Monsters, Inc. Blu-Ray DVD Review

Written on November 12, 2009 by Marc Eastman in Movies

Your favorite monsters are back, and the Monsters, Inc. Blu-Ray release is one you’ve got to pick up. Loaded with some great special features, this is a nice package well worth the price, and fans will love getting the film in gorgeous high definition.

The 4-disc release comes with all new special features, the original DVD release bonuses, standard DVD copy of the film, and a digital copy DVD.

Monsters, Inc. features revolutionary, eye-popping animation and inspired vocal performances by John Goodman, as the lumbering and lovable Sulley, and Billy Crystal, as the wisecracking Mike Wazowski, two monsters employed by Monsters, Inc., the biggest scream processing plant in Monstropolis. When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it’s the monsters who are scared silly. Thinking she is dangerous and toxic, Sulley and Mike do their best to return Boo to her bedroom, but there are some monstrous hurdles in their way. Also featuring the delightful voice talents of Bonnie Hunt, Frank Oz, John Ratzenberger and Jennifer Tilly, Monsters, Inc. is frightfully fun entertainment families will want to enjoy over and over in Blu-ray Hi-Def.

New to the Blu-Ray release -

Filmmakers Round Table – Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Darla Anderson, and Bob Peterson take a look back at the creation of this instant classic. They share a lot of their most memorable experiences, and best anecdotes from the entire process. This feature is surprisingly fun to watch, and I hope people take notice of the unassuming bonus. Commentaries are the standard special feature at this point (and there is one available here as well, and it’s one of the more entertaining ones you’ll find), but this is quite a treat for fans, and I can imagine a great many films that could run with this idea.

Clips below from this feature.

Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek: Building Monstropolis in Tokyo is a sneak peek at the Monsters, Inc. attraction at Tokyo Disneyland that includes interviews with the artists and engineers. Generally speaking, this is not the kind of feature I’d be all that interested in, but when you get Pixar ideas and Disney crew involved with creating something for one of the theme parks, it’s actually rather fascinating.

A clip of this below.

Roz’s 100-door challenge is a cute, little game which has you answering questions as though a test for employment at Monsters, Inc. Answer as many as you can until you give three wrong answers, and then you will be offered a job based on how well you did. Not the best ever, but a nice little treat.

Also included are several BD-Live features – Movie Chat, Movie Mail, Movie Challenge, and Movie Rewards.

You also get bonuses from the original DVD release, and they’re the kind of quality special features you expect from Pixar as well. You’ve got a storyboard to film comparison which is worth checking out, hilarious gag reels, a monster file, banished concepts, a tour of the Pixar Fun Factory, and a lot more.

Also check out Academy Award nominated short Mike’s New Car, and Academy Award winning short For the Birds. Both have audio commentary by the director options.

All together this is a great deal. The 1080p HD looks stunning, and the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is great as well. If you’ve got the setup for it, this will really be experiencing the movie like never before. The special features are a nice mix, with something for everyone, and the roundtable revisit is the kind of above-and-beyond touch that make Pixar releases must-owns.

I’ve long though Monsters, Inc. has been getting a raw deal in the grand scheme of Pixar efforts, just because it never seems to be the one that gets mentioned at any given time, and it’s good to see it getting another chance to be in the spotlight.