Toy Story 5 Steelbook Review: Is It Worth Buying?

Automatically transcribed; may contain errors.

Hey everybody and welcome back to the channel. Izola here with FlickDirect and we have just gotten our hands on the 4K UHD Steelbook of Toy Story 5 and I can't wait to share this with you. I think you're really going to enjoy it. So grab your popcorn, sit back, relax and let's get this started. Now before we get into all the things that you guys are really looking forward to like the Steelbook and what you get with it, audio, video.

So I just want to give you a brief synopsis of the movie, just in case there are some of you who haven't seen it and have been waiting for the release. You know, just to see if this is maybe a movie that you might want. But look, if you've liked all the others, I'm just going to give a spoiler. You're going to want this one too. So let's talk about the movie itself.

Now, obviously, you are going to have the OG Classic Gang faces. And they are going to have to deal with their most, I'd probably say modern threat yet. And that's going to be the digital age. Now, this one actually follows Jessie. And you're watching her kind of try to help in the bedroom. I should say it takes place in the bedroom. And she's trying to help Bonnie kind of navigate on making new friends.

which, come on, I think even as adults, we all struggle with that from time to time. So we can probably learn something from this. But of course, it can't just be a simple task as Bonnie actually gets a brand new tablet, which for those of you who have kids, it's called LilyPad. This thing actually does exist. It's been around for actually a long time.

So it's just technology has changed so much. You're going to probably see some differences. Now, because we're obviously dealing with the digital age, the traditional toys are going to have to pretty much square off with some new, crazy, engaging characters that are automated. And they light up really crazy high-tech toys, you know, because that's, again, the age we live in right now.

Now, along with the Lilypad, there are some companions, including zany smarty pants, you know, things like that. And the traditional toys are just going to have to prove that they still have a place in their children's hearts. It's pretty tough to do when everybody is, you know, screen up to here. I really have to say that the director did such a great job of really providing this almost shockingly relevant commentary to the screen.

I mean, I'd have to say that every household is battling with this on a daily basis now. So it really hits home. I do have to say that this doesn't really meet the super emotional highs and lows that we got in Toy Story 3. But that doesn't really hurt the movie. The humor is incredibly sharp. It does primarily focus on Jesse. So Joan Cusack actually gets to shine in this because, I mean, she deserves a spotlight.

Jessie's adorable. She does a great job. And remember, we also have a great returning cast with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Conan O'Brien is actually a new addition. So it's, I mean, Bad Bunny even makes an appearance. It's like, come on. Like, I just love that they get all of these actors and singers to come in and just, you know, play around in the stage, you know, and just have a great time and make it fun for all who watch.

You always get a little nervous when you have just random people come in for voice acting, but it all works. It makes it a lot of fun. It's engaging. And, you know, people tend to see those things more when they know who's actually doing the voices. So definitely smart. Overall, I'm going to give the movie Toy Story 5 a 4 out of 5. It is definitely a solid movie.

Beautifully animated. It's thoughtful. It hits home. It's very relevant and I think it's a great addition to the franchise. Now let's move on to the video. Of course we are getting the 4k presentation and Pixar films are always a benchmark for the physical media. And I have to say this transfer does not disappoint at all. So primarily focusing on prose, you're going to get amazing texture work.

You can see individual microscopic scratches on Buzz because, you know, he's a plastic toy, of course, being played with and thrown out the window and, you know, all the other things that has happened to him over the years. He's definitely going to have some bumps and bruises, and you can definitely see each one when you're looking at this in the film.

The woven fibers on Woody's vest and the denim jeans on Jesse's jeans, fantastic. Again, you just really see the high quality and the texture. It's really great. And then when you get all the digital toys coming in, you're going to get a completely different type of texture because the lily pad has the glossy screen and the tablet is just, it's beautiful.

They just did such a great job. And you can see the stark contrast between the two types of toys, right? So just be prepared. They did a great job on it. Now the HDR implementation, specifically the Dolby vision grading is fantastic. You're not going to be disappointed there. Neon lights are going to be just so perfect on the tech gadgets. There's really nothing to complain about on it.

Black levels are deep, especially during the darker, more suspenseful scenes, which I'm not going to give too much away on, but you know, they have to navigate through some shadowy edges of the room. And again, everything just is set up brilliantly. Now, if I had to nitpick, which I don't really have many cons, so that's why I say nitpick. There's some scenes where you've got some flickering LEDs, and that can be a little intense on the eyes, but I mean, it's really not horrible.

Again, I'm just nitpicking on that. It's of a testament, I guess, to the display brightness rather than a flaw. For pure visual presentation, Disney and Pixar have knocked it out of the park. And because of this, it's going to get a five out of five. I, again, don't have any complaints about the visuals at all. And neither will you. Okay. So now it is time for the audio and you will not be disappointed to hear that you're getting the Dolby Atmos track.

