User reviews

It's just after Christmas. Bonnie has a play date with Mason. She brings along Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Trixie the triceratops, Rex, and Angel Kitty. Mason got a new video game and he has't play with his other new toy, the Battlesaurs. Bonnie's toys meet Reptillus Maximus who is taken with Trixie. The Cleric has set up a gladiatorial world where the other toys are smashed by the Battlesaurs. Trixie explains the joys of play to Reptillus Maximus.

The central message is to play more with imagination and toys, less with the video games. Trixie is the lead in this half hour special. She's alright to lead a special and the message is passable. There are a couple of fun scenes especially when Woody and Buzz are in it. Angel Kitty speaks with a child's voice which caught me off guard. She could be funnier. The show looks good, has some good moments but isn't anything particularly special. It's a reasonable showcase for Trixie.

After Toy Story 3, Pixar continued the story of Woody and Buzz through short cartoons, and even two holdiay specials. This is the second of the two specials, set after Christmas, where Woody, Buzz, Rex, Trixie, and Angel Kitty, an ornament who is exclusive to this special, for a playdate Bonnie has with her friend, Mason. As the two kids are hooked on a new video game console, the toys are taken hostage by the Battlesaurs, action figures led by Reptilus Maximus, and while Rex and Trixie are treated nicely, Buzz, Woody, and Angel Cat are sent to fight to the death at the arena, causing Trixie to see that her new friends were not played with, and therefore, do not know they are toys.

Basically, like the first special, Toy Story of Terror, focused on Jessie conquering her fears, this special focuses on Trixie and her problem of Bonnie not playing with her as a dinosaur. Most of the cast from the film reprise their role (in fact, this would be Don Rickles' final movie before he would pass away in 2017). However, it does get violent at some points, even if the victims are all toys (one scene has Reptillus Maximus decapitating toys, while sock monkey is thrown out of the arena and mauled to death by smaller dinosaurs, with fluff flying out), but nothing too dark or scary happens (and since these are toys, there is no gore, other than fluff being spilled, and they are still alive even if their heads are knocked off). With a good story and cast of chatacters, as well as a good lesson Trixie teaches Reptillus, this is a neat TV special for the whole family.

This-like most Toy Story media-is engaging with some smart observation about our relationship to toys. Trixie is given a rote character arch but it is works. The prehistoric dinosaur-toys are daft and rival Toy Story 1's Buzz for laughs. But if you have read the Land that Time Forgot you pick-up on several injokes about the novel that really fun.

Am a big fan of Pixar, films and shorts, and the three 'Toy Story' films (the first of which being ground-breaking) are among my favourites from them as far as their feature films go. For me, none of their work is below mediocre (even my least favourite 'Cars 3'), though that is probably not going to be a popular opinion with the post-'Toy Story 3' films getting a lot of hate. Meanwhile their best work is masterpiece level, all three 'Toy Story' films being on that level.

'Toy Story that Time Forgot' has a very cheesy, corny title but the actual special itself is the opposite of that and it is not as muddled as it sounds. It is instead very charming, quite cute and has enough amusing moments, a good position to be for a special released around Christmas but not really one. It is nowhere near Pixar at its A-game, but there is nothing really here that disgraces them or the 'Toy Story' franchise.

Part of me did feel though that 'Toy Story that Time Forgot' could have been longer than it was, which could have been used to give the original characters more screen time, and the pace can be uneven here, at times rushed.

Bonnie also sounds rather mature for her age and it doesn't quite gel with her character design.

On the other hand, there is an awful lot to like about 'Toy Story that Time Forgot'. The animation is very good for a television special made on a lower budget. Such beautiful attention to detail in the backgrounds and the character designs and the colours are so vibrant. The music more than serves its purpose well, with the right amount of energy and charming orchestration.

Loved the writing, which saw some wonderful wit in the dialogue and it was both very funny and emotive. The story is very sweet and charming, and really liked that it showcased Trixie who had enough of an interesting, not annoying or too sugary, personality to be a worthy lead. The moral/message was delivered well, making its point without over-emphasising, and it was one that is relevant and important. Would have liked more of the original characters but they are still fun and likeable without being out of character at any point. The conflict is handled entertainingly and sensitively with enough tension without going over the top on it. The voice acting is very good excepting Bonnie.

In summary, worth a look if not essential. 7/10

It's always fun to see "the old gang" get back together. The Toy Story characters have so endeared themselves to our hearts that there is an automatic connection with them every time they appear on screen. In "Toy Story That Time Forgot", some new blood is introduced.

