Monsters Inc: The Essential Guide

Here's another "Essential Guide" book (the last one! If you're an avid reader of mine, you're probably sick of these ). 

These books always chock-full of lots of fun info about characters, plot points, props, fun trivia ("Did you know?" facts), quotes, stats and much more! They are definitely geared more to a younger crowed, but I still say they're great for learning so many simple things about the films that you might not get from just watching them. They're just as fun for adults, or at least I speak for myself.

This book is hardcover and has 64 quality, insightful, colorful pages.

 

Something that I thought was interesting, were some of the "tidbits" that were inconsistent with the now-known back story of Mike and Sulley as seen in Monsters University (this book, of course, was released long before the prequel).

For example, Mike and Sulley's background as friends below states that they met in kindergarten (which is similar to what the original idea was for the beginning of Monsters University, but we now know why it was cut). It would be nice to have an updated version of this book that connects more to the story of MU, but the inconsistencies are very few.

 

There are also lots of "fun facts" found in this book that I thought were very interesting. Did you know that Boo's room is a "level 2" which means her parents' room is near by and that they have a dog? Did you know that there are 120 scare floors in the Monsters Inc. factory (each equipped with 13 door stations), meaning that 1,560 scarers can scare at the same time? This explains why many of the monsters in MU, who we know end up working at Monsters Inc., are not seen in the original film.

If you're a Monsters Inc. fan and want to learn even more about the monster world (apart from what we know from the films), I definitely recommend picking this book up. You can snag it on Amazon or eBay using the link below:

Monsters Inc: The Essential Guide Book

Toy Story: Adult Alien Tee (The Chosen One)

Before our Disney World vacation this weekend, I wanted to get a few new Pixar shirts to wear during the trip. Thanks to my parents, for Easter I got this great new Toy Story Alien "The Chosen One" shirt from the Disney Store! This will be fun to wear, especially at Hollywood Studios when I hit up "Pixar Place" and Toy Story Mania.

This has a really cute and fun design, especially if you're a big Toy Story fan like me. It's comfortable and fits well, but is not "fitted" per se. Like most Disney Store shirts, it's a little "boxy" but I don't mind because of how fun it is.

If you want to snag this shirt before it goes out of stock, head over to the Disney Store or the Disney Store's website to purchase. You can also find lots of new and exciting Pixar merch that has been released in the last few weeks.

I definitely recommend this shirt and the "Pixar Pals" shirt I posted a few days back. Thanks for dropping by the blog today and please let me know if you have any questions. You can contact me using the page above or leave a comment below.

Cars: Gold Mia & Tia

Today's blog post features a couple of Lightning Mcqueen's biggest fans...Mia and Tia with gold paint jobs (as seen in the original Cars)! Mia and Tia are seen throughout the film, but specifically are seen as gold cars during Mcqueen's Dinoco "fantasy" and Mcqueen's Dinoco "nightmare."

 

These cars are 1:55 scale in size from Mattel and were released in this 3-pack with "Bling Bling" Mcqueen (which I'll be showing later, when I post all of the Lightning Mcqueen diecast cars during an upcoming week).

They were released in the "World of Cars" series in this packaging, but also had a different packaging as well.

On the back on the package (seen below) you can see the rare, lesser known "Dirt Track" Doc Hudson who was only available briefly in the 3-pack shown. This Doc Hudson has red hubcaps from the scene when Lightning first sees him out at Willy's Butte practicing his old dirt racing skills.  

These are a great and welcome addition to my Pixar Cars collection and I wanted to give another big thanks and shout out to my wife Brita for including these in my Easter basket this year.

You can pick these up on eBay using the link below if you're interested in picking these up: 

Cars: Gold Mia and Tia

Monsters University: Funko Pop

Another fantastic Easter basket gift (thanks to my Brita)...a couple of the Monsters University POP vinyl figures from Funko!

If you've followed my blog and previous posts, you know that I really love this whole stylized vinyl craze going on (such as Vinylmations, these POP figures from Funko, etc.). These are some of the last ones I've needed for a while to complete my "Funko" Pixar collection. The last one I need now is the MU Randy, which I have a feeling will be coming very soon with my birthday coming up next month.

