Disney·Pixar Luca— Now on Blu-Ray, 4K & DVD!

Hey everyone! Sorry things have been a bit quiet here on the blog. I've been putting all my efforts into growing my YouTube channel and other social media platforms, so that means I've had to cut back here a little bit. Don't worry, all the items in my latest video reviews will also get a traditional blog post right here as well (I have many drafts saved), it's just that there aren't enough hours in the day! Stay tuned though, I have not stopped blogging and things will hopefully be back to more regular posts here again soon. In the meantime, be sure to check out my Instagram and YouTube channel for all the latest items in my collection. 

Tonight I just wanted to post a quick reminder (if you missed it) that Luca is now on Blu-Ray/DVD/4K and Digital as of last Tuesday (August 3rd)! I won't be doing a full review this time due to time restraints, but I definitely wanted to let you know it's available to purchase and document it here as part of my Pixar collection. I know it's a little anticlimactic (since it's been available on Disney+ for months now), but I always get Pixar film hard copies—I'm traditional like that! Plus I can't pass up all the bonus content that comes with the discs that isn't included on Disney+. Who else is the same way?

Let me know your comments down below and I'll see you right here again real soon!

Pixar Soul McDonald's Happy Meal Toys

 

In mid-December just this past year, McDonald's released six Pixar Soul inspired Happy Meal toys to promote the film! I don't believe this set got very much attention when it was available, so I'm excited to share more details on it today in case you missed it. This is essentially a continuation of McDonald's "25 years of Pixar" assortment that was released last summer, as they're the same plush/bag clip style toy—in fact, Joe Gardner is the same exact toy (a straight up repack) as the one that came out last summer. Since I already had Joe, I didn't re-buy him here.

This collection includes: Newb (#1), Mr. Mittens (#2), 22 (#3), Joe Gardner (#4), Terry (#5) and Moonwind (#6). If you didn't know, just a general FYI, you can actually buy the toys on their own without a Happy Meal for $1.60 each. I didn't go on the hunt this time though and ended up just buying them on eBay for a really good price (I think I ended up paying only around $10 for the five I needed; it was worth it so I didn't have to drive around to countless McDonalds every week).

Just like last year, some of the characters have plastic bag clips (Newb, 22 and Terry) and some have a double sided feature without a clip (Joe, Moonwind and Mr. Mittens—one side is their living form and the other is their soul form; reverse sides below). I love the shiny and sparkly iridescent fabric on all the soul characters! They have both printed and embroidered features and measure about 4"-5.5" tall.

And here's the back sides of the bag clip characters. Again, love the colors.

While I don't think these would appeal much to very young kids (not much play value), elementary school kids and older (including adult fans) will enjoy displaying them and/or clipping them to their school and vacation backpacks (or really anything; handbags, luggage, car's rear view mirror, etc...). Overall I think they're really cute and really dig the designs! If you're a Soul fan, these might be right up your alley since there isn't too much merch out there.

What are your thoughts? Did you collect the whole set as well? Or maybe just a few of your favorites? I'd love to know about your experience with these! Shout it out in the comment section below and be sure to stay tuned for more from my Pixar collection right here soon.

REMINDER—Soul is also now on Blu-Ray/DVD/4K and Digital! I won't be doing a full review this time, but I definitely wanted to let you know it's available to purchase (as of this past Tuesday, the 23rd) and document it here as part of my collection.

My In-Depth Coco Blu-Ray Review

Yesterday (February 27th) was a big day for Pixar and Coco fans! Not only was the film released on DVD/Blu-Ray and 4K Ultra HD, but it was also declared "Coco Day" in Los Angeles by L.A. City Council member Gil Cedillo. A celebration of the film and its home video release was held at the Los Angeles City Hall yesterday morning with some of the cast and filmmakers (which you can read about HERE). Today I'm giving you my full review of the Blu-Ray and what to expect from all the fabulous bonus content!

I know the digital release has been available to own since February 13th, but since I'm a Blu-Ray collector (yup, I still prefer discs—call me old school), I was fine with holding off and waiting the extra two weeks to get my physical copy. Today I'm diving into the standard DVD+ Blu-Ray+Digital HD Combo Pack (now called "Multi-Screen Edition"), which I pre-ordered at the Disney Store (and got a free lithograph set). I know there are other releases out there as well, such as the mentioned 4K release, the Target edition with included storybook and the Best Buy SteelBook edition, but all the special features are the same across the board this time around (which always makes things easier).

