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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
MONSTERS, INC. has an unrivaled release on Blu-ray that is chock full of bonus material
Pixar's 2001 hit, MONSTERS, INC., continued the studio's tradition of creating wonderfully fantastical worlds of incredible imagination in design utilizing the very best in computer animation. What is the hallmark though of a Pixar film is the fact that the development of character is always at the forefront and is never relegated to existing on a superficial level in...
Published 10 months ago by Pop Culture World News
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LCReggie -Very poor experience
Never got my Monsters Inc. DVD. After 1 month and several attempts to re-order the DVD the seller LCReggie ask me to check with my neighbors for the DVD. He never took action to help me resolve the matter or re-send me a new DVD.
Published 2 days ago by Kids DVD
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
MONSTERS, INC. has an unrivaled release on Blu-ray that is chock full of bonus material, November 12, 2009
This review is from: Monsters, Inc. (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
Pixar's 2001 hit, MONSTERS, INC., continued the studio's tradition of creating wonderfully fantastical worlds of incredible imagination in design utilizing the very best in computer animation. What is the hallmark though of a Pixar film is the fact that the development of character is always at the forefront and is never relegated to existing on a superficial level in order to showcase the many hours of hard work that went into creating the animation. MONSTERS, INC. is of course a great buddy picture, pairing two opposites together, and setting them forth on their adventure. Just as Buzz Lightyear and Woody were teamed up to create such a memorable pair in the TOY STORY movies, so too does MONSTERS, INC. couple the diminutive and always frenetic and full of energy Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), with his enormous friend Sulley (John Goodman), the leading scarer at Monsters, Inc., a company that exists to provide electricity for Monstropolis by collecting the screams of children as the monsters pop out of the kids' closet doors at night. When a toddler, Boo, inadvertently follows Sulley back through the doorway and into the monsters' own world though, Sulley and Mike must set out to try and get her back to her own world while battling those in the company that have ulterior motives. The result is a wildly funny and dynamically original movie that exudes a tremendous amount of heart from its characters.
The voice casting of Crystal and Goodman is phenomenal, and the two play off of each other so well that they create some hilarious moments on screen. Both though are allowed to fully develop their characters, and the relationship between Mike and Sulley is given the freedom to grow and change throughout the film, and this is key to the story's success. Had the enormously talented Crystal's Wazowski only been seen as the comedic sidekick of Sulley, and never given the liberty to go through his own personal character arc, a much weaker picture would have emerged. Directors Pete Docter, David Silverman and Lee Unkrich though do not go for the easy gag, but rather stay true to each of the character's own motivations, thus allowing their relationship with one another to organically grow throughout the film. By doing so, the team of Mike and Sulley become one of the most memorable from the Pixar catalogue.
Seeing the film in HD at home with the Blu-ray release of the film is in a word, breathtaking. Even though the film is now almost nine years old, the animation in MONSTERS, INC. is still beyond compare. Not only is the world of Monstropolis so completely artistically original and populated with such unique interpretations of monsters, but the level of detail in the animation is staggering. Looking at some of the skin textures of some of the monsters will quickly illustrate how much time and attention to detail went into animating the film, but by far, the scene that best exemplifies just how good the animation in MONSTERS, INC. is involves Mike and Sulley being banished to the Himalayas. Here, the thick blue and purple fur that covers Sulley's body can be seen blowing in the winter storm as small pieces of snow become stuck within it. The animation in this scene alone ranks as among the best, and serves as a milestone in computer animation excellence. Being able to see it in HD at home will bring an entirely new level of admiration for what the filmmakers were able to achieve with the movie.
For the Blu-ray release, Disney is including four discs that include the Blu-ray version of the film, a DVD version, a digital copy and a Blu-ray disc of bonus features. There is so much value with this set, that it, along with the similar edition of UP that is being released on the same day, will prove to be must have Blu-rays for everyone's collection and are rightly sure to be one of the most popular gifts given this holiday season.
The bonus material included with MONSTERS, INC. is simply amazing, and will keep a viewer engaged for hours discovering the vast amount of supplemental material on the film. The bonus features include:
Disc One
Filmmakers' Roundtable (22:00)
MONSTERS, INC. Ride and Go Seek: Building Monstropolis in Japan (7:58)
"For the Birds" Academy Award® Winner for Best Animated Short in 2001 (3:21)
"Mike's New Car" Academy Award® Nominated for Best Animated Short in 2002 (3:46)
Audio Commentary
Disc Two
Roz's 100 Door Challenge-A fun game that will place you in what job you would be best suited for at Monsters, Inc.
