Few movies have stuck with me 15 years after they have been released. While many great films such as Se7en, Apollo 13 and GoldenEye were released in 1995, there is only one I can vividly remember seeing. That film was called Toy Story, and it revolutionized animated films forever. Now this may not be much of a surprise considering I was only 5 years old in 1995 and cannot remember much more than chasing my sister Dana down the hallways of our new house, but from the loveable characters to the catchy songs and adorable plotline, I credit more than a shoddy memory to my fascination with the film. And clearly it wasn't just me.Toy Story, Disney/Pixar's first film, became a critical and commercial success as the second-highest-grossing film of the year. This gave birth to a sequel just 3 years later that was, yet again, met with rave reviews. Just when we thought that Disney/Pixar had moved on to wholly original works with such films as Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Up, I was enthused and surprised to find out this past summer that Toy Story 3 was officially being released. And, yet again, I wasn't the only one. As expected, Pixar struck gold with an endearing plotline, flawless animation and relationships that make us all feel young again. The result was a 99-percent fresh rating on the film aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes (with only three "rotten" reviews out of 242) and the spot as the current number one grosser of 2010.

The film is being released on Disney/Pixar Blu-Ray and DVD today, and I expect it to be just as well received as it was in theaters. Why? Because there is so much incredibly engaging content included on the discs, from interactive all-ages trivia to trips inside the studio explaining just how each character was crafted and recrafted, created and recreated to become the fun-loving bunch we see on screen.

Toy Story 3 is a sequel unlike Toy Story 2 because it acknowledges the time we have spent away from Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang. The film begins with a fast-paced, playful reminder of the good ol' days of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 where the toys were all used together and played with by Andy in a slew of genre-crossing hijinks and adventures. The joy of the memory, though, is met with a harsh reality-11 years later, a much-older Andy is packing up and getting ready to go off to college. We see his toys, all of which are back with their original voice actors, stuck in a toy box feeling dejected and bored. As Andy is cleaning out his room full of many memories, he puts all of his toys in an unlabeled bag for the attic-a bag that is mistakenly delivered by his mom to a day-care center. The only toy not included is Woody, a toy Andy describes as "my pal for as long as I can remember. . He'll never give up on you ever; he'll be there no matter what." As Woody is placed in the college box, he sees his fellow friends and toys mistakenly thrown away, and true to his aforementioned nature runs to save them. All the toys end up being brought to the day-care center, and Woody must convince them, among all the many other new good-and-bad toys they meet (including the cuddly villain Lotso and the hilarious pretty boy Ken), that they were not abandoned and they need to work together to return home. What ensues is the same heartwarming fun, incredible animation and flawlessly composed music by Randy Newman that audiences fell in love with twice already. Needless to say, as a sequel, the film is just as good, if not better, than the original-one that no matter what age you are, you will certainly enjoy.

While the film ends there, the Blu-ray and DVD leaves hours of special features for the Toy Story fanatics to enjoy. For those who weren't able to catch the film in theatres, both the Blu-ray and DVD feature the 6-minute short "Day & Night" that preceded the film. The short takes place on a basic black background and, in classic Pixar fashion, takes two sketched characters and intricately fills in the blank background with scenes of day and night inside of them. The short revels in the idea of discovery of the unknown and, like the children inside all of us, explores the playful idea of reimagining something we thought we knew in a positive different context. The Blu-ray disc features a "making of" that gives excellent insight into both the animated and ideological ideas that went into making the short. What it truly provides, though, is a look into how hard every member at Pixar works to ensure quality, no matter how long the project is.

There are two commentary tracks-one an interesting look into the creative process behind the film with Cine-Explore/Filmmaker's Commentary by director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson, the other an interactive script reading that puts screenwriter Michael Arndt's words literally over the final cut they evolved into. For further insight, Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) analyzes how to create a successful opening scene and script through the lens of other successful Pixar films and engaging [basic] animation in his special feature "Beginnings." JustArts had the chance to ask Arndt questions as a part of a Disney virtual press junket. He imparted some interesting advice throughout the conversation, such as his admission that "pretty much the entire time I was writing the script (three years), I was afraid I wasn't writing to the 'Pixar standard,'" and that, "[Pixar tries] to make the stories and the characters feel as real as possible, and having the actors use their own voices is very much part of that. That helps (we hope) to give the movies a timeless appeal." It's clear through all the features that not only did he achieve the standard but that he has helped set the bar even higher for future projects.

The remaining special features (and, boy, there are a lot) include an interactive trivia dash, Buzz Lightyear mission logs (a short clip that was created with NASA to hilariously and remarkably explain space travel and research in a way that is both understandable and relatable to children and adults alike), three hilarious hand-drawn animations called Studio Stories, Ken's dating tips, commercials for Lotso, Dancing with the Stars at Pixar, a look into the returning voice talent and their experiences with the trilogy, "Toys!", an in-depth explanation of how the creative team updated the classic characters and created new ones, and so much more. Seriously, that only covered about half of it.

Without a doubt, the Blu-ray and DVD is one of the most expansive I have ever seen. Though there are no deleted scenes or bloopers, the amount of additional content provided is enough to warrant the purchase for all Pixar fans. The fact that it comes with the film in three formats (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy) truly makes this a must-buy. Toy Story 3 is a film that all ages can fall in love with and one that retains its beauty through every viewing. While we have to say, "So long, partner," to the series, it's still great to know we can relive the moments again and again. After all, no matter how old we get, there's still a little child in all of us-something the entire Toy Story trilogy helps us remember.