If you've seen the Monsters Inc. Funkos, you've probably noticed these are very similar to the original Mike and Sulley. Sulley is the same exact sculpt with an added OK (Oozma Kappa) shirt and Mike is the same body and legs sculpt but with an added MU hat, books and a waving arm.

As with all the Funko POP figures, these look great on display for adult collectors but are also solid enough for young kids to play with as well. They're really great for Pixar/Disney fans of all ages!

In addition to these, POP Funko also had an exclusive metallic release at the San Diego Comic-Con last year.

You can pick these up on Amazon, or on eBay using the link below:

Monsters University: Pop Funko

Check out more of my Pixar Funko POP collection by using the label to the right. Thanks for stopping by the blog today and be sure to check back daily for more!

UPDATE 6/27/14-

For my birthday last month (in fact a month ago today!), my wife helped me complete my Monsters University POP Funko collection by hooking me up with Randall (Randy) Boggs!

This is yet another fun design from Funko and is a most welcome addition to my collection. The Mike and Sulley were also fun to get, but their main sculpts had been seen before with the original Monsters Inc. Funkos. This one is neat because it's the first Randall Funko has made. I especially like the glasses, the detail of the ROR jacket and the colors in the tail.

Together at last.

Toy Story: PEZ- PAGE UPDATE-Pizza Planet Alien

Hey everyone! Today's post is a page update to my Toy Story PEZ post from last August. PEZ just released this new 2014 Pizza Planet Alien character so definitely head over to the original post for more details!

Presto: Alec Azam Plush

Presto was Pixar's 2008 theatrical short film, released in front of Wall-E. With its fast paced story, slapstick action and clever humor (not to mention the adorable bunny, Alec), this has got to be one of the most hilarious and one of my personal favorites of the Pixar shorts. 

In honor of the short, the Pixar Studios Store and the Disney Store (for a brief time) released this amazing Alec Azam plush back in 2008. Alec is very well made and detailed, standing at 25 inches tall.
 

He also includes a tag (too cool to remove) featuring the poster seen at the end of the short. In addition, the tag opens up to reveal a still from the film.

I always love getting products with the "Pixar Short Films" logo on them because they're so few and far between! It's a rare treat.

 Once again, I have to give a huge thanks to my wife for this amazing Easter surprise!
 

This is one out of seven "short films plush" that I've been lucky enough to own. The other ones are the Gopher from Boudin' , Stu from Lifted, Bambino from La Luna, Bird from For the Birds and the Jackalope/lamb 2-pack from Boundin'

This plush is very difficult to find and when it does show up on eBay, it sells between $75-$100. Since it's from the Pixar Studio's store, it's one of my most rare and prized pieces in my collection! I can't wait to put it on display.

Currently there is one on eBay if you're interested in this plush (but hurry! It won't be there for long). It's selling for $99.95 (with $8.75 shipping unfortunately). For this and future listings, use the eBay link below to support this site:

Presto: Alec Azam Plush

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope you continue to come back daily and enjoy the site. Much more to come! 

Ratatouille: Disney Store Puzzle

 When I was little, I loved puzzles. I still remember being on the floor for hours putting together all sorts of puzzles-and I was always pretty good at them too!

When I saw this 108 piece Ratatouille puzzle from the Disney Store, I thought it would be a perfect addition to my Pixar collection. I also realized that I've never had any Pixar related puzzles. One of the main reasons this particular one caught my eye to purchase was because 1. I hadn't ever seen it before (it's a pretty rare item) and 2. because of the "wine bottle" presentation of the packaging. Of course I also thought the image of the final, put together puzzle was cute as well.

If you're wondering how the heck these pieces fit out of the "bottle", there's actually a plug on the bottom that comes out so you can easily remove the pieces. Don't worry, you don't have to wreck the bottle getting the puzzle out, ha!

This is a really great item. It's fun, colorful and is great for play or display. Also, the material is plastic, not glass, if you were wondering. Still, very good quality and very sturdy. The hope is that my kids will enjoy this someday-maybe they'll enjoy Pixar and puzzles as much as me when I was little!