Pixar Fun Factory Tour (3:34)
Story is King (2:00)
Monsters are King (1:29)
Original Treatment (13:40)
Story Pitch: Back to Work (4:36)
Banished Concepts: Intro to Banished Concepts, Assistant Sulley (2:15), End of Day (2:22), Bad Scare (2:51), Scream Refinery (1:06), Original Sulley Intro (1:00)
Storyboard to Film Comparison: Storyreel (5:14), Final Color (5:14), Split Screen Comparison (5:14)
Art Gallery
Designing Monstropolis (4:48)
Set Dressing Intro (3:24)
Location Flyarounds
Monster File: Cast of Characters (5:51), What Makes a Great Monster (1:24)
Animation: Animation Process (3:11), Early Tests (8:02), Opening Title Animation (2:06), Hard Parts (4:58), Shots Department (2:16), Production Demonstration: Intro, Storyreel (1:50), Layout (1:50), Animation (1:50), Final Color (1:50)
Music and Sound: Monster Song (4:13), Sound Design (3:15)
Release: The Premiere (:56), Trailers and TV Spots, International Inserts (1:06), Multi-Language Clip Reel (3:45), Toys (1:29), Outtakes and Company Play (7:00)
Wrap-Up (:42)
New Monster Adventures: Monster TV Treats (1:09), Ponkickies 21, "If I Didn't Have You" Music Video (1:11)
Behind the Scenes: On the Job with Mike and Sulley (2:31)
Orientation: Welcome to Monsters, Inc. (:58), Your First Day (3:34), History of the Monster World (1:36)
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95 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
The best animated film of the year!, October 29, 2001
I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of this movie the past weekend and *highly* recommend it to everyone: kids, adults, monsters--you all have to go see this one! The newest movie from CGI geniuses Pixar, the studio that brought you the "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life", is a sheer delight from beginning to end. The characters are cleverly designed and fun to watch, the animation is brisk and colorful, the dialogue funny and sparkling, the voice casting perfect, and most important of all, the story compelling and intriguing. This is a cartoon that insults no one's intelligence--it's perfect for the kids as well as adults, without condescending or sinking into juvenile humor (well, there are a few toilet jokes, but they're so lightly done as to be inoffensive to anyone). This "E.T. in reverse" story has wonderful plot ideas--monsters in the closet scare human kids to create "scream energy" to power their city, Monsteropolis--but monsters are as afraid of kids as kids they are of monsters. When a charming and cuddly little tot nicknamed "Boo" escapes into the monster world, it's up to scaremonster Sulley and his nervous cohort Mike to save the kid, put her back where she belongs, and keep anyone else from finding out she's loose in the monster world--but Sulley's sinister co-worker Randall (a charmingly oily chameleon) has devious plans for little Boo... There's so much detail going on that this one demands you see it multiple times (and with a plot, characters and voice acting as charming as this, you will *want* to). The voice acting is spot-on (I've always felt John Goodman was a great actor; who would have ever expected a blue and purple monster would be one of his finest roles?) and the care and attention Pixar has put into the making of this film shows: every frame sparkles with color and wit, and the last-act chase through the Monsters, Inc. factory, where Sulley, Mike, Boo and Randall leap from closet door to closet door thousands of feet above the factory floor is amazingly designed, brilliant and inspired, a breathtaking edge-of-your-seat chase that rivals the Death Star Attack in "Star Wars." Best of all, it features a sweet and emotional ending that had the cynical New York professional crowd I was seeing it with literally go "Awwwwwwwwww..." aloud. And if you have any doubt as to the sense of fun that this movie inspires, check out Sulley and Mike's Amazon.com Customer Reviews and Wish Lists! Heck, *I'd* buy Mike that copy of Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye"! "Monsters, Inc": the best animated film of the year? Absolutely...maybe even the best *film* of the year. Certainly the most fun--and that's exactly what we need right now.
