Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be a previous review for Monsters, Inc., the 2001 Pixar film directed by Pete Docter (Up), on this site. I think most everyone is probably familiar with the particulars already. It's an inspired plot in both theory and execution, concerning a parallel world inhabited by monsters who depend on the screams of children as an energy source. Chief among these characters are James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman) and his single-eyed buddy Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal). They encounter a small human child called Boo and try to fend off villainous Randall (Steve Buscemi) and the Child Detection Agency in the process of finding Boo's door so that she can go back home. The larger ideas of the movie convey a message of, perhaps unsurprisingly, hope and reassurance. There's a real comfort in seeing our fears transformed into something positive and, finally, dwarfed in power by the expression of joy. That Monsters, Inc. was released in the U.S. on the heels of the 9/11 terrorist attacks gives it an unavoidable footnote but one which nonetheless acts as a reminder to the value of having happy communal experiences.

I wasn't even in the United States during that time and it wasn't until a year or two later when I finally caught up with Monsters, Inc. so my opinion remains unclouded by all of these external factors. And, still, I find this to be the best of the Pixar features thus far. It doesn't have the monumental highs of some other efforts but, start to finish, there's nothing to quibble about or second guess. Monsters, Inc. is delightful and it need not carry the increased emotional weight sometimes forced upon more ambitious animated films. To be sure, there is clearly a surface for the main aspects to thrive and there's also a slightly deeper layer where we're told that fear is, to a point, healthy and necessary. Moreover, the sources of these fears are shown to be fairly innocuous, likable creatures. Monsters, Inc. doesn't strike me as much of a parable, but I can fully accept the idea that what scares us is often harmless or, at least, unavoidable. Since these films are also made with children in mind, their fears of what's under the bed or in the closet are hopefully alleviated by the idea of benign, friendly monsters rather than something intent on causing damage.

Beyond trying to analyze the film either in the context of unintentional, post-9/11 salve or as anything deeper than a mere cartoon, it's important to simply enjoy Monsters, Inc. for how charming it is. A solid reason why I find this to be the most agreeable of Pixar's output is the film's constant recognition of playing to the viewer beyond just predictability and slapstick. Here it's in the creation of this fantastic, unique world and then populating that with a pair of nigh-on perfect leads in Sulley and Mike (who are then brought to life in flawless voice performances). Aside from maybe Wall-E, I find these two probably the most endearing leads in Pixar's catalog. Mike is great comic relief - never grating and consistently funny - but Sulley is the deserved star. You can gather the strong, kind elements quite easily. His pathos, though, provides an equally memorable impression. Seeing a big, turquoise-furred monster cycle from being afraid of a little toddler to protecting her safety at all costs proves quite the affecting experience. I've watched the film a handful of times now and each viewing inspires something very paternal in me after Sulley resolves to keep Boo safe. The same things strike the same emotional chord every single time.

I'm steadfast, then, in thinking that Monsters, Inc. is indeed a great film capable of widespread entertainment without compromising any of its core values. This isn't a movie which starts off one way and subsequently dissolves into formulaic nonsense. The villain character Randall is a necessary evil and someone whose antagonism makes sense in the context of the story. He's the requisite conflict but also justified by the plot. Everything that occurs is consistent with the film at hand. Even the ending, which is not so much ambiguous as an opportunity for the viewer to fill in the blank himself, rings completely true. Disney animated features, either in the guise of Pixar or not, have a tendency to pile on the saccharine treatment without regard for the overall story, but I never get that feeling here. In terms of the Pixar output, I guess I'd rather see a film blissfully comfortable in its own skin regardless of the limitations than something which strives for greatness but eventually succumbs to a cowardly placation of mainstream sensibilities.

The lightness of Monsters, Inc., too, seems to be its primary attribute. That sunshine must have felt remarkably good after weeks of 9/11 coverage and I find it to be refreshing even now, regardless of whatever catastrophe is dominating the news cycle. In thinking about the film for its scenes beyond the narrative arc, the things that come to mind most strongly are Mike's enthusiasm, Sulley registering fully as a gentle giant, and one sequence involving a Yeti (memorably voiced by Pixar good luck charm John Ratzenberger) who could pass as a twin brother to the Humble Bumble of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" fame. The plot of the film is fine - emotionally attuned to the audience without coming across as overbearing - but I do tend to prefer the scenes of exposition and some of the smaller moments over that perfunctory drawing of the line from A to B to C.

