Customer Reviews

Monsters, Inc. Qv (Frn)

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1 star:		(10)

 

 

Admittedly, I am a fan of Pixar's work. Their artists have done some incredible animated features over the years. Between the "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life," they have managed in a short time to build an impressive track record. Their shorts are also among the best ever produced. So my expectations going into this movie were very high.

The story concerns the monsters in your closet. The theory being that their world runs of the energy produced by children's screams. Sulley (John Goodman) is number one at getting screams. His main rival (Steve Buschemi) will do anything to gain the top spot. Oh, and they consider the touch of a human child to be toxic.

While not as instantly relatable as "Toy Story," the movie builds on the talents of Goodman and Billy Crystal (Mike) to bring you into this make-believe world as Sulley and Mike try to get little Boo back through the closet door to the safety of her bedroom.

Disney/Pixar has presented this well on DVD. Both Widescreen and Pan & Scan versions are available on the first disc. The second disc has games, outtakes, an award winning animated short, and a fun (easy to find) Easter Egg.

All in all, if you enjoy Pixar's work, or animated features in general, this is a must have for your collection.

James Sullivan (voice by John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) make a great team...a great monster team that is. Monstropolis, the city of the monsters, gets all of its power from the screams of little human children, and though scarers such as Sulli work real hard, sneaking through children's closet doors and scaring the daylights out of them, there just doesn't seem to be enough power. But, when a human child (toxic, like all children) sneaks into Monstropolis, Sulli and Mike find themselves in real trouble. They can't tell the good monsters from the bad monsters, but it's up to them to save the day! [Color, released in 2001, with a running time of 1 hour, 33 minutes.]

I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Monsters, Inc. Collector's Edition, and boy am I happy! This movie is an absolute masterpiece. The story is clean enough for any kid, it is extremely funny (I loved it!), and it is just the right balance of being suspenseful but not too scary for the young viewers. The monsters themselves are funny, creative, and very well-done.

Now, let's talk extras, this CD collection is crammed full of them. It has an all-new short (Mike's New Car, which my little ones had to watch three times in a row!), the short seen when the movie was in the theatre (For the Birds), outtakes, the Monsters Inc Company Play (it's kind of hard to explain, you've got to see it), Monster World (for the new Monsters Inc employee), a game [pant, pant, pant], and so much more.

OK, if that's not clear enough, let me put it this way: Buy this CD set, you WON'T regret it!s film is that, no matter what state you come to see it, you will leave with a smile on your face and a joy not often given to us by movies. This is a movie to warm the heart, the spirit, and the corners of your mouth, not to mention your stomach as you laugh.

This is one of the best DVD's I've gotten to date. The movie itself is wonderful and includes the voice talents of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, John Ratzenberger, Jennifer Tilly, and James Coburn. As you probably already know the storyline, I'll just talk about DVD.

You get 2 discs- one contains the movie itself (with the "full screen" or "widescreen" versions, as well as a director's commentary option)and the second disc is chock full of goodies! You get "For the Birds" the 2001 Academy Award winner for Best Animated Short Film (shown in theaters before the movie), and "Mike's New Car" (exclusively created for the video and DVD release, as well as an exclusive sneak peek of "Finding Nemo", the newest upcoming release from Disney starring Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, and Willem Dafoe. Plus, if you choose the "Human Door" option, you get a tour of the Pixar animation studios by the makers of the film. They'll show you deleted scenes, 3-D location flyarounds, and animation gags and "inside" jokes. The "Monster World" door is where the real fun starts- train for your first day at Monster's Inc.; see the employee handbook, and play the "Boo's Door Game", which works like a CD rom-type game. Use your remote control to go through doors and find pieces of Boo's door that come together like a puzzle. The kids and I had tons of fun playing this together. Even our 4-month old son laughed heartily while rocking in his swing. Definitely a DVD for familes to own- worth every penny for the amount of material you get. Buy it, buy it, buy it now!

DISC ONE: For moviegoers during summer of 2001, the marquee was packed with animated options: Shrek, Atlantis, Final Fantasy and Monsters, Inc. If you disect the movies, the first two end up being dissapointing when viewed in the small screen and Final Fantasy is just made with a different public in mind. Now, Monsters, Inc. achieves in DVD format the same feel you got when you (hopefully) saw it in theaters: the movie IS a great movie for all ages. No bells and whistles: simply brilliant!