For a basic plot summary, this little short tells the story of a Christmas playdate at a friend of Bonnie's. While at the friend's house, Bonnie is sucked into playing a new video game instead of playing with the toys. So, Woody, Buzz, and the gang must "go it alone" and interact with a new set of dinosaur toys (led by Reptillus Maximus) that still don't yet know they are toys.

Like I said, it's great to see and hear from the toy characters again. In this installment, dinosaur Trixie gets a lions share of the screen-time, much like Combat Carl stole "Toy Story of Terror". That being said, each of your favorite character has at least a line or two.

The only reason I can't give this the full five-stars? Because I think that maybe a bit more time was given to the battle dinosaurs than necessary. What makes Toy Story great is the emotion and the humorous interaction between the characters. Both of those things are indeed present here, but there is a lot of "setup" to pull it out of the story.

So, I have to say that I liked last year's Halloween special a bit more than this Christmas effort. That being said, this one is still quite enjoyable and will, at times, have you both laughing and feeling in equal measure.

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 (C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

SO PLEASE BEWARE OF SOME REVIEWERS THAT ONLY HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN! I HAVE DISCOVERED MANY GEMS IN MY QUEST TO SEE AS MANY " C H R I S T M A S " MOVIES AS I CAN.

This 2014 "Christmas Special" has cute ideas and some amusing moments but it "Sacrifices" our favorite toys (Buzz and Woody) and repeats themes that we have seen before.

During a post-Christmas play-date, Trixie is sad that Bonnie never depicts her as a dinosaur when they play. Bonnie later takes Trixie, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, and aphorism-spouting Christmas ornament Angel Kitty to her friend Mason's house for a play date. Bonnie ends up tossing the toys into Mason's playroom to join Mason in playing with his video game console.

Bonnie's toys discover the playroom is dominated by "Battlesaurs," a huge dinosaur-themed play set that Mason received for Christmas, led by warrior Reptillus Maximus and The Cleric. Trixie is delighted to interact with them as a dinosaur. She and Rex are armed as warriors, unaware that Woody and Buzz have been taken prisoner.

This is not much of a "Christmas Special" however it is enjoyable!

Toy Story continues to be the best protected franchise ever filmed, as Pixar makes sure every entry with these characters is top notch. As usual, everything looks amazing, there are fun new toys to meet, and the pacing is brisk. You never have to worry about filmmakers who don't know their audience with Toy Story--they are so careful and demand the best for their viewers. Every moment that ends up on screen furthers the story and can be appreciated by any age viewer. There is a bit of a dig at gaming culture, as the message seems to favor active play over technology and screen time. But if you don't love the way Bonnie gets Mason to turn his dinosaur battlefield into a all-toy dance off, then I don't want to know you.

This Toy Story short has been released for Christmas but has a less of a Christmas theme but has some message about using your imagination and playing less video games even if those games might be Disney or Pixar tie ins!

Bonnie is going out to play with her friends Mason at his house and she takes some of the toys along.

Mason has got a new toy set called Battlesaurs but is more interested in his video games which he invites Bonnie to join in.

Meanwhile, Woody, Buzz and the gang find out that the Battlesaurs do not want to play with them but are out to destroy them.

This is a fun, enjoyable short which fans of Toy Story would enjoy.

Sometimes I'm so impressed with how much creative geniuses like the folks down at Pixar can do with such a limited running time, in this case 22 minutes. This time, they chose to focus on different characters and I appreciate that, with so many characters in the Toy Story saga, and new additions as well. It's a nice and warm story, the pace is comfortable, it wraps up in a good manner: Trixie teaching the dino toys (especially Reptilus Maximus) the delightfulness of play; a moral of how these toys need to know their actual place in this story, and not let themselves be misguided by a third party.

In my opinion, Trixie worked as the lead, for this short special at least, and I strongly favour the message of not spoiling your fun only with videogames, there's other things out there, in this case: toys and imagination. Oh and I know this was supposed to be a Christmas special, but to me, it didn't feel Christmassy at all.

Woody, Buzz and Rex got a bit of screen time and as usual they are great themselves as well as the interactions between them. So, in all fairness, it is a decent effort, not the best of course, but very enjoyable nonetheless.

This just feels like a typical Pixar movie with run-of-the-mill writing. But the character writing was alright, Bonnie is still the same and with the curiosity a child would have, her friend is pretty cool, too. It's nice to give Bonnie something new other than playing with toys all the time. I also liked the little kitty and Buzz, they were both alright, too.

The voice acting was rough and Bonnie's voice sounded like an 8- year-old. She is supposed to be around 4 or something and because the girl who's voicing her was 14, unless they're proving to age her, she should be hired by a new voice actor. Especially Bonnie's voice, it sounded so annoying, like nails-on-a-chalkboard. Angel Kitty's voice was alright, though.