The Discs

This is the U.S. release of the Monsters, Inc. Blu-ray being reviewed, though my understanding is that the earlier UK edition is more or less identical aside from the addition here of a digital copy and disc one from the original DVD. That brings the total number of discs on this package to four. No region-coding has been used for the pair of Blu-ray discs, with the back of the case even indicating compatibility for regions A, B, and C. The DVD is labeled as R1. Menu operations for the first disc are available in English, French and Spanish. Disc two adds a host of additional languages and subtitle options for those extra features.

Regardless of your expectations, the 1080p image for Monsters, Inc. will likely exceed them. It looks superb, with dazzling colors and remarkable depth. The inferiority of the DVD format has perhaps never been so obvious as when comparing what was a seemingly fine standard definition transfer of this film against the stunning image found on the Blu-ray. It's reference material. Seeing the way Sulley's fur lightly moves as each hair becomes a delicate and movable part of the whole, I'm not sure anything else Pixar has done has been this consistently impressive in high definition. Individual shots look like high quality stills and the video always maintains a natural crispness in motion. Disney has also preserved the 1.85:1 aspect ratio.

The main language option is an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Roaring when called upon and full of clarity at all times, the audio is nothing less than marvelous. Every little sound effect and large musical cue sound equally impressive. The big band jazz rhythms from early in the film are just triumphant and much richer than the DVD equivalent. The more intense moments in the third act certainly lack nothing in strength either. I was also quite happy at the volume consistency, meaning big musical and effects cues don't overpower dialogue to such a degree that the viewer is constantly reaching for the remote control. As with the transfer, I can only praise what's been done with the audio on this release. Alternative Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are available in French and Spanish. Subtitles are white in color and the options included are English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.

The bonus features for Monsters, Inc. come very close to going beyond exhaustive and into overwhelming. I believe all of the already comprehensive extras from the DVD have been carried over, with most remaining in standard definition, and a couple of new supplements (in HD) have been added as well. I'll try to give as concise an overview as possible while still mentioning and giving running times for everything I found.

Disc one retains the audio commentary recorded for the DVD that features director Pete Docter, co-director Lee Unkrich, co-screenwriter Andrew Stanton (also the director of Wall-E and Finding Nemo), and executive producer John Lasseter. The new material, in 1080p HD, includes an introduction (1:30) by Docter that sets up everything to look forward to with this release. There's also a "Filmmakers' Round Table" (21:35) with Docter, Unkrich, producer Darla Anderson, and story supervisor Bob Peterson. Something about the way they present 9/11 as an inconvenience to the film rather than a global catastrophe made me uncomfortable, but it's still a nice piece, especially for those without the time to explore every other nook and cranny of the set. The other featurette exclusive to the Blu-ray is "Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek: Building Monsteropolis in Japan" (7:58), which looks at the Monsters, Inc.-inspired ride at Tokyo's Disneyland theme park. Rounding things out are the two shorts associated with the film, now in HD. "For the Birds" (3:28), the Oscar-winning short film that played before Monsters, Inc. in cinemas is again joined by "Mike's New Car" (3:47) which debuted with the DVD release. The latter is still in 1.33:1. Both have familiar and optional commentaries, done by director Ralph Eggleston on "For the Birds" and the small children of directors Pete Docter and Roger Gould on "Mike's New Car."

BD-Live content and several Sneak Peek previews finish up the disc.

The copiousness of the bonus material on disc two becomes a reminder that studios largely got lazy with the DVD format at some point mid-decade or so. The days of having such detail in the supplements, where extras are literally piled onto the back of other extras in ways unseen since the Joad family went west, are pretty much gone. I'm not sure their full potential was ever realized, though that might be due to a lack of interest on the viewer's part as much as anything.