The script is very funny, clever and innovative (it is worth seeing on the DVD how much it evolved from the original treatment it was going to have...), turning around the ageless childhood fear of monsters into a fear of kids BY monsters, who need kids' screams in order to power their society. Top ranking scarer, big, blue and furry Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) and his one-eyed assitant, Mike Wazowski (brilliantly played by Billy Crystal) see their "monstrous" lives turned around when Sulley accidentally brings a little girl (Boo) by accident into their monster world.

Complementing the script and the voices, the animation is incredible. The faces of the characters, the blinking of the eyes (the red in the eyes, when Mike sprays antibacterial stuff on his face, the glassy look in Sulley's eyes toward the end of the movie), the fur of Sulley (every hair moving just as if he were real), the illumination all through the movie. Plus the persecution scene leaves you speechless: there's SO MUCH happening in it, and it's so seamless: one of the great animation accomplishments of the movie without any doubt.

DISC TWO: One element that powerfully called my attention is the very human (is that ironic or what?) touch that the second disc has. For example, the Director, the two Co-Directors and the Producer appear in the very beginning, showing you how to find your way around the DVD. It's not that it's a convoluted DVD or anything of that sort: simply the two discs are packed with all sorts of goodies and they are making an effort to have you find it all.

One of the best things included in disc 2 is the Oscar-winning animated short film "For The Birds" which we all enjoyed in theaters so much right before Monsters started. Also included are the complete outtakes (call them "bloopers" from the movie, if you may, whose concept alone makes you scratch your head in surprise while you laugh till it hurts). But the fun to disc two doesn't end there: there is a wealth of details for the more technically-inclined or those who simply are curious about the way animation is done, with a whole tour through the process, from story reels, to layout, animation, simulation (a key component in the level of perfection accomplished with Sulley's fur and the way Boo's big shirt works) ahd shading/lighting. Same thing is done with design and music & sound. Wrapping up the goodies is a pretty fun tour of Pixar studios where you can catch a glimpse of why these guys are able to come up with such a funny movie: they're having a blast there! :D

Technical comments
-If you view the DVD on a computer (as I did), the first time you do it, you will go through the installation of the InterActual player software. Hit "Accept" at every step of the way: whether you like it or not, you won't be able to take advantage of all the elements in the DVDs unless you view it using this software...
-Another detail for computer users: the "Peek-A-Boo Door game" was useless on my computer. It's designed to be played when viewing the DVD on a DVD player. In fact, it almost brings my laptop to its knees. So, my recommendation to you DVD-viewers using a computer to go past the intro page with all the games on it and click on to view the movie.
-Subtitles included are in English only, so that probably will not make Spanish-only or French-only-speaking viewers too happy, n'est-ce pas? Verdad?

In general, though, excellent! Five stars to this incredible production by Disney and to its Two-Disc Collector's Edition. You will enjoy every bit of it and watch it several times over.

Having a young child, we were waiting for this movie to come out on cable or dvd -- no chance of going to a theater yet! So we were delighted to receive an advance copy from an online store and Disney/PIXAR. We've watched the film at least six times in the past four days.

The movie is terrific -- one of those films that children of different ages can enjoy AND adults can watch multiple times without going insane. This is the story of Monsters Incorporated, an energy supply company based in Monstropolis. In this reality, energy comes in the form of children's screams, and to that end Monsters, Inc. employees emerge from closets all over the world in order to collect a few GigaHowls and keep everyone's lamps and toasters running. The best scare team at Monsters, Inc. is John "Sulley" Sullivan (John Goodman) and his assistant Mike (Billy Crystal). One evening after hours, a child gets through a closet door and enters Monstropolis. Not good, considering monsters are scared of kids and believe their touch is toxic. Over the course of the movie Sulley and even Mike become attached to "Boo", risking health and careers to get her back to her home. In the meantime, incorrigible adorable Boo is having a great time scaring all the big monsters.

The film is incredibly well done, as technically flawless as earlier PIXAR productions, the Toy Story series and A Bug's Life, but even funnier. John Goodman perfectly voices gentle, affable Sulley, and Billy Crystal creates Mike, a frantic egotist who is also optimistic and loyal. In other words, with more depth than half the human characters being written today. The animation is stunning, and the story is lots of fun. Nothing here to disturb little kids, and a lot to entertain them. The only part I didn't like much was the opening credit sequence, which was reminiscent of 60s bedroom farces, but that's what the Select Scene feature is for.