The moral was unnecessary and heavy-handed.

The other good parts is the jokes and the story was sympathetic. I suppose young kids age 6 and under might find something to enjoy out of this otherwise somewhat bland adventure of the imaginative toys.

And now this is end. I wish there was more short movie from Toy Story.

A pleasure to watch. What was lacking for me in Toy Story of Terror was by all means in this one. It is short but packed with meaning. Displaying the tragedy of neglected toys in the face of a 'cool' video game, it continues the theme of the two Toy Story movies in an incredibly dramatic way: the magical imagination that blossoms with toys.

The appreciation that the toys have for their owner is heightened in a highly creative way. Delightful depth and charm is infused in new characters. Laugh-out-loud lines were peppered throughout. Every cent spent on this short film was completely worth it. Will watch over and over again.

Let's face it, this is worst thing that Toy Story brought us. But it is still fun! It is creative and there is a story just like Buzz's origin.

A nice short story with the Toy Story characters. It's nice to hear the voices again even though they barely have any lines. The triceratops dinosaur ''Trixie'' has the lead and talks the most through these 20 or so minutes. The length is a bit noticeable but in general it's fine. As a quick little side story though this didn't feel ''short'' enough.

Not much music to experience, tons of meta references for young and old. Personally meta jokes have their place but not be the core humor mechanic. Visually is looks really nice, up to par with TS3 I'd say. Though environments are limited.

As a Christmas special it didn't feel Christmas-y enough to me, only the beginning and end have it going on in the background but otherwise it's not there. I wish it was more centered around Christmas.

A super fun short that I had heard was fine, but I found it rather good. It´s a fun adventure from start to finish with a bit of a wonky ending but other than that just fun adventure.

A play date with a boy makes Bonnie go play videogames instead of playing with toys. The gang is thrown into a playroom and meets the Battlesaurs, action figures that have never been played with and has made their own society.

I think this adventure is really fun, I liked the Battlesaur characters and found the overall idea really good. What happens to toys that has never been played with in this universe? How do they react and do things, this is a fun way to see the "Buzz" era of toys staying in it. This together with a great and fun villain makes a fun adventure that works great. The ending is a bit bland and needed more time to really land since the message is good but not explored well. What is a toy to a child is a good explorational message in this universe. The battle part is fun, and done fine.

This is not really a Buzz and Woody focused short and their performances is a bit phoned in but that's fine to me as everyone else is doing a great job. Trixie is a great and fun character done great here and voice so well by Kristen Schaal. In general the characters are so fun and great here, Kevin McKidd as Reptillus Maximus, Steve Purcell as the Cleric. So well done. Also Angel Kitty is my new spirit animal, love it.

The battlesaurs are such a fun universe and we know exactly the franchise that we will compare to it in real life. It´s so nostalgic to see something like this.

The animation is a bit lacking here and I get you don´t use your A-team on a short but it´s okay here. But the blurry backgrounds to save some money are a bit too much. There are still some good detaining though, I love something like the paint scratch on Trixie, it´s a fun detail, but again lacking a bit in the animation department.

The humour is so good here, I laughed multiple times and found it very fun.

Overall I had a good and fun time with this one. Expected something fine but was overall entertained from start to finish. A good half hour spend.

I'm not really a fan of these Toy Story shorts and feel that things had been so nicely wrapped up in the third feature film that everything else runs the risk of damaging the franchise.

However, Toy Story of terror was enjoyable enough so i gave this Christmas themed short a go.

What's lovely about these shorts is that it is clear that all involved care about the characters and the stories that they are put into, so it doesn't feel shoddy or a cheap cash in.

Having the original voices back also makes a great difference and although it is a short and sweet story, it's certainly a worthy addition to what has gone before.

It's was a good short, But it not that special , I felt the story of this short was similar to Toy Story , Trixie character was not that good , Unfortunately , I loved her character in the third movie , and I don't like the other dinosaurs , especially Reptillus Maximus.

In this 22-minute animated short from Disney-Pixar Studios things (IMO) get a little out of hand in the violence and destruction department. In fact - This picture pushes this matter too far for my liking.

But, I guess in this jaded day and age the only way to keep even the little kiddies interested as viewers is to bombard them, non-stop, with ferocious, over-the-top demolition and what-not.

Anyway - I just wish that the regular "Toy Story" gang (Buzz, Woody, and the rest) hadn't been brought into this heavy-duty "Battlesauric" game of war in the first place.