Canadian Gift Guide

I am a self-admitted Pixar devotee. In a different blog, in a galaxy far, far away, I attempted to rank the Pixar films last year and found myself utterly lost. My basement was a slow work in progress to capture something from every Pixar film – including a tin ‘Cars’ still, a plaquemounted picture of Wall-e and Eve, and a Finding Nemo cardboard promo display.

Last year for Christmas I asked for and received two copies of the Pixarpedia, a glossy coffee table book that is quite literally an encyclopedia to every single Pixar film, including character and plot synopses, behind-the-scenes facts and photos, and a glimpse into the life of a Pixar employee (consider me jealous!). It’s readily available at online book store eTailers, and if you call in advance, probably at your local bookstore as well.

Pixar in general is universally loved, and for good reason. If you’ve got a friend who adores their incredible aptitude for storytelling and art as much as I do, the Pixarpedia is a neat gift they probably haven’t heard of it. It’s also kid-friendly – so if mom wants to sit down with Bobby and Sally (Mad Men reference aside) after a viewing of Monsters Inc. and picks out whether they saw all of the monsters the book so dutifully captures, she can. It’s just a nice companion piece whether you’re watching the films in order (as I plan to at some point this year) or you want something kitschy, cute, and beautiful to set out on a coffee table.

In other news, there will obviously be some great Pixar products coming out in the near future – namely in the form of Toy Story 3 on Blu-Ray. Did I mention it’s really super freaking convenient that these Blu-Rays come out around the time of my birthday? Cause it is. Although I eBay’ed for my mint condition Toy Story 1 & 2 Blu-Rays earlier this year, a ten-disc box set is due for release around the same date as the regular TS3 release, including all three movies on Blu-Ray and regular DVD plus tons of special features.

I’ve also heard rumblings that Finding Nemo is the latest original Pixar film to get Blu-Ray treatment, which I think leaves The Incredibles as the last film standing in the flux between regular DVD and glorious Blu-Ray. I will say this much – if you’re going to trade in your DVDs for Blu-Ray’s, Pixar films are definitely a worthy cause.

The nice thing about Pixar is they understand (how could they not) what their fans want. They aren’t mass producing Lightning McQueen bubblegum – instead they create artsy coffee table books, fun interpretations of wall art, and kitschy items for your desk. Do an Amazon or Google search for Pixar products and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. It’s nice when you can do no wrong, I suppose.