Water Comet Studios

I came across a copy of Up for a buck and immediately noticed it was in a Blockbuster case dated just a few months before their bankruptcy. I bought it, and it turns out despite the disc looking literally identical to the normal release this is actually a special rental copy that includes an ad with John Ratzenberger at the start promoting the special releases, and ZERO bonus features and ZERO menus. None. It’s basically like watching a VHS but with a chapter skip ability. And then looking closer at the cover I noticed the back has been scrubbed of all mentions of bonus stuff, and the logos and promos for the Movie Rewards are gone as well (since you’d just be renting this, not owning it). I think the weirdest thing is that I can find literally zero mention of this brought up anywhere else online, but I’m assuming Disney had to have made more of these rental releases… right? It can’t just be Up?
I don’t know if this was more common of a thing than I’m used to, but from my understanding most Blockbuster rentals were literally just the retail movie release in a Blockbuster case. At least my only other Blockbuster DVD (a Powerpuff Girls one that refuses to play the censored Whoopass Stew short which was really disappointing) is the retail disc in a generic Blockbuster case. Obviously this is the first I’ve heard of something like this.
Also, this is the only working copy of Up I have now. A completely stripped-back version of the retail release without even the courtesy of a DVD menu. …Yay? At least it’s an interesting release.

2 days ago | [YT] | 4

Water Comet Studios

3 days ago | [YT] | 28

Water Comet Studios

These digital download discs that came with DVDs are basically entirely worthless nowadays since the services used to download them are long since dead and the files themselves are SUPER copy-protected, but the disc that comes with the Phineas and Ferb 2nd Dimension DVD actually contains a soundtrack sampler containing basically all the music from the film (excluding 'Kick it Up a Notch' BUT it's the only release of 'I Walk Away' strangely). The best part? While the film file is still not playable (at least in any watchable capacity), the soundtrack's files themselves are perfectly accessible in the file browser and are drag-and-drop compatible with modern iTunes. They’re literally just normal .m4a files. So this disc is actually not nearly as worthless as the rest.

This movie is going to be fifteen years old this year. Ouch.

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2 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 8

Water Comet Studios

I found one of those Mattel Buzz transforming figures NIB, but upon further inspection now it looks like there’s some MOLD on the inside of the packaging like the kind that show up on the clear parts of a VHS. I thought they were just dirt or some nasty crud on the exterior but it’s physically INSIDE the package. Uh oh!

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3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 18

Water Comet Studios

Found these thrifting for $8 each. Loose Jessie is missing her one boot but otherwise they’re both in great shape. The box has a label under the one from the thrift store from KB toys and it was discounted to (ironically) $8.

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 18

Water Comet Studios

Hey guys check out my impression of those nothingburger AI Ebay product descriptions:

This Woody McDonalds Toy Story 2 toy is a figure released in 1999 for the fast food chain McDonalds. Based on the popular cartoon character Woody from the Toy Story series, this figure is a must-have for fans of the series and collectors alike. With its vintage feel and multicolor design, this figure is perfect for Toy Story fans of all ages.

That ‘vintage feel and multicolor design’ bit is taken verbatim from one of these things. Also this was written by me, not AI.

3 months ago | [YT] | 6

Water Comet Studios

I'm watching Buzz Lightyear of Star Command again and decided to just made a spreadsheet of which episodes are done with traditional cel animation and which are digital ink-and-paint. Turns out it's almost a complete 50/50 split (32 cel, 30 digital), but unlike so many other animated shows it varies wildly from episode to episode instead of just reaching a point where the production goes full digital for the rest of the series. I also charted the production code order as listed on Wikipedia to see if that would have a defined switch, but even that one is still all over the place.

4 months ago | [YT] | 7

Water Comet Studios

I LOVE micro figures. Any little 1 to 2 inch figure; the smaller the better. I love the idea of being able to carry an entire “action” figure collection within an Altoids tin in your pocket. They’re literally a portable collection. But of course the tiny figures all have to be so RIDICULOUSLY expensive. I’ll find one that looks so cool, and then I’m immediately brought back to reality when I see the cool 1” figure I’m meticulously studying costs $30. It is TORTURE and I hate it. Japan especially loves to do tiny little figures for their gashapon machines and they’re absolutely everywhere. The old Yujin Toy Story and the Gen 1 Tomy Pokemon mini blisters (with a tiny trainer and a teensy weensy Pokemon) are literally exactly the kind of mini toys I crave, but being imports and small things they’re not worth bothering importing (especially now with all this tariff BS). And it’s not like any of my domestic options fare any better price-wise; it’s still like $15-20 for a little figure. Have you SEEN what retro Polly Pockets go for?
I just want some little itty bitty figures without paying a premium or dealing with blind boxes.

4 months ago | [YT] | 5

Water Comet Studios

This show has so many good screengrabs

4 months ago | [YT] | 31

Water Comet Studios

Price went up $2 (still better than what they’re selling for on Ebay though)

4 months ago | [YT] | 17