I'm not gonna waste any time here—Let's get right to it!

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL (A CLOSER LOOK) DISC 1 "FEATURE"-

•  Audio Commentary (running time 1:44:59 *length of film*)— Director Lee Unkrich, co-director Adrian Molina and producer Darla K. Anderson have an in depth discussion about the film! I haven't had time to listen to the entire commentary quite yet, but what I've heard is as interesting as ever (expect talk of Easter eggs ;). Audio commentaries are my favorite part of any Pixar home video release, so I was anticipating this one a ton.

• Welcome to the Fiesta with optional audio commentary (2:19)—This was really cool to see included here since this clip was actually the very first test animation for Coco ever revealed to an audience outside of Pixar. They call it a diorama, which is essentially a proof of concept. It was basically them exploring what this world would look like, the tone of it and how the characters would look and move. It was originally shown during the 2015 D23 Expo's Animation Panel and I was lucky enough to have been there. I've had a memory of it over the last few years, but it was growing distant (since, in the moment, it came and went so fast). It was fun to watch it again now that I've seen the final film. 

• Mi Familia (9:59)— This feature dives deep into the meaning of family, the importance of rules and traditions and how that all tied into the development of Miguel's family in Coco through the filmmakers' personal experiences and relationships. It's really sweet and insightful—it was especially fun to learn of some traditional aspects of Mexican families that were implemented into the film. 

• Dante (6:15)—Here the crew of Coco discuses the unique Mexican breed of dog (Xoloitzcuintli, or “Xolo” dog) that inspired Dante. This one I was a little less interested in, but it's interesting stuff nonetheless and sheds some light on yet another Mexican tradition brought to life in Coco.

• How to Draw a Skeleton (3:17)— This one was fun for me to watch since it features my good friend Danny Arriaga, who was the character art director on Coco. Watching this was like getting to hang out with him for a couple minutes again, so that was pretty special. Though I have no drawing abilities whatsoever, I might have to give drawing his style of skeleton a try now...

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVES (Access these features when you redeem the included digital copy of the film)-

• "Remember Me" Music Video (2:51)— A nicely shot music video of the Coco end credits version of "Remember Me", preformed by Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade. This is the same video was officially uploaded on YouTube days before the film's theatrical release (seen HERE). 

• The Characters of Coco (8:20)— Director Lee Unkrich, co-director Adrian Molina and producer Darla K. Anderson give you an exclusive peek at the Coco concept art gallery found on the second floor of the Steve Job's building at Pixar Studios. For me, this was surreal to watch since I was just there in that location getting a private tour of the same gallery back in November. It's still crazy to me that that experience actually happened! Here the filmmakers give you insights into the main characters and their development—including highlighting many of the voice actors (it's nice to able to put faces to names/voices). This is a must watch. 

 DISC 2 "BONUS"-

• The Music of Coco (13:12)—This is an amazing featurette on the importance of music in Coco and how the filmmaking team researched/gathered different styles of authentic Mexican music (plus the research that went into accurately animating it). I'll sum up this documentary with a quote from Camilo Lara (Cultural Music Consultant for Coco): "To try to define the heart of Mexican folk music is very tough. It must be as tough as saying why tacos taste so good in Mexico." Such a good one. 😂

• The Real Guitar (3:06)—This is a nice little mini featurette (slow moving, but creatively shot/edited) showing the creation of Ernesto's iconic guitar in real life, as well as insights from one the designers.

• A Thousand Pictures a Day (20:04)—This is the longest documentary (which I appreciated). Essentially a travelogue, this one covers the painstaking process of research done during the development of Coco in order to represent Mexican culture in the most authentic and respectable way possible. It's so touching to see the real life inspiration behind what you see in the final film (humble families of potters, shoemakers, etc. who have such a love for each other; plus seeing their villages, their ofrendas and more). One of my favorite parts was seeing the real artisans behind actual alebrijes and papel picado banners.