 

This was released at the Disney Store back in 2007 with the film's release in theaters so, of course, it is long gone and is no longer available. It's a pretty hard to find item and only shows up on eBay one in a while (I've seen them sell anywhere from $15-$40), but keep checking often if you're interested in tracking this down!

A big THANK YOU to my wife Brita-she was able to get me this for Easter! I'm very excited to have it.

Thanks for dropping by today and, if you like what you see, be sure to check back daily for more items from my Pixar collection!

Monsters Inc: Mike & Sulley Itty Bittys

Here's a couple of relatively new releases found exclusively at Hallmark stores...Mike and Sulley "Itty Bittys"! These are extremely cute and stylized mini bean bag plush that stand about 3-4 inches high. 

Last week I saw these online and immediately added them to my birthday list. I thought they were just too adorable to pass up and thought my kids would love them someday. Lo and behold though, my mom included them in my Easter package she sent me! I never even told her about them. She just saw them at Hallmark when she was picking up a card and thought that I would like them. She's always been such a very intuitive present getter! It was such a fun and exciting surprise to see them included with my gifts and I just wanted to give a big thanks to my parents for being so awesome. 

If you're an overall Disney fan, be sure to check out the other Itty Bittys at Hallmark. There are a lot of fun characters (such as Disney princesses, super heroes, classic Disney and Wizard of Oz), but these are the only Pixar related ones so far. I'm hoping they make some more! A Buzz and Woody perhaps? Or a Nemo and Dory? Who would you like to see in this line of Itty Bittys?

You can pick these up at Hallmark stores, on their website (using the link above) or support this site by using this eBay link: Monsters Inc.- Itty Bittys

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog. If you're new here, welcome! Please take time to explore my collection and enjoy. Also, you can contact me if you have any questions, comments or suggestions. 

Pixar Collection: Pixar Pals T-Shirt

Just released from the Disney Store is this fantastic "Pixar Pals" T-Shirt featuring some of your favorite Pixar characters- Sulley, Mr. Incredible, Buzz Lightyear and Nemo. This is part of the current line going on at the Disney Store called, simply, the "Disney/Pixar Collection."

As soon as I saw this shirt, I knew I had to add it to my collection. It has such a fun, minimal and stylized design that I love and thought it would be perfect for our upcoming Disney World trip.

 

 This is a fun, colorful, eye catching and very soft (a 50/50 cotton/poly mix material) shirt. This may not be everyone's style, but if you dig the design, I recommend snagging this at the Disney Store before it sells out. These types of shirts sometimes get hard to find after their gone at the store. 

Also, there's a current deal at the Disney Store where if you buy two adult graphic Ts, you get them for $15 each. 

A big thanks to my awesome parents who sent this as part of my "Easter basket" package this past weekend. I love it!

Cars: Mater and the Easter Buggy Book

Here we have a very fun and festive item that was in my Easter basket yesterday...Mater and the Easter Buggy! This is a very cute and simple story from the world of Cars and, though it's meant for young kids, I enjoyed the heart of it and the details throughout— kind of like Pixar's films themselves!

This book can be purchased as an Amazon Kindle digital edition or, as seen here, a quality hardcover edition. 

 

Judging by Lightning Mcqueen's paint job and the fact that he still has his sticker headlights, this story takes place in between the two Cars films (but closer to Cars 2, hence the piston cup stickers).

 

I just really loved the "car-rification" of the Easter holiday in this story; for example having "Easter tires" instead of Easter baskets (and what they were filled with) and the "Easter Buggy" rather than the Easter Bunny.

Thanks so much to my wife Brita for including this festive treat in my basket! I've really enjoyed it and look forward to reading it to my kids someday around the Easter holiday. 

You can purchase the Kindle or Hardcover editions on Amazon or on eBay using the link below: 

 Cars: Mater and the Easter Buggy Book

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all had a fun and safe holiday yesterday. Check back right here this week for more of my Pixar related Easter presents now added to my collection!