There are two discs here. On Disc One you can view the film in fullscreen or widescreen format. Audio commentary by the director and staff is available with the latter. English captions, audio and video optimizers, and sneak peeks at PIXAR's upcoming "Finding Nemo" and Disney's "Lilo & Stitch" are also here. Disc Two contains almost three-and-a-half hours of amazing dvd extras. There's an interesting 20-minute tour of PIXAR; a very funny bloopers reel (that also plays during the credits of the fullscreen version); storyboards; deleted scenes; recording studio footage; character design; trailers and tv spots; footage of the Hollywood premiere; discussion of tie-in toys; a poster gallery; two Monsters Inc.-related segments from Ponkickies, a goofy Japanese animated show; Peek-a-Boo, a game; a history of Monster World; a Monsters Inc. employee handbook; and an introduction to Monsters Inc.'s version of baseball cards called Scarer Cards. The 13-minute original treatment and several scenes from an alternative story are presented that are as funny as the one that made it to the screen.

Our favorite extras were the outtakes; a new animated short, "Mike's Car"; the Oscar winning PIXAR short, "For the Birds"; fly-arounds of several movie locations; the guide to "in" jokes (eg, the appearance of Toy Story 2's Jessie when Boo is showing her favorite toys to Sulley); a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the technical wizardry required to produce complex backgrounds, Sulley's fur, Boo's shirt and the city of Monstropolis; being able to watch a scene as it was done in storyboard, layout, animation or finished presentation; and a fun 4-minute clip with a few seconds of dialogue in each of the 30+ languages into which the film was translated. There's even a brief appearance by PIXAR CEO Steve Jobs.

Packaging and foldout are nice, and include a contest entry form (to win Disney dvds), a free tie-in storybook offer, and a coupon book (for popcorn; Monsters Inc. tie-ins; Disney storybooks, videos and dvds; and Disney on Ice). With one exception we ran everything on our dvd player without a glitch, and could not be more pleased with this very funny family film and the many many extra features.

Highest recommendation.

Before anyone starts saying this has not been released yet and there cannot be a review of the Bluray edition let me tell you this, this movie has been available in Japan and Mexico for quite some time now, and I was able to get a copy of the Mexican edition, which was at one time, identical to the one to be released in the US. It is a 3 disc edition (2 BD plus DVD copy of the movie), this has now been changed to a 4 disc set in the US to include the additional digital copy.

Disc one starts with an intro by director Pete Docter, in which he pretty much explains all the contents in this 'glorious' high definition version of the movie. A mini documentary on the 'Monsters, Inc: Ride & Go Seek ' ride in Disney Japan is also included. The highlight to me was the creators 'Round table' in which they talk about the process of creating the movie, some deleted scenes not included in prior DVD versions are shown here and they finally explained to me why is it so difficult to get a reservation at 'Harryhausen's' if all the staff from the scare floor seems to hang around there!

The Pixar shorts 'For the birds' and 'Mike's new car' (originally made on 4:3 format) are also included in HD format (as previously released in 'Pixar shorts)

The movie is presented in 1:85:1 aspect ratio. The word that comes to mind to describe how this looks is simply 'Beautiful', the colors, the textures, Sullivan's fur, the character's skin textures, Roz' sweater. Details pop up, colors are bright and clear. I had never noted that the real name of 'Boo' is actually in the movie until I saw it on Bluray!

The audio is another improvement of this BD edition. Presented in an uncompressed 5.1 track, the music by Randy Newman and the sound effects (check the audio in the door chamber sequence or every time 'Boo' laughs/cries and there is a power variation) sound just great. Spanish and French Dolby Digital tracks are also included. An audio commentary with the creators provides a lot of details of the movie, since I have watched this over and over with my 2 year old kid I have been able to play the commentary a couple times so he watches the movie and I learn about how it was made.

One thing I noted though, the end credits in the Bluray are not the same as in the DVD. The DVD will have the bloopers play while the credits roll, while the Bluray does not. Those 'Bloopers' though are included in disc 2 as additional features.

Disc 2 includes a feature called the 'Employee's manual' Additional spots created to promote the film are included too. Storyboards and drawings from the artists in HD as well as the '100 doors challenge', which is like a trivia game in which based on your responses you will be offered a position in Monsters Inc. Disc 3 as mentioned earlier, is a DVD copy of the movie (in the Mexican edition the 4:3 presentation is included, NOT widescreen) which is great as my kid can have that to watch it as many times as he desires.

