Monsters, Inc. – Blu-ray Disc Review
November 7, 2009 – 5:26 PM - Posted by: Justin SlussTags: BD-Live, Billy Crystal, Digital Copy, Disney, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Pete Docter, Pixar, Steve Buscemi
has an average rating of 8.0 on IMDb
1080p in AVC MPEG-4 on a 50gb disc
DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio
are great with a DVD & Digital Copy
– 
– 2001
– 92 minutes
– Pixar (Disney)
– 
Disc 1 uses 36.4GB total.
Disc 2 uses 20.9GB total.
Street Date: November 10th, 2009
Overall Verdict – Very Highly Recommended
Buy it for $21.49 @ Amazon.com
— Review by: Justin Sluss & Danielle Byington —
The Movie Itself is directed and written by Pete Docter (Pixar‘s latest feature, “UP“), with the co-director credits of David Silverman (“The Simpsons Movie“) and Lee Unkrich (“Finding Nemo“), and the additional writing credits of Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon, Ralph Eggleston, Andrew Stanton, Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird, Rhett Reese, and Jonathan Roberts.
The story takes place in fictional Monstropolis, the world on the other side of our closets, where monsters live their lives fairly similar to our own; here are introduced to the main characters, Sulley (John Goodman), and Mike (Billy Crystal). The two are close friends, and also work together at Monsters, Inc., the city’s power company basically. At Monsters Inc., the top scary monsters pop through the infinite numbers of doors, which are basically portals to world, landing inside the closets of kids’ bedrooms. Their objective is to frighten the children on the other side, and the screams and cries of the scared kids provides the city with its power source. Sulley is quite the professional at his job, more than often landing at the top of ranks of highest amount of scares completed, really only facing competition from bitter monster rival, Randall (Steve Buscemi). Mike on the other hand is more in-tune with settling his life down, as on this particular day that the story begins, he has some serious plans for an evening with his girlfriend, Celia (Jennifer Tilly).
Whilst on the verge of clocking out, Mike is spitefully reminded by one of his bosses that he has still not completed a massive stack of paperwork. Being the pal to Mike that he is, Sulley offers to stay over and complete his friend’s paperwork for him so that Mike can hurry off to his scheduled dinner plans with Celia. While wondering about the door work area, Sulley accidentally lets in every monster of Monstropolis’ worst nightmare; a child. Because of the fear and stigma that the monsters have about actual contact with the children on the other side, believing to the extent that they are lethal, Sulley himself is certainly frightened of the little girl at first. However, he begins to lend his trust to the little girl, whom he decides to affectionately refer to as Boo (Mary Gibbs).
Realizing that though he may have found it in his heart to not destroy the child, Sulley knows that the paranoia of the other monsters will never accept Boo‘s presence in Monstropolis, and so he seeks Mike‘s assistance to return her to the other side.
In closing, this was Pixar‘s third large title original story (not counting “Toy Story 2“), and the imaginative minds behind this film proved once again in 2001 that they could top their past creations yet again. The story is strong and highly creative, lending a great amount of detail to a fictional world you may have always wondered was there beyond your closet at as a kid. The staff who contributed to this film also out-did themselves by breaking their own previous animation limits, which simply pushed further forward into what is probably now “basics” for their most recent work, and giving audiences visual expectations that are thoroughly met. The voice cast of course works perfectly, with especially the “buddy” chemistry exhibited between John Goodman and Billy Crystal. When it comes to computer animated favorites, this title surely has its fair share of popularity, in the end receiving a “5 Star Rating“.
Video Quality on this release is in full 1080p using the AVC MPEG-4 codec on a BD-50 (50 gigabyte dual-layered Blu-ray Disc) in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The look of the picture bares a very solid black level against a rather vibrant color palette; the abundant use of vivid and bold shades within the fictional world of Monstropolis‘ characters and unique setting are beautiful and have that “jump off the screen” effect. Even the fleshtone of Boo is properly realistic, bringing believable human life to her cartoonish character style, especially amongst the monster characters. Speaking of the monsters within the story, their various textures offer an intense amount of detail here in High Definition, whether it’s a slick amphibian skin, reptilian-like scales, or most notably the texture of fur as each strand stands out to the eye. There is definitely a lot of visual depth through out the release’s runtime with the placement of computer animated props and such within the settings, and even in the movement of the characters. Overall, this is no doubt a “5 Star Rating for video quality.
Audio Quality on this release is presented in both DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio and DTS-HD 2.0 Stereo. The presentation of dialogue on this release sounds great, perfectly conveying the voicing acting of the cast from primarily the front center channel, with the occasional background vocal pop-up in the left and/or right front and rear channels. This release also gives the subwoofer a real work-out, especially within the scenes consisting of the rotation of the doors at Monsters Inc., and moments of chaos. Every bit of foley comes across as believable, showing some intelligent placement within the 5.1 setup, often coming from an assigned channel. The film’s original music, composed by Randy Newman, has a superb presence in the soundscape as well, filling the front channels, as well as making more than decent use of the rears, and even subtle subwoofer use. This is actually one of the louder Pixar films, so it should come as no surprise that it certainly possesses that “knock your socks off” quality, as it receives a definite “5 Star Rating“.
Bonus Materials on this release are presented in High Definition, 1080i, and Standard Definition, using Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo.
- “Digital Copy” is included with this release on an additional disc, and is compatible with iTunes, and Windows Media Player.
Disc 1:
- BD-Live is included on this Disney release and requires the user to be on a “Profile 2.0” capable Blu-ray Disc Player with internet connectivity.
