Monsters Inc. [2002] [DVD]

This film is just a visual and audio treat. We have watched this blu-ray numerous times and each time is as funny as the last. It just seems to keep getting better with each viewing as we see more and more details in the picture, more and more subtle hints, jokes and producer tricks.

The story is moving, about monsters that work in a factory and scare children, collecting their screams for electricity to run their world. It has adult humor about the 9-5 grind, lots of laughs for the children, and of course, the bad guy. There is something for everyone in this film, and the characters are realistic, well portrayed, and you forget that you are watching a cartoon after a while. I don't post spoiler reviews, but the story is excellent here and one of their finest to date.

The DTS-HD MA sound delivers thumping bass and very realistic and believable surround sound perfectly balanced on all channels. The Subwoofer is well integrated into the sound effects for a nice deep addition to regular sound effects however, when it should thump, it really does. All channels get a good workout and really throw you into the movie. TEN stars for sound.

This cartoon may be a bit dated in terms of technical aspects but it is still an awesome display of cartoon. The picture is 1080P and just crystal clear and unbelievably cool to watch. Ten stars for video too.

After such an awesome sound/video quality, the story could be mediocre and it would still get five stars. However, the story is also very cool and entertaining to watch. This is one of the best blu-rays I have bought, and even better than some of the newer cartoons.
You can't go wrong with this Blu-Ray. A big thumbs up!

Monsters, Inc. is another triumph of computer animation from the wizards at Pixar. As with the Toy Story series, the plot is taken from a "what if?" scenario in a child's imagination. What if the monsters (whom everybody knows dwell in childrens' closets and under their beds) in fact live in a parallel world to ours?

Monstropolis City is powered by energy garnered from children's screams, which are collected by the workers at Monsters Incorporated. James P. Sullivan and his sarcastic assistant Mike are Monster Inc.'s top scarers, but when Sulley inadvertently lets a small girl into the monster world things start to go awry. Monsters believe that human children are highly toxic, and in their efforts to put little Boo back where she came from, they uncover a fellow worker's sinister plan to revolutionise the scream-collection industry.

One of the few down sides of the film is that at times it is just a little too cute, and Sulley definitely works best as a strong and straight-forward good-guy, as opposed to his attempts to be a moraliser and emotion-analyst. His computer-generated fur though is incredible. Over one million hairs have been animated to move realistically in response to anything from a light breeze to a Himalayan snowstorm.

The concept of a factory that has an exact replica of every child's closet door, and that of monsters living in a world not all that dissimilar to ours is certainly clever; but it is also the little details - such as a "Grossery Store" and "odorant" (rather than deodorant) - which really make the movie. Although the ending is a trifle schmaltzy, this is a film that kids will love, and adults won't mind watching again and again.

I know Monsters Inc is popular, but I've always thought of it as living in the shadow of the other Pixar films; it came nestled between the more successful and considerably more famous Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo, it's not one of the 'Brad Bird masterpieces'; it's even outshined by the comparatively duller Cars, a film that coasted into kids' hearts despite being missing something perhaps only we older Pixar afficionados can see.

This is a shame, as Monsters Inc is one of the studio's very best films, and indeed one of Disney's very best by default. First time director Pete Docter knows his stuff- the film is filled to the brim with background detail, and after the discovery of the child the pace is frantic 'til the thoroughly satisfying conclusion. Following three films directed by studio head John Lasseter, Docter paved the way for the other directors to tackle their own ideas, and ironically Lasseter's return to directing (with Cars) fell far short of the bar set by Andrew Stanton with Nemo, Bird's The Incredibles, and this sterling effort.

The Blu Ray is a stunning transfer. While it's arguable that the film's groundbreaking fur rendering looks dated now, it still looks amazing compared with lesser offerings from Dreamworks. EVERYTHING in this film, in fact, looks amazing, from the subtle hues and colours of the sky to the photorealistic blizzard and underground halls. The animation on token child Boo is so human its impossible not to fall in love with her, share her fears and her delights. Background detail is too presented with astounding visual clarity- see the combination locks in the locker room or cars in the exterior shot of the building for proof.

Billy Crystal and John Goodman are the perfect double act to lead the film, though there's good support from a spiteful Steve Buscemi as the piece's villain Randall and Bob Peterson as grumpy, paperwork-fond Roz, who really shines in the outtakes reel (which for this release has been removed from the film and put on the extras disc).

The extras aren't as excellent as I would have hoped for, though this is a catalogue release rather than a new film, so that's understandable. It's been released as a tie-in for Docter's second film as director, the apparently-awesome Up, though the significance of that is lost on us as we don't get it until October anyway. The only new extra of significance not ported over from the DVD special edition (which itself has long been out of print, and is replaced by the standard edition in the yearly 'Complete Pixar' collections) is a far-too-short (at 20-odd minutes) discussion between four of the film's creators about their inspiration and experience. I know it's essentially a kids' film by I would appreciate a longer feature all the same.

I can't recommend this film highly enough. It's touching, exciting (the door chase is spectacular in HD) and hilarious ("23 19!"). It looks amazing, everyone in the family will love something about it and you've no excuse not to buy it. Away you go.