Monsters Inc. – Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Nov 11, 2009, 11:27 GMT

Experience the film that captured the hearts of critics and fans around the world in a breathtaking new way. MONSTERS, INC. is visually dazzling, action-packed and hilarious, raves the Boston Herald. And now, with eye-popping, crystal-clear visuals and theater-quality sound, it\'s even better on Disney Blu-ray Hi-Def! Lovable Sulley (John Goodman) and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory ...more

Monsters Inc. scores on two fronts.  It’s another excellent Blu-ray from Disney and it’s another classic film from Pixar.  Pixar is obviously one of my favorite film production companies and Disney is certainly moving high on the list of best Blu-ray producers.  

The place is Monstropolis and it is run on fear.  Most literally as the creatures that hide under children’s beds scaring those same kids produces energy that powers the city. 

Monsters Inc., the corporation responsible for gathering that energy, is run by Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn) and the top scare producer in the factory is James “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman). 

He may look scary but he’s a loveable lug.  His best friend is the one-eyed Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and he also assists Sulley in his job.  Sulley’s competition is the scaly Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) and he covets the top scare spot from Sulley.  The monsters are told that children are toxic and their very touch will kill.

So when they’re in our world scaring up some power they’re told to remain uncontaminated.  However, one evening a two-year-old dubbed Boo (Mary Gibbs) follows Sulley, who she dubs “kitty,” back into Monstropolis and he and Mike discover that kids may not be as deadly as they thought and that Monsters Inc. might not be as benevolent as they imagined.  

Monsters Inc. creates a world that is very similar to our own, but populated with all sorts of odd creations.  What always struck me as extremely funny about the film is that the monsters are given very normal sounding names for being weird looking folk.  Well, maybe more first names as Waternoose is a bit odd, but you’d not expect a short, green, one-eyed beastie would be called Mike.

The vocal cast is top notch with Goodman and Crystal making a well matched team.  The sonorous tones of James Coburn give Waternoose a fatherly quality and Buscemi adds an oily villainy to Boggs.  Jennifer Tilly also adds fun to her role as Celia, the snake haired receptionist that is Mike’s girl. 

I’ve never seen a Pixar film that I didn’t like and Monsters Inc. is a personal favorite (an undying admiration of James Coburn didn’t hurt things).  The cast is superb, the storyline delightful, the animation and design are awe inspiring, and the film is certainly on my list of classic animation.  I think I’ve gushed enough, but the Blu-ray presents the monster’s world in one-eye-popping detail.  That was one last gush before looking at the contents of the four-disc set.  

Monsters Inc. is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (1.85:1).  Special features, high definition unless noted, start on disc one with a commentary from directors Pete Docter and Lee Unkrich, writer Andrew Stanton, and executive producer, big cheese, supergenius John Lasseter.  Docter also provides a 2 minute introduction. 

Brand new is a 22 minute “Filmmaker’s Roundtable” with Docter, Unkrich, producer Darla K. Anderson, and story supervisor Bob Peterson.  The Blu-ray exclusive, 8 minute “Ride and Go Seek” looks at the Monsters Inc. themed ride at Disneyland Japan.  You also get the fantastic shorts “For the Birds” (3 minutes and won an Oscar) and “Mike’s New Car (3 minutes).

Disc one is rounded out with Disney previews and is also BD-Live enhanced.  Disc two starts off with the other Blu-ray exclusive “Roz’s 100 Door Challenge” game.  The 3 minute (standard definition) “Pixar Fun Factory Tour” is a guided tour of the studio. 

The “Story” section has the 2 minute (standard) “Story is King” covering the storyboarding process, the 1 minute (standard) “Monsters are Real” where the cast and crew talk about real monsters, the 14 minute “Original Treatment” has the pitch for the film, and the 4 minute (standard) “Story Pitch” has a pitch for a segment that didn’t make it into the film.  The 10 minute “Banished Concepts” have five deleted scenes. 

The 15 minute “Storyboard to Film Comparison” follows a scene from the beginning to the final production.  Next are extensive art galleries.  The 3 minute (standard) “Designing Mostropolis” is about creating the city.  The 3 minute (standard) “Set Dressing” talks about how the monster’s environments were made to look lived in and the 7 minute (standard) “Location Flyarounds” zooms around the sets.  The 7 minute (standard) “Monster File” looks at the voice talent and designs of the Monsters.  The “Animation” section shows us the animation process in about 20 minutes of standard featurettes. 

The “Music and Sound” has 8 minutes (standard) looking at Goodman and Crystal laying down the tracks for Randy Newman’s Oscar winning song and the sound effects of the film.  The “Release section has 17 minutes (standard) of trailers, television spots, and high def credit outtakes that played during the film’s theatrical run.There’s a 1 minute (standard) “Wrap-up” that closes the section. 

The “New Monsters Adventures” section 1 minute (standard) of TV sketches, animation from a Japanese television show , the 1 minute (standard) “If I Didn’t have You” music video, the 2 minute (standard) “Behind the Screams” with Mike and Sulley discussing their work, and 6 minutes of “Orientation” material for when you go to work for Monsters Inc.

Disc three is a DVD copy of the film and disc four is a digital copy of the film.  Whew, my claws are tired of typing!

Monsters and Critics Incorporated sounds like a good sequel name to me.  Both are scary, especially around here.  All joking aside, the disc is another golden release from Disney and the film is a charming look at the world of not-so-scary, lovable monsters.  

Monsters Inc. [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon. Visit the DVD database for more information.