• You Got the Part! (2:12)—A cute little clip of actor Anthony Gonzalez's reaction when it was announced to him that he officially got the part of Coco's lead character Miguel. What an amazing accomplishment! An opportunity of a lifetime.

• How to Make a Papel Picado (2:18)—This is a very quick tutorial with Pixar Visual Development Artist Ana Ramirez (illustrator of the Coco inspired book Miguel and the Grand Harmony) on how to make a simple papel picado banner. I feel like after watching this though, mine would still not come out so good.

• Paths to Pixar: Coco (11:44)—As part of the ongoing "Paths to Pixar" series (which dates back to The Incredibles home video release I believe), here the filmmakers (artists, animators, writers, producers, etc.) discus openly about their personal journeys to joining the Pixar family, as well as Mexican representation in film. As someone still trying to figure out where my life is headed career-wise, it's nice to be able to relate to other artists who have tried, failed and changed direction numerous times before finding their place. It's inspiring to hear each and every story and to see how each person's hard work and passion has paid off.

• Fashion Through the Ages (8:37)—Another amazing short documentary, this time all about the fashion elements in the film; from designing the costumes to the animation/technical side of it. You don't even think about how much work goes into the costumes until you see this. It's mind boggling! We're talking costumes for both the land of the living and the land of the dead, not to mention all the different time periods represented. Just wow!

• Land of Our Ancestors (6:17): This featurette takes us to the land of the dead as the filmmakers talk about creating this brand new, never before seen world (the rules, the design and more). Once again, there is some fascinating stuff here that is not to be missed. You will not look at the film in the same way after viewing this.

• Un Poco “Coco” (3:05)—A montage of original animated pieces (known as "toolkits") used to promote the film. A feature like this is always found on on Pixar home releases and they are what they are. 

• 7 Deleted Scenes with Introductions - Director Lee Unkrich and co-director Adrian Molina talk about the deleted scenes and the part they played in the development of Coco. I'm not going to detail each one, though I will say they're an interesting watch. None of them I thought "man I wish this was in the film." I think the correct choices were made and I feel like they nailed the direction they ended up taking! It's hard to picture the film any other way and I will honestly say I'm glad the "break out into song" style musical idea was scrapped.


o   Día de los Muertos (5:25)– In this musical extravaganza, the colors and excitement of Día de los Muertos come to life as we meet superstar Ernesto de la Cruz.


o   The Way of the Riveras (5:55)– A musical number in which Abuelita and Miguel prepare their Día de los Muertos celebration while she teaches him Rivera family history and traditions.


o   Celebrity Tour (5:09)– Héctor, a Land of the Dead tour bus guide, agrees to help Miguel, revealed to be a living boy, on his quest to find de la Cruz.


o   The Bus Escape (4:38)– The Rivera family catches up to Miguel and Héctor and attempts to halt their mission to find de la Cruz. 


o   Alebrije Attack (3:12)– Miguel and Héctor are interrupted on their journey to find de la Cruz by a fierce alebrije. 


o   The Family Fix (4:31)– After de la Cruz reveals his true colors, the Rivera family puts their dismay aside and comes together to repair the smashed guitar needed to send Miguel home. 


o   To the Bridge (3:08)– As the Land of the Dead counts down to the end of Día de los Muertos, Miguel and de la Cruz come head-to-head on the marigold bridge.





And finally, as usual, there is a collection of five trailers (including Dante's Lunch), but those speak for themselves. 


WOW. Well there we have it everyone! That only took... the entire day to get through. Phew! I think that covers just about everything though and I enjoyed it all so much. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking through my entire review! This is a great release and I feel very content with what we got here bonus feature-wise. This is a must own! Now excuse me while I go finish watching the film with the audio commentary... 


FILM- 5 out of 5 stars
BONUS CONTENT (excluding commentary)- 4.5 out of 5 stars
IMAGE/SOUND QUALITY- 5 out of 5 stars

What are some of your thoughts? Be sure to share in the comments below!

My In-Depth Cars 3 Blu-Ray Review

Cars fans—Start your engines! Cars 3 hit Blu-Ray and DVD this past Tuesday (November 7th) and I'm here to give you an in-depth look into all the terrific bonus content as well as my overall thoughts on this release. As a big fan of Cars 3, and the Cars franchise in general, I'm thrilled to finally own this as part of my collection! The trilogy is complete.

