Monsters Inc. (Blu-ray)

Filed Under: Blu-ray, Reviews | Article Tags : Blu-ray review

By: The Dweeb

Blu-ray Features

Video: 1.85:1 1080P Audio: DTS HD-MA 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1

Disc 1: Blu-ray
Monsters, Inc. Ride And Go Seek: Building Monstropolis In Japan
Filmmaker’s Round Table
Audio Commentary
For The Birds Short
Mike’s New Car Short

Disc 2: Blu-ray
All-New Roz 100-Door Challenge Game
Pixar Fun Factory Tour
Banished Concepts

Disc 3: Standard DVD
Feature Film
Plus Original DVD Bonus

Theatrical release: 10/28/2001
DVD released on 11/10/2009 by Disney/Buena Vista
Running time of 93 minutes

Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman

Director: Peter Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich

Plot: James P. Sullivan (AKA “Sulley”) and Mike Wazowski pick up their paychecks at Monsters Inc., the utility company that generates energy from the goose bumps of children. Sulley, the No. 1 scream-generator at the plant accidentally lets in a little girl into the monster world. Since monsters are actually terrified of children it’s a major cause for alarm and a major headache for Sulley and Mike.

I’ll start off by saying right away, I love this movie! Now that Disney has dusted off the old version on DVD and given it a well deserved Blu-ray refresh, I love it even more! Timed of course to coincide with the release of Up, also directed by Pete Doctor. Next to the Toy Story films, Monsters Inc has to be my next favorite in a long line of great films. Monsters Inc is an instant classic, featuring the misadventures of Sulley and Mike Wazowski as they go through Monstropolis trying to hide a little girl from the authorities. What’s not to love about this film, as it plays on our childhood fears of the dark. Its hilarious, cute, and as almost any Pixar film has, possesses a big heart. Both young and old can enjoy this film, it has something for everyone. See guys, now this is a film where you can just tell the people who made it were just so in love with the material.

You have to admit, the premise of the movie is really clever. As children practically every one of us was afraid of the dark in our bedroom at one time or another. So what about all these monsters that come out of your closet, what do these guys do on the other side? As I said there’s a bit of something for everyone, for the kids they’ll love the slapstick and sight gags. For the adults, there are a lot of jokes the little ones won’t quite understand, or the references to other films. My favorite is all the monsterized versions of every day items we’re familiar with. Upon watching it again, this time with a much better screen I caught a few more little items I never noticed before.

What certainly holds the film together is the great character interaction between Sulley (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal). Modeled after a monster version of the Odd Couple, it makes for some entertaining dialog. Best friends even though they don’t always see eye to eye. (Sorry bad joke.) Mostly due to Billy Crystals natural ability to frenetically fast talk and back pedal out of a lot of situations. “We’re uh..rehearsing a new company play! Put that thing away so help me!” Some of his lines are golden. The supporting characters are also very well done. The world of Monstropolis is inhabited by monsters with personality traits we’re all familiar with. Hence the reason the audience can connect so strongly to these characters.

I don’t have to tell you about the picture quality of this transfer. Pixar has it easy here, as since its a digital source there is no loss in quality. The film looks fantastic on Blu-ray, probably the best it ever has. You can easily see all the surface details, colors just shine and the sound track is equally good. This Blu-ray combo disc is an updated reissue of the original Monsters Inc DVD released several years ago. That one was already packed to the gills with extra features. You’ll find all those included on this set, there are also a couple of new items on here as well to keep it somewhat refreshed. Pete Doctor does an intro about the Blu-ray every time the disc loads, so you eventually have to skip him to get the main menu. Yes, we can figure it out ourselves Disney thanks. There is the new round table discussion, basically a rehash with principle players from the film and a promo for the new Disney Japan Monstropolis Ride that’s being built. The second disc also features a new game, although how many kids would play a game on move disc really. They also threw in a digital copy as well as a regular DVD if you have not upgraded yet. I’d say its a really good value for the money, they provide quite a bit here.

So if you love this film, its a definite upgrade to the Blu-ray edition. You will not be disappointed.