfully sharp and colorful transfer and at higher resolution than the 720p ABC broadcast. Contrast has been expertly sustained throughout, and colors are always under control, from the bright green of Rex and the purple of The Cleric to the more subtle shades for Trixie and Maximus. The program has been divided into 14 chapters.
Audio Rating: 5/5
The disc offers three English soundtracks: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1, and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround. All are strong, solid tracks with the 7.1 offering, of course, the most sophisticated use of surrounds (perhaps a bit of overkill for a show that barely runs twenty minutes but nonetheless a great treat). There is some welcome directionalized dialogue though most of the dialogue appears in the center channel with great clarity and conciseness. Michael Giacchino’s delightful background score gets a nice spread through the front and rear channels. Split effects are also utilized but with only the brief running time and on a TV budget, there are fewer of them than one would find in a feature film with these characters.
Special Features Rating: 3.5/5
Audio Commentary: writer-director Steve Purcell and story supervisor Derek Thompson have an amiable dialogue about the making of the special with focus especially on ideas that didn’t make it past the writing stage.
Reptillus! (10:51, HD): basically the making-of featurette, writer-director Steve Purcell, story supervisor Derek Thompson, producer Galyn Susman, voice actors Kevin McKidd and Kristen Schaal, and other members of the production team discuss the behind-the-scenes work that went into the special.
Toy Story Goes to Comic-Con (3:39, HD): Purcell, Thompson, and Schaal present clips from the special at 2014 Comic-Con to enthusiastic applause.
“My Unexpected Friend” Karaoke Video (3:59, HD): Kevin McKidd sings the love ballad with subtitled lyrics. There is also the opportunity to play the video without his lead vocal but with the lyrics provided.
Battlesaurs Opening (0:50, HD): the animated opening to the fictional TV series featuring the Battlesaurs characters.
Deleted Scenes (9:25, HD): five deleted scenes which can be played separately or in montage. Director Steve Purcell introduces each clip to explain why it was cut from the production.
Promo Trailers (HD): The Good Dinosaur, Inside Out.
Digital Copy: code sheet for iTunes enclosed in case.
"The Battlesaurs Song"
Overall Rating: 4/5
A delightful Toy Story television special, Toy Story That Time Forgot offers another welcome visit with the beloved creations of the Toy Story universe whetting our appetites mightily for that next feature film sequel. Highly recommended!
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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