Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 1

Over the course of these 13 charming and inventive shorts (literally: the 1984 one-joke “The Adventures of André & Wally B.”—about a robot and a bee—is less than two minutes), viewers witness the evolution of an art form that transformed the animated film. Pixar has enjoyed an artistic and commercially successful run unmatched even by Disney. Three kinds of computer-animated shorts are collected here. The first, and most interesting, are the early works that paved the artistic way for the feature films (such as the wonderful “Tin Toy,” Pixar's first Academy Award-winner, about a frightened toy that tries to flee a destructive baby, which anticipates Toy Story). The second are the shorts that accompanied Pixar features in theatres (“Geri's Game,” “For the Birds,” “Lifted”). The third are the brand-extenders featuring familiar characters from Pixar features in new shorts created as bonuses for DVD releases (including “Mater and the Ghostlight” and the hilariously frantic “Jack-Jack Attack” that fills in a missing piece from The Incredibles). Most of these shorts have already been released on DVD, but it's wonderful to have them all on one disc. DVD extras include audio commentaries (a tad technical), and the half-hour featurette “The Pixar Shorts: A Short History,” which confirms that Pixar must be one of the coolest places to work. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: P. (D. Liebenson)