- “Audio Commentary“
- “‘Monsters, Inc.’ Ride and Go Seek: Building Monstropolis in Japan” (12 minutes, 1080i) involves much of the production team discussing the ideas of the film being placed in the amusement park ride in Tokyo’s Disneyland.
- “Filmmakers’ Round Table” (22 minutes, HD) consists of discussion amongst Pete Docter, Darla K. Anderson, Lee Unkrich, and Bob Peterson.
- “For the Birds” (3 minutes, HD) includes optional commentary with director Ralph Eggleston.
- “Mike’s New Car” (4 minutes, HD) includes optional commentary with the filmmakers’ sons.
- “Roz’s 100 Door Challenge” is an interactive game which allows you to select a “mentor” from the characters of Sulley, Mike, Celia, or Boo. The game asks simple questions, allowing three incorrect answers through out game play, and in the end, assigns you an occupational position at Monsters, Inc. based on your game performance.
- “Pixar“
- “Story“
- “Banished Concepts” (6 minutes, intro SD, scenes HD) includes an intro with Lee Unkrich, as well as 5 banished concept scene in rough sketched animation.
- “Storyboard to Film Comparison” (5 minutes, HD) uses Boo‘s bedtime scene to allow you to view the storyreel, final-color, or split-screen comparison.
- “Art Gallery” (HD) consists of MANY art selections from characters, color script, concept art, and posters.
- “Designing Monstropolis” (3 minutes, SD) involves David Silverman as well as other production members as they discuss the themes and ideas of creating the story’s fictional setting.
- “Set Dressing Intro” (3 minutes, SD) takes a look a the department created upon the production of this film.
- “Location Flyarounds” (7 minutes, SD) is a really neat look at the computer animated design of the settings used in the movie, absent of characters, and simply meant to be eye-candy.
- “Monster File“
- “Animation“
- “Production Demonstration” (intro SD 40 seconds, scenes HD 2 minutes) includes “Production Demonstration Intro“, as well as the selections of “Storyreel“, “Layout“, “Animation“, and “Final Color” of the chosen example scene from the film.
- “Music & Sound“
- “Release“
- “Wrap Up” (42 seconds, SD) is the conclusion to the Pixar department tour.
- “New Monster Adventures“
- “Behind the Screams“
- “Orientation“
- DVD of the film is include with original DVD bonus materials.
Disc 2:
—”Humans Only” includes:—
- —”Pixar Fun Factory Tour” (4 minutes, SD) is basically an introduction with Jon Lasseter as you begin the tour of the multiple departments that contribute to the production.
- —”Story is King” (2 minutes, SD) is a basic run-down of how this department begins the production progress.
- —”Monsters Are Real” (1 minute, SD) involves production members and cast discussing their ideas of the “monsters” in the film.
- —”Original Treatment” (14 minutes, HD) consists of the movie’s original pitch, presented as rough sketches and artwork, and showing the differences compared to the finished film.
- —”Story Pitch: Back to Work” (5 minutes, SD) involves Bob Peterson going over the redux of a particular scene.
- —”Cast of Characters” (6 minutes, SD) involves Pete Docter and others as they discuss the voice recordings for the film.
- —”What Makes a Great Monster?” (1 minute, SD) involves the production team discussing the many concept ideas they went through for the look and characteristics of the monsters in the film.
- —”Animation Process” (3 minutes, SD)
- —”Early Tests” (7 minutes, SD) includes the “fur test”.
- —”Opening Title Animation” (2 minutes, SD) talks about the creative ideas put forth for the sequence of doors in the opening title.
- —”Hard Parts” (5 minutes, SD) discusses some of the new obstacles in animation that the team encountered during the production of this movie.
- —”Shots Department” (2 minutes, SD)
- —”Monster Song” (4 minutes, SD)
- —”Sound Design” (3 minutes, SD) consists of discussion with those from this department who worked on the production at Skywalker Ranch.
- —”The Premiere” (1 minute, SD)
- —”Trailer #1” (2 minutes, SD)
- —”Trailer #2” (1 minute, SD)
- —Four “TV Spots” (2 minutes, SD)
- —”International Inserts” (1 minute, HD) consists of the production members explaining bits and pieces of the film which were reduxed into other languages/cultures.
- —”Multi-Language Clip Reel” (4 minutes, HD) includes examples of the above mentioned supplement.
- —”Toys” (1 minute, SD)
- —”Outtakes & Company Play” (6 minutes, HD)
—”Monsters Only” Includes:—
- —”Monster TV Treats” (1 minute, SD)
- —”Ponkickies 21” (HD) consists of two games, including a Japanese version of “rock, paper, scissors”.
- —”‘If I Didn’t Have You’ Music Video” (1 minute, HD)
- —”On the Job With Mike & Sully” (2 minutes, SD)
- —”Welcome To Monsters Inc.” (1 minute, SD)
- —”Your First Day” (4 minutes, SD)
- —”History of the Monster World” (2 minutes, HD)
Disc 3:
Overall, the bonus materials are great, lengthy and in-depth. Plus you have the Digital Copy and DVD of the film included which is great to see. Fans of the film and Pixar fans especially are going to enjoy this set of supplemental materials.
Blu-ray Disc packaging:
Screenshots:
NOTE: The full-sized 1920×1080 files are in a .PNG file format and uncompressed. Bare with the slow loading times, keep in mind these files are at least 1MB (1 megabyte) in size each.
