Review of Toy Story of Terror! (2013) by James J — 17 Oct 2013

A very well done animated short. Unlike DreamWorks shorts, such as Shrek the Halls, you don't really feel that you are watching a holiday themed special, a feeling that is achieved due to the fact that Halloween isn't mentioned anywhere in this short.

It really does feel like a new, small chapter in the Toy Story Saga. My only complaint regards the layout. The film opens with a 2 to 3 minute scene of a scary movie the toys are watching. If this were feature length, as opposed to 30 minutes, that would be ok, but I feel like that time could have been used not more creatively, but just more wisely.

One thing I love, here, is that we finally see a story with Jessie, normally a sidekick, as the main protagonist. It is great to see her learning to deal with her fear of being in a box. However, likely due to the cost of their respective voice actors, Woody is absent for most of the special, and Buzz isn't in much more, in regards to his dialogue.

What this short does for me, both as a viewer and Pixar/Disney lover, is it gives me confidence that the company is taking a more creative route in regards to expanding its popular franchises, aside from the theatrical sequels.

Hopefully more Toy Story and other Pixar film related specials will follow.