Fans of the movie or any Pixar movie should not miss this!

If you look at my other Amazon[.com] reviews, you will notice that I don't review movies and truth by told, I watch very few movies. Perhaps 2-4 per year, including both in the theater and at home on video or DVD. I'm just not a movie fan.

But tonight, we rented the Monsters Inc DVD and I absolutely loved it! Clever, hilarious, touching, innovative, unique, imaginative - those words don't begin to tell about this movie! You just have to see it.

It's such a pleasure to see a G-rated movie doing so well, both at the box office and also sales of the products for home viewing. This movie is totally free of sex, profanity, and substance abuse. Some of the action could be called violence, but not in the sense we usually define violence in movies! This movie might scare a 4-year-old, however. You need to know your own child to know if he's ready for this action-packed, laugh-a-minute masterpiece!

I watched this with my husband and two of our older kids (ages 19 and 21). We all enjoyed this movie immensely and can't wait to watch the extras on the other DVD. I can actually see watching this movie again, as the humor flies fast and furious and I know I missed a some good lines!

You will be touched by the relationship between Sully (the big blue monster) and the little girl he affectionately names Boo. He puts her safety above his job and above the good of the company. This little girl they created is nothing short of charming and endearing. You will instantly love her and cheer Sully on as he does everything he can to protect her.

The premise of the movie - that the Monsters collect screams of children which in turn power the city that the Monsters live in, is nothing short of genius. This DVD would be a great gift for many people on your Christmas List - regardless of their age!

The best films, regardless if they're for kids or adults, all have the same thing in common--great storytelling, characterizations and imaginative direction. Pixar's Monsters, Inc. has all three in spades. From the film's satirical opening m inutes (with its parody of commericals and corporate America)to its last suspense filled frames, Monsters, Inc. packs humor and heart into a fun filled movie. Director Pete Doctor has crafted a film that entertains whether watched for the first time for the tenth.

John Goodman's performance as Sully and Billy Crystal's performance as Mike demonstrate that not all the best acting is found in serious high minded films. Both give comedic performances that rival the best live action work each has done. What's particularly memorable about the film is the imaginative voice casting. Without the right performer, the best animation won't reach an audience. Monsters, Inc. manages to do both exceptionally well. The opening titles (with their witty reference to the old Gerald McBong McBong cartoons)can't even begin to prepare you for the fun that follows.

The extras on this 2 DVD set are particularly fun. The animated short about Mike's new car is a blast (it's only found on the video version) and the inside look at Pixar shows us not only who comes up with these nutty ideas but how they give birth to them as well. There's also a section that shows viewers where all the inside jokes are (although I have the sneaking suspicion that there are still a few gems hidden in there somewhere). The Boo game is fun for little ones and the DVD-Rom features are a nice addition as well.

The digital picture transfer is spectacular. The widescreen and standard screen formats are both available on the same disc (like with Toy Story 2). It's amazing how detailed the sound effects are on films like this. Viewers could listen to this film and still chuckle.

I'd also like to comment on Randy Newman's score. Newman is probably one of the most under rated songwriters/film scorers around. His work on this film (like his best work including his great score for Ragtime) helps accent the action and humor. Newman's sardonic wit is the perfect compliment to Pixar's films.

Monsters, Inc. (like Toy Story before it) has set a new benchmark for animated family films; it's sleek, intelligent and funny managing to reach kids and adults equally well.

I am basing my review on the movie, so I hope the DVD will be added fun!

My husband is not always thrilled to sit through kids' movies. We took my daughter, who was 6, and my son, who was 2. We all loved the movie. The graphics were great, the story was interesting and fun, and the music was fabulous. The movie is not a 'babyish' movie, and it appeals to a wide age range. Great family viewing!

Here is a fun animated feature sure to appeal to the kid in us all. Furry Sully and his one-eyed friend Mike work at Monsters Inc, a company devoted to scaring the lving daylights out of humans. One day a little girl named Boo manages to enter their world through her closet, and it is up to Mike and Sully to find the correct door in the factory to return her home. The only problem is Sully finds himself becoming very attached to her. Features terrific voice performances by Billy Crystal as Mike and John Goodman as Sully, some of it may be a bit scary for very young kids, but MONSTERS INC is perfect family entertainment, with humor that will appeal to adults as well.