I know the digital release has been available to own since October 24th, but since I'm a Blu-Ray collector (yup, I still prefer discs—call me old school), I was fine with holding off and waiting the extra three weeks to get my physical copy. Today I'm diving into the standard DVD+ Blu-Ray+Digital HD Combo Pack, which I pre-ordered at the Disney Store (and got a free lithograph set). I know there are other releases out there as well, such as the 4K release, the Target edition with included storybook and the Best Buy SteelBook edition (see my announcement post on them HERE), but all the special features are the same across all versions this time around. Thank goodness, boy does that make things easier. 

Note: This is just my review of the Blu-Ray special features and not the film itself. Though I never ended up getting around to my full review of Cars 3, just know that I absolutely love it. It's another fantastic Pixar success in my book and a more than worthy followup to the original. I was so happy to see the franchise go back to the "routes" (and feel) of the first film and tie everything together so perfectly.

Alrighty, let's just get right into everything! Well actually, before even getting into all the great bonus content, I just have to make mention of the gorgeous menus. Pixar really has their Blu-Ray menu style down now; keeping it very simple and utilizing their stunning scenery as a backdrop.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL (A CLOSER LOOK)
DISC 1 "FEATURE"-

• Audio Commentary (running time 1:42:21 *length of film*)- Brian Fee (Director), Kevin Reher (Producer), Andrea Warren (Co-Producer) and Jay Ward (Creative Director) have an in depth discussion about the film! I haven't had time to listen to the entire commentary quite yet, but what I've heard is as interesting as ever. Audio commentaries are my favorite part of any Pixar home video release, so I was anticipating this one a ton.

• Lou Theatrical Short Film (6:44)- Directed by Dave Mullins, this Pixar short instantly climbed the ranks to become one of my all time favorite short films from the studio. It's just so clever, colorful and endearing (with some great music to boot—see my soundtrack review HERE). A real charmer! Be sure to check it out if you haven't already. 

• Miss Fritter's Racing Skool NEW Blu-Ray exclusive "Mini-Movie" (2:45)- While this brief little short isn't looking to be any kind of masterpiece, it's a funny concept. In it you'll see Lightning and Cruz catching an infomercial style video featuring fan favorite Miss Fritter advertising her "Racing Skool."  I liked the "sappy" testimonials of some of the other demolition cars, not to mention seeing the "microphone" in some shots always reminds me of the old Pixar bloopers! It gave me a chuckle, despite being similar so some of the other "interview" type segments I've seen from Pixar. To my surprise, this short was helmed by LAVA director, James Ford Murphy. 

• Ready for the Race (5:41)- Disney Channel star Olivia Rodrigo chats with NASCAR (real life "Next-Gen") Racer William Byron at the Hendrick Motorsports campus. Byron gives insight into what being a NASCAR driver is like and discusses how he got involved with the sport. The Disney channel hosts are always a little hokey, but I enjoyed seeing the real world inspirations behind much of what was included in Cars 3 (including testing out an actual racing simulator). It's really amazing stuff!

• Cruz Ramirez: The Yellow Car That Could (7:46)- I liked this little mini documentary a lot. Here the Cars 3 filmmakers discuss the collaborative effort that went into making Cruz Ramirez the flawed, yet lovable, strong and relatable character we see in the final film. It made me appreciate the character that much more!

DISC 2 "BONUS"-

• Generations: The Story of “Cars 3” (11:17)- This is one of the longest featurettes on the Blu-Ray, though I still wish it was much longer. In this one, the Cars 3 team discuss the challenges of crafting the film's story (while also revealing some details on earlier iterations), the difficulties of sequels, resurrecting the Cars 1 feel and what it took to create a satisfying ending for McQueen's three film arc. One thing I especially appreciated here was seeing director Brian Fee and hearing him talk about the film. I feel like he stays under the radar a bit and out of social media, so it was cool to hear from him a bit.  