And I mean, if you have a home theater setup, it is just going to be fantastic. But I do have to say that my friend who does not have a home theater setup, watched it just with her television and still absolutely loved the sound quality. It works. So again, all of this is based on mostly home theater setups, but don't worry if you don't have it, you're not going to lose or miss out on anything.

So for the pros, the soundstage is extremely wide. So we've got a lot of things going on in this. The height channels are utilized masterfully. They do not really mess up on anything in that department. Everything sounds crisp and clear. The opening sequence where Bonnie's playing with the toys, it really makes you feel like you're standing in the room with her.

You hear automated devices zipping through the room and the audio and directional panning just works brilliantly because it is just seamless from whichever way they go. I know I'm just following nothing around right now, but I'm thinking about what I had heard while watching it. I mean, you just, it literally bounces around. So it's like, it's following you like literally around the room.

Randy Newman's original score sounds really just rich and warm. It's perfectly balanced throughout. So when you have like the brass instruments and things like that, you're just, you're getting everything in perfect harmony right down to the dialogue. Speaking of the dialogue, it's crisp and clear. You're not going to lose anything on that. You're going to hear thumps when objects fall and it's going to be behind surround again, all around you.

It's just brilliant. And now onto the cons for the audio. A lot of the Disney physical media releases, it's like the default volume mix just runs a little bit too low. You will likely find yourself grabbing the receiver and cranking it up a few decibels higher where normally you have a baseline set. So it's going to probably have to be set up a little higher, but once you adjust that, the sound is fantastic.

It's just, I don't know why it's only, I've only had this issue primarily with Disney physical media. Again, it doesn't ruin it. It's just, you'd think that they'd fix that after a while, but they just have it set to lower. And I would just like it to be where it's on my normal balance range, but you know, it is what it is. Overall, the sound is fantastic.

You're going to have a great time with it. You're going to feel immersed in there. Again, I wish I didn't have to constantly, you know, balance my sound, but it's, again, it's just a little mini faux pas, which just annoys me for some reason. So it's getting a four and a half out of five. Okay, so now what you've all been waiting for, let's dive into the steelbook and what you get.

This is really a beauty for collectors. And I know there's a lot of you out there because whether it's just Toy Story that you love or Disney fans, it doesn't matter. I know you all love this stuff so much. And it's just such a fantastic addition if you are a collector. I can't say anything really wrong with it. They just did such a great job with the glossiness versus, you know, how the OG characters look.

You know, it's just, I love steelbooks. I love when we get them because they're just, there's so much effort put into them and it just makes it stand out in your library. The Steelbook really gives you that conflict between toys meet tech. So, and again, it has the classic Toy Story logo. They're putting the five on there, of course, because this is the fifth installment.

It's clean, bold lettering. And when you flip it back, it's just a minimalist imprint of more character. Like again, just look at it. It's, it's adorable. So, so adorable. And obviously with the steel books, you get the digital code so you can watch it anywhere. Blu-ray, like you, they just give you so much. It's so great. Now, as for extras and bonuses, you know, Disney tends to do a pretty good job.

I think with Toy Story, we get a little bit more. So that's always fun. You're going to get the creative mind behind the tech. And of course, that's a behind the scenes look of the animation team and, you know, how they made the automated tech toys. We've got some deleted scenes. You know, I love those. I won't go too much into that because I think that you guys just have to watch those.

The evolution of Jesse. So you're actually, they're going to be just celebrating the character and Joan Cusack. So super cute. There's audio commentary, which I always find fun because they usually provide Easter eggs and just some unknown facts while you're watching the movie. So you just kind of learn a little more about it. But the part that I absolutely love is the gag reel.

You guys know I am just such a fan. If Toy Story can give you gag reels, all the other ones can too. So I'm just saying hop on the bandwagon, all the other studios, and give us some gag reels because we absolutely love them and they just make the extras. We just want to buy the physical media so that we can get the gag reels. Okay, I'm just going to tell you right now.

You will make money off of it. Now, you know we don't give it a rating, but I did have to tell you guys because especially collectors, you're going to love it. There's a lot of stuff that you get to watch. And again, gag reels. Who doesn't love a gag reel? Overall, Toy Story 5 proves once again that there's so much life and heart left in this franchise.

It manages to tackle a very modern problem without losing the magic that it's always had since the start. You've got great voice acting. You've got great animation, audio, video. Again, really not much to complain about from the movie itself to all the way down to the steelbook. If you are a collector, You're really going to enjoy this. So I'm going to give the overall Steelbook for Toy Story 5 a 4.5 out of 5.

The Steelbook hits store shelves on September 22nd, so you don't have much longer to wait. It is right around the corner. Again, you can get the standard editions, but if you are a fan of Toy Story, Disney, whatever, You just need to get that next movie in there for your collection in your library. Definitely pick this up. You will not be disappointed.

It is definitely a great addition. And with that, this concludes my review of the 4K UHD Steelbook release of Toy Story 5. Please be sure to like and subscribe to all of our channels so you never miss out on any entertainment news. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time. Bye!