Blu-ray Review: Monsters, Inc.

Release Date: November 10th, 2009
Running Time: 91 minutes

The Film

Having grown up when Disney was churning out classic after classic hand drawn animated films, I found myself very adverse to the sudden influx of Pixar CGI films despite their critical and commercial success. Due to this I never saw Monsters, Inc. and that was completely my loss. Nearly a decade later, and after falling in love with Ratatouille, I finally sat down to watch the heralded film. Though visually it is drastically different from Disney’s classics, Monsters, Inc. is every bit as memorable as the films I adored in my childhood.

The film takes place in a city of monsters called Monstropolis that receives its energy from the company Monsters, Inc. Owned by Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn), the company has countless doors that act as portals to children’s closets. “Scarers” are monsters whose job it is to go into the child’s room and scare them enough so that they scream. Those screams power the entire city. Children are considered extremely dangerous and poisonous (a single touch could kill you), and a Child Detection Agency (CDA) is there to prevent any contamination or exposure. However, since children are becoming more jaded and less frightened, an energy crisis is approaching and Waternoose fears for the company.

The best scarer in the company is a furry giant named James P. Sullivan (John Goodman), aka Sulley. His one-eyed, rotund friend Mike (Billy Crystal) loads the doors for Sulley. The two are generating the most scares and are on course to beat the record. This causes great jealousy in the camouflage-capable slithering beast Randal (Steve Buscemi) who is always second to Sulley. All is well as Sully enjoys his celebrity life and Mike woos his medusa-like girlfriend, Celia Mae (Jennifer Tilly).

One night when Mike is planning to take Celia out for a romantic evening he realizes he didn’t file his paperwork. Sulley offers to file the paperwork for him so Mike can continue with his date. When exploring the scare floor to find the papers Sulley sees a loaded door but no kid inside. He practically loses it when he realizes a human girl (Mary Gibbs) has followed him into the monster world, dubbing Sulley “Kitty.” Before Sulley can return the girl Randall enters and unloads the door, appearing try to cheat to improve his scare totals.

With nothing else to do, Sulley crashes Mike’s date but the child gets loose and starts a city-wide panic. Sulley and Mike take the kid and hide in Sulley’s home, slowly realizing that the child may not be the toxic beast that they have always believed. Sulley decides to watch over the child and return her to her own door, but upon going to Monsters, Inc. they find it crawling with CDA. They have to find some way to get her back to her own world and in the process stumble upon Randall’s true insidious plan.

Monsters, Inc. is unfiltered creativity put on the screen backed by a simple but powerful story. The world Pixar has created is unique yet familiar enough for even children to notice the clever differences in the monster world. However, it is the characters that make the film. Sulley and Mike feature strong, emotional arcs. The story focuses heavily on these two instead of a whole band of monsters which prevents the film from having any one-note characters just tagging along to draw out laughs. Unlike my recently reviewed Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the main characters are all fully utilized and developed.

Pixar has been so successful because their films truly are fun for the whole family. The comedy in Monsters, Inc. isn’t cheap. There are laughs from the parallels between the monster world and the human world, some fun physical comedy that doesn’t rely on gross out gags, and line deliveries that are spot-on thanks to an extremely talented voice over cast. There’s just so much to love about the movie: the world, the characters, the story, and of course the sheer eye candy animation that Pixar continues to produce. If you’re like me and somehow never saw this film, do yourself a favor and give it a try.

The Disc

The video is presented in a 1.85:1, 1080p High Definition transfer that is essentially flawless. The film may not be as detailed as Pixar’s more recent efforts, but what is on the screen is utterly pristine. Every color under the sun is on display in the various creatures without succumbing to banding. Black levels are deep without any shadow detail loss. Fine detail is fantastic. The creatures’ skin looks real and palpable. Monstropolis is immensely detailed both in close up and far away shots, allowing you to see every clever aspect of the design. I did not notice any compression artifacts or other digital errors. This is by far the best the film has ever looked, and I am elated that it was given the same intense treatment as Pixar’s newer films.

The audio is offered in an English DTS HD 5.1 master lossless audio track and French/Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound with English/French/Spanish subtitles. The power of the track amazed me but it is not overdone. The mix is a faithful, pure sonic recreation of what is visually on the screen. Every speaker is utilized to its fullest. For example, the factory scenes feature so much movement and hustle that the effects surround you from every angle. There are also countless examples of engrossing action scenes, but even the quiet moments reproduce appreciable atmosphere so the rear channels are always active. Dialogue is also crisp and balanced even in the most chaotic scenes.

The Extras

This 4-disc set does not mess around when it comes to extra content. You get the Blu-ray of the film, a Blu-ray bonus features discs, a standard definition DVD, and a digital copy.

The disc kicks off with a quick “Director’s Introduction” that discusses what can be found on the Blu-ray.

Commentary is offered by Director Pete Docter, Co-Director Lee Unkrich, Executive Producer John Lasseter, and Writer Andrew Stanton. Unlike the Ice Age 3 commentary track, these guys are master commentators that discuss a slew of production-related topics. It is far too technical for kids to listen to (there is plenty else for them on the disc), but any older fans interested in the nuts and bolts of making a CGI movie should consider giving this a listen.

“Filmmakers Round Table” is a 22-minute candid discussion with Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Story Supervisor Bob Peterson, and Producer Darla K. Anderson. This casual conversation is less organized than the commentary but will give you a great feel for the personalities of the team and their experiences on the film.

“Ride and Go Seek: Building Monstropolis in Japan” is a 12-minute featurette on the upcoming attraction in Disney Tokyo.

The “Story featurettes” section contains over 20 minutes of featurettes focusing on pre-production work covering the story department, the cast and characters, an early treatment for the story, and a behind-the-scenes look at discussing a scene with the team.

The “Animation” section contains more featurettes (25 minutes) covering Pixar’s animation process, character model creation, the opening titles, difficult sequences, and finishes with an examination of a scene in different stages of completion.

“Monsters Only” has a number of monster-oriented features such as orientation videos for Monsters Inc. employees, TV spots, a music video, and an interview with Mike and Sully.

“Designing Monstropolis” is a 5-minute featurette on the design of the city while “Set Dressing” (3 minutes) looks at creating specific locations in more detail. “Location Fly Rround” (7 minutes) gives full panoramic views of various locations.

“Music and Sound” (7 minutes) covers sound design and a musical number.

“Storyboard to Film Comparison” (16 minutes) allows you to dissect and compare a single scene from its original concept to final result.

The “Release” section contains nearly 20 minutes of content, including: Trailers, TV spots, behind-the-scenes at the premiere, the international releases, different language dubs, merchandising, and the Outtake reel that was played in the theaters during the credits.

“Monster File” (7 minutes) is a promotional piece on the characters and cast.

“Pixar Fun Factory Tour” (4 minutes) is a kid-friendly tour of Pixar Studios.

“Banished Concepts” (10 minutes) is 5 deleted scenes in different stages of completion.

Two short films (always a great inclusion) are offered as well: “For the Birds” (3 minutes) and “Mike’s New Car” (4 minutes).

“Roz’s 100 Door Challenge” is an interactive “test” for Monsters Inc. employees that is actually a disguised trivia challenge.

An Art Gallery features hundreds upon hundreds of images while “Wrap-Up” is the bookend piece to the director introduction.

Lastly, a Video/Audio calibration helper is offered, and the Blu-ray disc is BD-Live enabled.

Final Thoughts

Time after time Pixar continues to deliver not only outstanding films but outstanding home video releases as well. Animation companies take note–this is what a true Blu-ray set is like.