• Let’s. Get. Crazy. (7:41)- This featurette was very entertaining. I loved learning about/seeing what a real life Crazy 8 demolition derby is like (something I knew little to nothing about) and what it took to translate that into an animated film! This has to be one of my favorite sequences in the movie as well as one of, if not THE most complex to create. Oh and did I mention that this segment is hosted by Miss Fritter herself, Lea DeLaria? 

•  Cars to Die(cast) For (5:20)- Now even though this is one is short and sweet, it's no doubt one of my favorites on the Blu-Ray. As a massive, long time collector of Mattel Cars diecasts, this featurette was so much fun to watch (in fact, I've already watched this a few times). In it the filmmakers and consumer product managers discuss the sheer amount of diecasts out there (with Cars 3 in the mix, they've hit over 1,000 unique releases since 2006), how Pixar employee's names are "car-ified" and more.

• Legendary (11:21)- This documentary is the longest of the bunch and gives you a historical look at racing legends Wendell Scott and Louise Smith (featuring archival footage and historian interviews), as well as how they influenced the film's story. I really love the "legends" aspect of Cars 3 (it brings back that charming old town, nostalgic feel of the first film—yet in a different way) and this featurette gave me even more appreciation for that and NASCAR in general. This one is a slower pace (for me it dragged a little, since I'm more interested in the actual filmmaking), but I still enjoyed it for what it was. 

• World’s Fastest Billboard (5:29)- This is the kind of stuff I love. Here the Cars 3 creative team discuss some of the clever background graphics, stickers, products, sponsors, advertisements, billboards, signs and more featuring clever "car-rified" puns, inside jokes and references to other Pixar films. Most of what they bring up, you would never catch unless you knew it was there, which makes this an extremely fun and insightful watch! Fans of Easter eggs and hidden references will love this. 

• Fly Throughs- Take a swooping, airborne look at three virtual sets seen in the film including Thomasville, Florida International Speedway and Rust-Eze Racing Center! These are about a minute long and really let you soak in some of the incredible scenery created by the film's animators. It's completely mind blowing how realistic some of the shots look.  

• My First Car- A collection of little storyboard/animatic style illustrated first-car stories as narrated by members of the Cars 3 cast and crew. There's “A Green Car on the Red Carpet" with Kerry Washington (1:51) “Old Blue" with Craig Foster (1:20) and “Still in the Family” with Valeria Barra (2:14). You've seen things similar to these on previous Pixar home video releases; they're cute, short and sweet stories, but I can take them or leave them.

•  5 Deleted/Alternate Scenes- Each deleted scene is set up with an introduction as to why it was removed from the film. The scenes (presented in storyboard form) include “The Boogie Woogie” (5:02), “The Jars of Dirt” (4:21), “Lugnuts” (2:48)  “The Bolt” (4:15) and “More Than New Paint" (8:50). I'm not going to go into detail on each one, but I'll say they're definitely worth watching. It's always interesting to see previous renditions of a film's story/characters and which ideas were repurposed into the final cut. For those of you who've watched it, what do you guys think of "More Than New Paint", which is ultimately an alternate ending? Which outcome to you prefer?

And finally, as usual, there is a collection of trailers and animation/promotional character toolkits. They speak for themselves.

Phew! I think that just about covers everything. I feel like I always want a bit more out of my Pixar bonus content and this release is no different. While there is a lot to appreciate here, I do miss the days of more in-depth special features and longer documentaries. I feel like there's so much more they could dig into (including earlier versions of the story—Like when it was suppose to set on Route 99). Overall though, I can't be greedy here and I did have fun with what was included. Plus I still have the second half a commentary to watch/listen to tonight! I better get to it...

FILM- 4.5 out of 5 stars
BONUS CONTENT (excluding commentary)- 3.5 out of 5 stars
IMAGE/SOUND QUALITY- 5 out of 5 stars

What are some of your thoughts? Be sure to share in the comments below! 

My In-Depth Finding Dory Blu-Ray Review

Wow, back again for another Disney·Pixar Blu-Ray review already! It seems like I was just doing my write-ups for the Inside Out and The Good Dinosaur releases. In a way, I feel like I was just seeing Finding Dory in theaters, but in another I feel this release is a long time coming! At any rate, I'm just super excited to have this now as a part of my collection. Things feel complete.

