Of course we all know and love those Pixar animated classic films, like A Bug’s Life and Monsters, Inc. But did you know that the excellent, multiple Academy Award -winning Pixar short films are also available in the Amazon Instant Video Store? These gorgeous, hilarious, sweet and sometimes poignant shorts are just the ticket to keep kids quiet and content on brief drives to and from summertime events: no more, “Can’t we stay in the car till the movie’s over?!” protests, because every film in these collections is only aabout five minutes long!
Pixar Short Films Collection Vol. 1 (4/5 stars, currently priced at $14.99 to buy in SD, $19.99 to buy in HD)
Includes the shorts that first put Pixar on the map! Full contents listing, from Amazon Top Reviewer Julie Neal:
1. “THE ADVENTURES OF ANDRE AND WALLY B.” (1984, Lucasfilm). After blue humanoid André is awakened in a forest by a pesky bee, he tries to escape. But the bee (named Wally B.) chases after him, and both characters run off screen. Finally, Wally reappears with a bent stinger. Interesting only for its historical value
2. “LUXO JR.” (1986). When a large desklamp watches a smaller, younger desklamp play with a ball, he can’t quite manage to do it himself.
3. “RED’S DREAM” (1987). Propped up in the corner of a bicycle store, Red the unicycle dreams about a better place.
4. “TIN TOY” (1988). When a wind-up one-man-band toy sees just how destructive a baby can be, he does everything he can to flee — until the baby gets hurt.
5. “KNICK KNACK” (1989). A snowglobe snowman wants to join a party of other travel souvenirs in a hot party, but his glass dome gets in his way.
6. “GERI’S GAME” (1997). A man plays a game of chess against himself, ‘becoming’ each player by moving to the other side of the chessboard and taking his glasses on and off.
7. “FOR THE BIRDS” (2001). A group of small birds perched together on a telephone wire reject a larger, awkward-looking bird, and pay the price for it.
8. “MIKE’S NEW CAR” (2002). When Mike (from “Monsters Inc.”) shows Sulley his new six-wheel drive car, everything that can go wrong does.
9. “BOUNDIN'” (2003). A shearing leaves a dancing sheep humiliated until a jackalope passes by and demonstrates that it’s what’s inside that counts.
10. “JACK-JACK ATTACK” (2005). Baby Jack-Jack is thought not to possess the superpowers of his siblings or parents (Mr. and Mrs. Parr of “The Incredibles”) until an outsider is hired to watch him.
11. “ONE MAN BAND” (2006). Two one-man bands vie to win the attention of a young peasant girl.
12. “MATER AND THE GHOSTLIGHT” (2006). A mysterious blue light haunts the “Cars” town of Radiator Springs and its residents.
13. “LIFTED” (2007). A bumbling young alien student tests the patience of his instructor as he attempts to abduct an innocent farmer.
Pixar Short Films Collection Vol. 2 (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $14.99 to buy in SD, $19.99 to buy in HD)
Disney and Pixar present a new collection of 12 short films:
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