One item that I recommend you put at the top of your gift list this Christmas is the Toy Story 3 Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy, because it is AWESOME. If you didn’t see Toy Story 3 in the theaters, what you’ll see on the Blu-ray is pretty darn close. You get the excellent short film “Day and Night” that ran before the feature, three versions of the movie – Blu-ray, Standard DVD, and a digital copy to load onto your computer – and a bunch of excellent bonus features.

In Toy Story 3, Andy is getting ready to leave for college, and his Mom tells him to make a choice – either pack up his old toys and store them in the attic, or donate them to the Sunnyside Day Care. Although Andy chooses not to part with his toys, a mix-up finds the toys at Sunnyside Day Care, with only Woody knowing that Andy didn’t abandon them, and fighting to convince his friends that Andy wants them and that they need to find a way to get back to him.

In addition to Toy Story regulars Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Rex (Wallace Shawn), R. Lee Ermey as Sarge, John Morris as Andy, and Laurie Metcalf as Andy’s Mom, Toy Story 3 adds new lead characters in the featured toys at Sunnyside Day Care. Lotso Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty) is the leader of the Day Care, and he wants things done his way or it’s the highway. Ken (Michael Keaton) is a flamboyant, fashion-obsessed doll who falls for Barbie (Jodi Benson), Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) is a toy hedgehog oddly wearing liederhosen, Richard Kind is Bookworm, Bonnie Hunt is the aptly named Dolly, Jeff Garlin is hilarious as toy unicorn Buttercup, and Whoopi Goldberg lends her voice to toy octopus Stretch. Even though these new characters were created just for this movie, they are so well integrated that it feels like they’ve always been Toy Story characters.

The picture quality of the Blu-ray disc is outstanding. Every color is vivid, contrast is excellent, and the picture is crystal-clear and sharp. We played the standard DVD as well and while there’s a noticeable difference in picture quality, it’s an acceptable transfer. I’m going to keep trying to convince every single one of you to buy a Blu-ray player, it is so worth it!

You know I love me some Bonus Features, and Toy Story 3 doesn’t disappoint. On the Blu-ray disc you get the Day & Night Theatrical Short, which is one of the coolest pieces of animation I’ve ever seen. On a black screen you see “Day”, a plump blobby character who is transparent, and behind him, daytime scenes like sun shining on a grassy hillside. Then he passes by “Night”, another plump blob who is also transparent, and behind him, nighttime scenes like that same grassy hillside with a starlit sky and sheep jumping over a fence. The two engage in a humorous battle over who is better, until Night gets interested in the girls lounging around a pool behind Day. They then begin to see the best parts of each other, and at the exact moment when the sun is midway between rising and setting, they are able to embrace and celebrate their friendship. It’s a wonderful story with outstanding animation and is not to be missed!

Other Bonus Features include:

• “Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: The Science of Adventure” which is a look at the International Space Station. Learn about the types of experiments and research done by astronauts on the Space Station, with Buzz, Hamm, Rex, and Mr. Potato Head.
• “Toys!”  How the toys were created for the movie, how “Spanish” Buzz’s moves were created, how toy designers helped create the look of Lotso Huggin’ Bear, and more.
• Sneak Peeks – From the creators of “Cars”, Mater’s Tall Tales, starring Mater and Lightning McQueen, with two new shorts only available on the Blu-ray/DVD edition, plus bonus features.
• “The Incredibles” first time on Blu-ray High Definition, 6x better than standard DVD, with 5.1 Surround Sound, exclusive bonus features.
• Commercial for DisneyParks.com featuring Toy Story 3 characters

Trust me, Toy Story 3 is a movie you’ll want to own and watch again and again! I think I like it more than my kids do   Look for it at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, on Amazon.com, and pretty much everywhere movies are sold.

disclosure: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment sent me a free Toy Story 3 Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack as a gift for posting this review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are, as always, 100% mine.