While today marks the official Finding Dory Blu-Ray/DVD release day, the digital release has been available to own since October 25th. Since I'm a Blu-Ray collector, I was fine with holding off and waiting the extra three weeks to get my physical copy. Today I'm diving into the standard DVD+ Blu-Ray+Digital HD Combo Pack, which I pre-ordered at the Disney Store (and got a free lithograph set). I know there are other releases out there as well, such as the Blu-Ray 3D release and the Target Steelbook edition, but all the special features are the same across all versions this time around. Hallelujah, that makes it easier. 

Note: This is just my review of the Blu-Ray special features and not the film itself. Though I never got around (yet) to my review of Finding Dory, just know that I absolutely love it. It's another beautiful Pixar success in my book and a worthy followup to the original.

Alrighty, let's just get right into everything! First of all, before even getting into all the great bonus content, you'll notice the gorgeous menus. Pixar really has their Blu-Ray menu style down now; keeping it very simple and utilizing their stunning scenery as a backdrop.

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL (A CLOSER LOOK)
DISC 1 "FEATURE"- 

•  Audio Commentary (running time 1:37:02 *length of film*)- Director Andrew Stanton, Producer Lindsay Collins and Co-Director Angus MacLane have an in depth discussion about the film! I haven't had time to listen to the entire commentary quite yet, but what I've heard is as interesting as ever. Audio commentaries are my favorite part of any Pixar home video release, so I was anticipating this one a ton.

• Piper (6:04)- I literally don't think there's anyone in the world who didn't love Finding Dory's accompanying short film Piper. From the simple endearing story, to the joyous score, to the stunning animation (not to mention the cuteness of Piper herself), this film as all the makings of an instant classic, heartfelt Pixar short. Congrats to writer/director Alan Barillaro and his team!

• Marine Life Interviews (2:03)- This is a pretty funny, brand new "mini short"  with Bailey, Hank, Fluke, Rudder and Destiny all being "interviewed" about their interactions with Dory. It's very much Pixar's style, reminding me a lot of what they use to do with the bloopers at the end of some of their earlier films.

• The Octopus That Nearly Broke Pixar (9:04)- As many of you know already, Hank the septopus is said to be Pixar's most complex character to date. In this mini documentary, we get a look into that painstaking process of bringing Hank to life! 17 different filmmakers, across multiple departments, go into detail about the research that was done, the early development of the character, building the CG model, the complexities of animating the character and so on. There are a ton of interesting nuggets in this feature and it's one not to be missed.

• What Were We Talking About? (4:26)- This is another one of my favorite features. Andrew Stanton and his team talk about challenges of having a main character with short term memory loss and how the story developed into what it is today. I really enjoyed the discussion of why Dory can remember certain things and not others, which certainly clears some things up.

• Casual Carpool (3:46)- Finding Dory director Andrew Stanton, Albert Brooks (Marlin), Ty Burell (Bailey) Ed O' Neil (Hank) and and Eugene Levy (Charlie) "carpool" to Pixar in this bonus feature. I found this little snippet to be pretty funny, but it's also completely random. Though it's obviously planned and scripted (to an extent), you get a sense of casual improvisation as well. I found their banter and antics a lot of fun. 

• Animation & Acting (6:56)- An intriguing look into the voice acting/recording process! I really enjoyed seeing the passion and excitement from the actors about the characters they helped create.

• Deep In The Kelp (3:19)-  For whatever reason, Jenny Ortega (from the Disney Channel show Stuck in the Middle, which I've honestly never heard of) hosts this bonus feature. It seemed a little out of place, but I still really enjoyed the behind the scenes look into the Monterey Bay Aquarium (AKA the real life inspiration for the Marine Life Institute).

• Creature Features (3:02)-Albert Brooks, Eugene Levy, Ty Burell and Ed O' Neil share fun facts about their real life fish counterparts! It's a cute, if brief, little segment. By the way, did you catch the connection between this feature and the "Causal Carpool"?

 DISC 2 "BONUS"-

• Skating & Sketching with Jason Deamer (4:14)- Finding Dory Character Art Director/skateboarder Jason Deamer, in addition to sharing his inspiring story of how he began at Pixar in 1997, gives an entertaining look at the basics of drawing some of the main characters from the film! This is a creatively shot bonus feature with a great style to it.

