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MONSTERS INC.
Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack
Review by Michael Jacobson
Voices:
Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn
Director: Pete Docter
Audio: DTS HD 5.1, Dolby Digital
5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Studio: Walt Disney
Features: See Review
Length: 93 Minutes
Release Date: November 10, 2009
"Monsters
Inc. We scare because we care."
Three
key ingredients to creating a successfully entertaining story?
Take a well established premise, give it fresh motivation, and throw in a
surprise twist. Monsters Inc. does all of that, and in the space of
maybe ten minutes or less. That
left a lot of room for the dual studios of Disney and Pixar to flex their
creative muscles, and boy, did they ever.
The
premise behind this computer animated offering? The monsters in the closets and under the beds that every
little kid knows about. The fresh
motivation? That there is in fact a
thriving business on the other side of that closet door, where the monsters
collect the kids' screams and use them for power. The twist? The
monsters are in fact deathly afraid of the children.
As
wild as kids' imaginations can be, it's nothing compared to the residents of
Monstropolis, where they actually believe children to be toxic and deadly!
They even have an entire government department dedicated to child
prevention and decontamination.
Rustling
up scares, therefore, is risky business, and there's none better at it than
Sully (Goodman), a big blue furball with the personality of someone who
wouldn't hurt a mouse. He and his
best friend, Mike Wazowski (Crystal), who is a big green one-eyed sphere, are
the top scream producing team at Monsters Inc.
The
one thing the monsters fear most is a kid accidentally making its way through
that closet door and into their world, and of course, that's exactly what
happens. When the snakey Randall (Buscemi)
tries to cheat his way to better numbers, he leaves a door out, and Sully
accidentally (gasp!) lets the child in!
While
the city erupts in panic, he and Mike try their best to contain the "danger", with the object of getting the little girl back into the human
world and keeping their bottoms out of the sling as well!
That's
the premise in a nutshell, but there's so much to Monsters Inc. that
keeps it rollicking with entertainment. It's
fast, funny, visually stunning (arguably Pixar's finest work apart from
Finding Nemo), and
ceaselessly surprising. Just when
you think you've gotten a handle of everything the movie has to offer, it
comes at you with one of the most exciting action sequences in recent memory as
Mike and Sully make their way through a fast moving door factory!
Then, the picture surprises again, when you find you have a lump in your
throat and a tear in your eye that isn't laughter induced.
This
picture was nominated for Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Sound
Effects Editing, and took home a statuette for Randy Newman's song "If I
Didn't Have You", but even those accolades don't come close to expressing
what a marvelous, imaginative romp this movie is.
As technology has improved, computer animation has opened up doors of
endless possibilities. If you can
dream it, it can be done.
I'm
thankful a few creative geniuses dreamed up Monsters Inc.
Video
****
The only possible improvement over the direct digital transfer of Monsters Inc. to disc is to deliver it in a high definition transfer. This Blu-ray is now the most beautiful and spectacular looking computer animated film I've seen in the format. Everything from the eye-popping colors to the minute details, such as every strand of Sully's fur, works together to deliver a pristine and incredible visual presentation. I noticed more detail this time around than ever before, like some of the names on the office doors, and even what's on the menu at Harryhausen's. The fast paced door warehouse sequence is just jaw dropping...you can see every door, and there are hundreds if not thousands of them. This is a superb treat!
Audio
****
The DTS HD soundtrack is better than ever before...more dynamic and potent, with incredible and almost constant use of the surrounds for both ambience and action. Again, when the doors are whizzing around, you'll be right in the middle of it. The music sounds incredibly lively, and the big scenes really pack a punch with the subwoofer usage. Absolutely perfect!
Features
****
Disney conti
Disc
Two contains two divisions for easier exploring. "Monster World" is something the kids will like.
You get to train for your first day on the job at Monsters Inc., peruse
the employee handbook, learn the history of the monster world, play games, learn
trivia, and more. "Human World" is more for the adult fans. You
can see deleted scenes, experience 3D location fly-arounds, enjoy an extensive
art gallery, a guide to gags and in-jokes, watch extensive featurettes on the
production and animation, and go behind the scenes of the Oscar winning theme
song.
The third disc is the DVD edition of the film, for families on the go with DVD players in their cars, or for those who haven't yet made the upgrade to Blu-ray yet, but plan to. It contains all the original DVD features. And the fourth disc is for you to create a digital copy of the film for your portable device.
Summary:
Monsters Inc. is better than ever on this amazing Blu-ray and DVD combo pack from Disney. This is THE best high definition animated releases on the market...enjoy!