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32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
Great family movie, October 29, 2001
By A Customer
Great animation and story. I took my 3 yr old to see the movie at a preview and that's all she has talked about for the last 2 days. I think she enjoyed it as much as I did. It will be on my wish list for Christmas (and I'm 36 yrs old). You have to take your kids to see it.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Pixar has done it again!, August 26, 2002
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.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
A beautiful, beautiful film., February 4, 2002
Disney/Pixar have done it again. First Dreamworks gave us 'Antz', and D/P trumped it with 'A Bug's Life'. Now DW give us 'Shrek', and D/P return another film about a lovable ogre, 'Monsters, Inc.' In each case, DW offered a film that seemed funnier, fresher, sassier, more gratifyingly 'adult', but which, in the end, couldn't begin to compare with the D/P films. This is because both companies go about making animation with opposing attitudes. Although they might not say so, DW make their films for adults. 'Antz' was a transposed Woody Allen movie; 'Shrek' an 'anti'-fairy tale. They appealed to adults' cynicism and disenchantment, their weary lack of wonder. Once you start winking, there can be no wonder. Their films are 'negative' entertainments - they mock or lampoon or play with or rework existing narratives or cliches or expectations. D/P, rightly, unashamedly, brilliantly, make their films for children first. They create new worlds (or recreate old ones) rather than knocking old ones down. Their cleverness doesn't go over childrens' heads, aren't contemptouos of them. And if adults get it too, well that's nice, but not the main thing. And this is brilliant for receptive adults, because it allows them to tap that lost sense of wonder, to re-enter and re-live their childhood emotions - AS CHILDREN, not knowing adults.'Monsters, Inc.' is not classic D/P - the script is only sporadically witty (most of the best jokes seem to have been reserved for the end-credits 'out-take' sequence) and the characterisation not always inspired (exceptions: John Goodman is an adorable gentle giant; Steve Buscemi as a slithery villain with a scary ability to go invisible, undone by the fact that he's, well, Steve Buscemi). But this doesn't matter, because the animators of 'Inc.' have created a huge, whole new magical world, with its own integrity and movement, operating to its own logic, and believable right down to the tiniest detail. It's not 'our' world or filtered with our sensibilities, although we may recognise some of it - it's a paralell universe, co-existing with ours. The philosophical implications of an industry in which mere doors in the monsters' world opens onto the bedrroms of humans' is too dizzying to contemplate, but it makes for incredible cinema. From the Osbert Lancaster-inspired opening titles on, the film glows with that colourful lumonisity other movies can't reach. The three-dimensional hair rustling Sulley's body is amazing, yes, not because it so 'lifelike', but because it gives him life. The whole concept, where young children, our surrogates on the screen, become the scary Other, the 'abnormal' or 'freakish', is inspired. The climactic third is especially good, with its banishment-in-Nepal agony, its one-eye-poppingly astounding and vertiginous action sequence, in which a factory becomes a kind of candy-coloured Orwellian nightmare, with characters pursuing each other in and out of a global travelogue labyrinth, like one of Chuck Jones' more twisted fantasies (I could also mention that 'Inc.' is the best, most knowing and subversive blue collar drama in American cinema, but that would contradict what I said earlier). And the goo-goo little baby Boo is so Adorable.
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32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
Uncertain about young children seeing this movie ? Read on., November 30, 2001
I have two children ages 4 and 3 and was concerned about them viewing a movie about monsters. The main thing you spend time telling young children is " there aren't any monsters". I worried that the film would only make things worse for them. Before the age of 6, children have a tough time distinguishing between fact and fiction. However, the film really helped them by allaying their fears and turning something scary into a best friend. The characters are well developed and really appeal to children of all ages. Even parents can sit through the film without looking at their watch every ten minutes! The ending was somewhat turbulent but concluded on a good note. My children have repeatedly asked to see the movie again and in light of how good it was the first time through I don't mind taking them. Definately worth seeing !
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful in Bluray, September 10, 2009
This review is from: Monsters, Inc. (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
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!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic animated fun, January 2, 2002
Pixar is quickly becoming a gold mine. Not only does it manage to produce witty, intelligent movies but they are also visually stunning and a hit with both adults and children. This particular movie takes another look at an old theme, just as the `Toy Story' films did, by taking a peek at the monsters that live in our closets. We're told that they don't live in our closets but in a world of their own and their power source is us or, more specifically, children's screams. Our two heroes are Sully, a big hairy blue creature, and his little one-eyed green friend. Sully is the best worker at Monsters Inc, managing more screams than any other worker. There's a fuel crisis though, and children aren't as easily scared as they used to be, so something has to be done. All of a sudden, a little girl called Boo enters into the monster world and is swiftly taken under the arm of Sully. Meanwhile, villains are afoot building a new and terrifying device to extract human screams from kidnapped children.Although the fact that the initial feelings of fear and trepidation turn into feelings of love and caring is quite obvious, it's the way it's done that's so good. In this part it's even comparable to movies such as `Three Men and a Baby', but it's so affectionate, funny and thankfully un-cutesy that you have to give it credit. Also worth mentioning are the countless little details that will make both adults and children laugh - i.e. a newspaper headline reading `child born with five heads; parents delighted'. Just like the `Toy Story' movies, there are plenty of visual gags and a host of likeable, well-drawn characters such as Cecelia, a one-eyed Medusa, and the abominable snowman that deludes himself that his icy home is both pleasant and accommodating. With all this, you can't fail to fall under its spell. It's well acted, visually interesting, innovative and even gently touching. The inevitable separation scenes are not only done well, but they are devoid of schmaltz and sentimentality that would ruin the moment. Even if this isn't as funny as the `Toy Story' movies that it's bound to be compared to, it's actually more touching and yet more proof that children's movies can be good too.
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
Wonderful!, August 25, 2002
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!
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34 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
Buy this CD set, you WON'T regret it!, August 30, 2002
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.
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