Monsters Inc. Blu-ray
Enter the world where screams fuel their cars and homes with Sulley and his side kick Mike when a possible devastating accident turns into their worlds salvation.
Film making 24/25
Video 24/25
Audio 25/25
Bonus Features 24/25
Total 98/100
Entertainment does not get much better than this; about the only way to enjoy this more than what Pixar has done is to throw in some hot buttered popcorn. Pixar is a legendary animation studio with hit after hit to their acclaim with both animated shorts and feature length films.
They have really done it again with Monsters Inc. and the recent Blu-ray release continues the great Pixar and Disney partnership with a fully loaded and feature packed release. The Blu-ray four disc edition contains enough entertainment for a full evening with only the snacks and drinks missing so get ready for a great family night at the movies.
Monsters Inc. stars that big blue furred monster and top scarer Sulley voiced by John Goodman and Mike Wazowski voiced by Billy Crystal. Monstropolis is powered by kids screams from those monsters in the closet but kids are getting harder to scare these days.
Monsters Inc. is finding it harder to power the city and black outs are a new threat so CEO of Monsters Inc. Henry J Waternoose voiced by James Coburn has a plan. Sulley is Monsters Inc.’s top scarer and with his wise cracking sidekick Mike they have a problem when a kid slips through a door into Monstropolis.
Monsters enter children’s bedrooms through a closet door portal and scare them for their scream power but when Sulley is catching up on paperwork for Mike he finds a door has been left on the work floor. He opens the door only to have a small girl slip through and before he sees her he sends her door back to storage.
Children are supposed to be infectious to monsters so when Sulley finds the girl he panics and tries to get her back to her world and room. The door to her closet is now stored so he grabs her and high tails it to Mike to find out what they should do about the girl that Sulley ends up nicknaming Boo.
Sulley and Mike try to get the girl back to her world after figuring out that mere contact will not send them into unspeakable medical perils like Monsters Inc. portrays. When Mike and Sulley uncover a plot by fellow scarer Randall Boggs voiced by Steve Buscemi they fight to save Boo.
Randall wants to subject her to a machine that pulls scream directly from her which will probably hurt and Mike tries to stop him. Mike and Sulley are banished by Waternoose to the same place the abdominal snowman was and they have to fight their way back to rescue Boo and save Monstropolis.
Monsters Inc. is one of those original stories taken to its logical conclusion and done in perfect storytelling through the talents of Pixar animation studios. The film is full of laughs but has a heartfelt lesson behind the fun story that is classic entertainment.
Monsters Inc. will go down in history as one of those highly entertaining films that will be a classic for more years to come. It has already been eight years since its theatrical debut and it still has that classic blend of comedy and fun adventure in animation that entertains to a whole new generation.
The video for the high definition Blu-ray movie is almost perfect with striking colors and great texture to the film that rivals anything I have seen. The video is both vivid with colors that really pop as well as great blacks that add depth to darker backgrounds and shadows.
The video is so well done I don’t see how it could get much better except by going frame by frame and making sure everything was top notch which is just not practical. The audio is also very well done so much that it is hard to find fault with the excellent DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.
The audio has both crystal clear front sound with voice and those surround sounds are so well done you marvel at things that occur on the rears and side. The scenes were a lot of action is occurring is worth mentioning such as the chase sequences using the factory and doors where surround does play a great part.
They have done an excellent job throughout the film with both audio and video that it has to be rated top notch or nearly so. Monsters Inc. also includes a wealth of extras that rival any film I have seen so far so here we go with bonus content.
The Blu-ray release has the Blu-ray edition as well as a digital copy for your computer, a DVD copy for use in regular definition players and a second bonus Blu-ray disc with bonus content. The package is chock full of extras and having the various copies is just the start with commentary tracks, short films, a round table and much more.
I’ll go disc by disc starting with the Blu-ray movie disc with the 90 minute movie in high definition that includes a filmmakers round table, a sneak peek at the new Monstropolis amusement park in Japan, For The Birds animated short film, Mike’s New Car animated short film and audio commentary.
The Blu-ray bonus disc has a silly game called Roz’s 100 Door Challenge, two sections of making of features, and other various fun stuff including several short but fun additions. Much of the extra content is either making of features or features done in animation used to advertise or promote the film.
There is nothing added to the standard DVD version except audio commentary and the 5.1 surround sound effects mix for the wide screen version of the film. The bonus content is not all just how they made the movie but shows various parts of the film and explains concepts of the story through short animation clips.
There are several hours of additional content for adults while kids may get a few minutes of fun from some of it with most of the additional content from the 2001 Collector’s Edition release. The round table is a new addition and with all the production and other fun stuff the bonus content easily surpasses most expectations of what should be included with a Blu-ray release.
Monsters Inc. is still a fun film for both kids and adults as well as offering a timeless tale of good versus evil that has been worked over into a great animation classic. Monsters Inc. Blu-ray edition is well worth the purchase and with all the bonus content and near perfect video and audio definitely worth the purchase.