Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Blu-Ray Review
Pete Docter Directs John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi
Nov 9, 2009 Dominic von Riedemann
If there is such a thing as an underrated Pixar film, Monsters, Inc. was it. Despite becoming the #1 animated film at the 2001 box office, it lost the inaugural competition for Best Animated Feature Film Oscar to DreamWorks Animation's Shrek.
Ironically, Monsters, Inc. holds up better as an animated film, mainly because director Pete Docter (Up) put together a nuanced story about prejudice and friendship. Given a typically lavish Blu-Ray release from Disney/Pixar, Monsters, Inc. still thrills, anchored by excellent leading performances from Billy Crystal and John Goodman.
Pete Docter Directs John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi in Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc.
In the hidden city of Monstropolis, everything is powered by children's screams and no one collects more than Monsters, Inc.'s star employee Sulley (Goodman) and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski (Crystal). However, the monsters have a secret: children secretly terrify them. So when 2-year-old Boo (Mary Gibbs) accidentally wanders through her closet door and into the monsters' world, it's cause for serious panic. Mike and Sulley must find Boo's door and return her to her bedroom; but is Sulley starting to soften around the scary little girl?
Two things immediately leap out when watching this film. First off is the incredible job the Pixar animation team did on the fur and hair, especially on Sulley. Fur and hair are always the toughest things to render in CGI and it looks wonderful here. Certainly this film looks its age – there are some glossy, doll-like moments and the tracking isn't completely tight – but Monsters, Inc. is still an impressive achievement.
The part of this film that hasn't aged at all is the unbelievably tight connection between voice actors John Goodman and Billy Crystal. Unusually for an animated film, the two leads recorded their voice parts together, and it shows in the interplay between the two characters. The standout is where Mike and Sulley improvise the new company play "Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me," which Goodman and Crystal riffed on the spot.
While it initially appears that Goodman is the straight man to wisecracking Crystal, a closer listen indicates that's not the case. While Crystal may have most of the lines, Goodman drops in more than a few, and handles the balancing act between jokes and pathos with aplomb. Other voice acting standouts include James Coburn as company president Henry J. Waternoose III, and Steve Buscemi as Randall, a monster tired of playing 2nd fiddle to Sulley
Oh, and if that final sequence – where Sulley reunites with Boo – doesn't get you tearing up just a little, consider yourself dead from the heart outwards.
Blu-Ray Extras
Pixar typically likes to "over-deliver" on their extras, so there's no shortage of stuff to watch. In the interest of space, here are the highlights.
Everything from the original 2-disc DVD edition is here, including the 'For the Birds' and 'Mike's New Car' shorts, plus the brilliant blooper reel and Pixar factory tour (gotta love the chimp!).
A 'Filmmakers' Round Table' features Docter, producer Darla K. Anderson, writer Bob Peterson and co-director Lee Unkrich discussing their memories of making the film, and why the chimp ended up in the aforementioned factory tour. There are also banished concepts that never made to the final film, plus art galleries, plus 'Roz's 100-Door Challenge Game.'
In addition, kudos to Disney/Pixar for packaging a digital copy of the film, plus a DVD disc for those who haven't yet made the switch to Blu-Ray. Unfortunately, the DVD is about as bare-bones as it gets; gee, do you think Disney is trying to tell us something?
(Public Service Announcement: yes, you can play your old DVDs on your Blu-Ray player, which means you don't have to toss all your old DVDs once you buy a Blu-Ray. Public Service Announcement ends).
Final Analysis
Although the graphics in Monsters, Inc. are less than state-of-the-art 8 years on, the story hasn't aged a bit. The comedy is still sharp, and the heart-tugging moments still work their magic.
The Monsters, Inc. Blu-Ray gets a 10/10.
Monsters, Inc. blu-ray cover
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