A new game, "Roz's 100 Door Challenge," is the only thing on the disc that can't be found on the DVD release. It takes the form of a placement exam to work at the company and is reasonably good fun. The bulk of the extras can then be found in the Humans Only section of the menu. In the interest of navigational ease, I'm going to switch to a list format for this part.

• Pixar -> "Pixar Fun Factory Tour" (3:46) - a first glimpse at the ubiquitous (and unidentified) chimpanzee and a brief tour of the building where Pixar operates


• Story -> "Story Is King" (2:03), "Monsters Are Real" (1:31), "Original Treatment" (13:43) - a very interesting look via color drawings and narration of how the story seen in the film was first conceived, "Story Pitch: Back to Work" (4:32)


• Banished Concepts -> "Intro" (0:32), "Assistant Sulley" (2:14) - storyboards on the much different way Sulley had been originally envisioned, "End of Day" (2:34), "Bad Scare" (3:00), "Scream Refinery" (1:07), "Original Sulley Intro" (0:59) - fully animated alternate sequence, in HD, to how we first see Sulley in the film


• Storyboard to Film Comparison -> Storyreel, Final Color, and Split-Screen Comparison (5:42 each) versions of a single scene, in HD


• Art Gallery -> hundreds of images divided into Characters, Color Script, Concept Art, and Posters


• Designing Monstropolis -> a short featurette (2:51) on creating the look of the locations seen in the film


• Set Dressing -> "Intro" (3:22) - rooms and furniture and props and how they get there


• Location Flyarounds -> a 360° look (7:25) at several of the sets used


• Monster File -> "Cast of Characters" (5:54) - checking in with the voice cast, "What Makes a Great Monster?" (1:27)


• Animation -> "Animation Process" (3:14), "Early Tests" (8:05) - shows Mike and Sulley and has commentary, "Opening Title Animation" (2:09), "Hard Parts" (5:01), "Shots Department" (2:15) -- Production Demonstration -- "Intro" (0:42), "Storyreel," "Layout," "Animation" and "Final Color" (1:50 each) - can toggle among these to see a single scene at different stages of production


• Music & Sound -> "Monster Song" (3:17) - "If I Didn't Have You" sung by Sulley and Mike, "Sound Design" (4:16)


• Release -> "The Premiere" (0:58) - wordless footage from the El Capitan theater in Hollywood -- Trailers and TV Spots --"TV Spot #1" (1:51), "TV Spot #2) (1:21), "Men in Teal" (0:32), "Your Eye" (0:33), "Green Skin" (0:33), "Your Eye, #1 Review" (0:18), "International Inserts" (1:08), "Multi-Language Clip Reel" (3:47), "Toys" (1:32), "Outtakes and Company Play" (5:27) - this where to see the bloopers shown at the end of the credits at some cinema screenings, in HD


• Wrap-Up -> a short hint (0:46) about finding the disc's Easter Eggs

Speaking of those hidden bonuses, pressing the right arrow while at the "Wrap-Up" section should take you to an area with several doors. I counted a total of eight little things to watch, most under a minute in length. At the main menu, pressing left arrow on your remote will also access the option to view a handful of text screens like an Employee Handbook, a neat Guide to In Jokes, Monster of the Month, and Scare Cards.

Underneath the Humans Only part of the menu is, in the interest of equality I guess, Monsters Only. Mercifully less content is here. The "New Monster Adventures" leads to Sulley and Mike hawking the film for television in "Monsters TV Treats" (1:12) and some very strange but hilarious appearances on a Japanese kids show "Ponkickies 21" (0:37 and (0:57). A music video in HD for "If I Didn't Have You" (1:11) is also here. Entering "Behind the Screams" opens up "On the Job with Mike and Sulley" (2:33) where the film's stars discuss their work at Monsters, Incorporated. You too can learn about the company by going to "Orientation" and watching the three short videos "Welcome to Monsters, Inc." (0:50), "Your First Day" (3:37), and "History of the Monster World" (1:36), which was drawn and narrated by Bud Luckey.

Final Thoughts

A truly ultimate edition of Pixar's most enjoyable film and a strong argument in favor of the technical capabilities of Blu-ray.

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