• Dory's Theme (4:56)- In this segment, director Andrew Stanton sits down with composer Thomas Newman and music editor Bill Bernstein to talk about Dory's musical theme in the film (specifically the first and last tracks of the soundtrack). As a film score buff, I loved this feature. Hearing them talk about the inspiration behind her melody and the instruments used to to create its unique sound was entertaining and interesting overall (especially the bit about the abstract vocals, or "human sleigh bells").

•  Rough Day On The Reef (1:10)- This is a very brief montage of odd distortions to certain animations, which would occur during system glitches from time to time during the production of Finding Dory. Some of them are just plain wacky! I had a good chuckle at the end.

•  Finding Nemo As Told By Emoji (2:46)- This creative and hilarious retelling of Finding Nemo was released on the Disney YouTube Channel back on May 31st. This plays all the time at the Disney Store I work at, so I've seen it more times than I can count. If you missed it, be sure to watch it right HERE.

• Hidden secrets of Finding Dory (3:00)- I love how this feature dives into some of the deeper, lesser known Finding Dory Easter Eggs and hidden references! Just when I thought I had heard them all, there were some here that took me by surprise; for example, did you know Riley from Inside Out is seen at the Marine Life Institute? It's true! 

• Fish Schticks (3:34)- A collection of promotional animation toolkits featuring Dory, Marlin, Nemo, Bailey, Hank, Fluke, Rudder Destiny, Becky, and the sea otters.  Of course I would rather see more making of stuff, but this is pretty fun to watch. The musical crabs seen below was my favorite clip.

• Living Aquariums- Just like with the original Finding Nemo DVD, this Blu-Ray includes four animated "Living Aquariums". This time around we have "Open Ocean", "Sea Grass", "Stingrays" and "Swim to the Surface" (Kelp Forrest). Each one is an ambient look at some of the key locations from the film. These are perfect to just have on in the background during the day—the visuals and ocean sounds are soothing and atmospheric. 

• Trailers- Includes the US teaser trailer and three other international trailers.

•  Deleted Scenes- There are a lot of deleted scenes with this release. Probably more so than any other Pixar Blu-Ray release thus far. We're talking literally over an hour! While I won't go into detail on each one, I will say they are most definitely worth checking out. 

1. Introduction by Director Andrew Stanton (0:53)
2. Losing Nemo (5:03)
3. Sleep Swimming (3:00)- a fully animated, rendered and scored deleted scene. That doesn't happen too often in animation! I first saw this scene at the D23 Expo last year. It was cut very late in the game.
4. Meeting Hank (3:25)
5. Little Tension in Clown Town (7:31)
6. The Pig (2:05)
7. Dory Dumped (5:47)
8. Starting Over (22:16)- A look at many different incarnations of the film's opening.  
9. Tank Gang (15:55 digital exclusive*)

*To access your Digital HD exclusive deleted scene, just enter the code included with your copy into your account on the Disney Movies Anywhere site. Then just select Finding Dory from within your collection and you'll be able to view all the bonus content! Simple as that.

Additionally, when you purchase the film digitally or the Blu-Ray combo pack, you also receive a cute digital graphic novel of Finding Dory! You can redeem this from the "Unlocked Offers" area of the Disney Movie Rewards website (once you've entered your code). This will lead you to the Disney Story Central website where you can access your "digital storybook."

OK, well I think that about covers it. Phew! It's definitely a butt--I mean, "boat" load of bonus content (I hope someone caught that Finding Nemo reference). I'm not gonna lie though, I'm left just a little less satisfied here. I do wish the actual behind the scenes featurettes weren't so short. I feel like there was so much more they could have gone into. Right when I feel like any given feature is taking off, it ends. I miss the days of the full length documentaries, which are few and far between now. Overall though, I can't be greedy here and I did immensely enjoy what was included. Plus I still have half a commentary to watch/listen to!

FILM- 4 out of 5 stars
BONUS CONTENT (excluding commentary)- 3.8 out of 5 stars
IMAGE/SOUND QUALITY- 5 out of 5 stars

What are some of your thoughts? Be sure to share in the comments below!