Starring
The Voices Of: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, James Colburn, and
Meg Tilly
Writers:
Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson
Directors:
Lee Unkrich, David Silverman, and Pete Doctor
Feature
length: 93 minutes
Extras:
Filmmaker’s Audio Commentary, Outtakes, “Mike’s New Car” Short, “For
The Birds” Short, Trailers, TV Spots, The Monster’s, Inc. Company Play, Art
Gallery, Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes, Animation Gags And Guide To In Jokes,
Sound Effects Only Soundtrack, DVD-ROM Extras
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 32
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2001/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: G
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
One
of the most eagerly awaited titles of the fall home video season is Buena Vista
Home Entertainment’s “Monster’s, Inc.: Collector’s Edition 2-Disc DVD.”
The story is pretty simple too. Sulley (John Goodman) and Mike (Billy Crystal)
are the top scare team within the “Monster’s, Inc.” factory. Sulley does
the scaring while Mike assists providing the doorways for Sulley to pass through
in order to scare little kids at night because their screams provide the
alternate universe where the monsters live with the energy they need to survive.
Randall (Steve Buscemi) is the second only to Sulley with accumulating scares
for the energy they need. So he decides to do a little behind-the-scenes scaring
unsupervised and inadvertently leaves the doorway open for an innocent baby
human girl to pass into the monster world and become attached to Sulley, who is
like a big huggable teddy bear to her. Unfortunately the structure and
superstitions within monster society dictates that no human, especially a kid
can enter their world. It would be considered “toxic” and as a result a
monster that conspires or is found guilty of this crime can be banished to the
human world. Now Sulley and Mike must figure a way to safely bring the girl back
to her home without getting caught and destroying the balance that exists or so
it seems.
“Monster’s,
Inc” is a cute tale though not quite as crossover funny as “Toy Story 2”
so I think kids will enjoy this film more than adults, but that does not mean
this latest collaboration between Disney and Pixar will not keep adults
entertained because there is plenty to enjoy whether it be Billy Crystal’s
vocal antics and the hilarious “Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or
So Help Me,” which is the basis for the company play included on this DVD,
or the Medusa like snakes in Mike’s love interest’s hair as voiced by Meg
Tilly. Perhaps the most amazing creation is the perfect marriage between vocal
talent and CGI animation to create the ever-lovable Sulley as voiced by John
Goodman. “Monster’s, Inc.” is a lot of fun to watch and the film itself
with the direct digital transfer simply looks outstanding on DVD.
Presented
in a choice of either a reconfigured (1.33:1) full framed aspect ratio so the
elements are not lost for viewers who prefer full screen versions as well as
presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) aspect ratio that preserves the
way the film was exhibited theatrically, “Monster’s, Inc.” is amazing to
watch because of the subtle details. Sulley’s hair moves in a life like motion
that obeys the law laws of virtual gravity given this is a CGI animated film and
yet one can almost feel they could reach out and run their hands through his
hair. Mike’s subtle green pigments make him seem a bit more like a walking and
talking tropical fruit than a monster, but this is a family picture after all
and a scaly critter might have been too distracting. There was only a very
slight bit of artifacts that I noticed and I would be remiss if I did not state
that it is so faint that unless someone told you where to look and at what
scene, odds are most will not notice it. I can’t even remember now where I saw
it myself. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX Soundtrack is also
excellent with a great range and a true three-dimensional theatrical sound
quality. Exclusive to the widescreen presentation is a Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround EX Sound Effects Only Track and a good feature length filmmaker’s
commentary with Director Pete Doctor, Co-Director Lee Unkrich, and Executive
Producers John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton. I have found not only on previous
Pixar releases, but also commentary tracks by other animators tend to be quite
entertaining because they have a way of communicating their passion for what
they do that is infectious so even if you can’t draw a straight line, one can
still appreciate their enthusiasm for their work.
The transfer is also THX certified complete with the THX Optimizer®
program for picture and sound calibration. English Captions and Closed Captions
for the hearing impaired are also encoded on the dual layered DVD as options.
Sneak Peak Trailers with full Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks are also
included on disc one and include the trailers for “Beauty In The Beast:
Platinum Edition,” “Lilo And Stitch,” “Inspector Gadget 2,” and
“Treasure Planet,” which looks awesome. A teaser for next summer’s
“Finding Nemo” is also included and wraps up the extra features on disc one.
Disc
two is where one will find the rest of the extra features in both the monsters
and humans only worlds. Some of these extra features overlap, but believe me
when I say that this DVD is feature loaded. There is a 5-½ minute reel of full
framed outtakes complete with a montage of the Monster’s, Inc. company play
“Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me,” a 3-minute and
44-second exclusive animated short entitled “Mike’s New Car” featuring
Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprising their voice roles for the short film
and an optional commentary track by the kids behind the animators as well as the
Academy Award® Winning Animated Short, “For The Birds,” with optional
Director’s Commentary. Within the monsters world are the “Mike’s New
Car” and “Outtakes” reel along with the hilarious “Company Play
Program,” a music video, a DVD-Video game where the player has to find the
pieces of a magic door that will enable the viewer to find baby “Boo” for
Sulley, some very weird TV guest appearances on the animated Japanese
children’s show “Ponkickies,” a “Storytime” read-along with optional
narration, and a complete “Monster’s, Inc.” orientation program that goes
into the history of the monster world and how monsters came to exist and why the
two worlds are separate. There is also the employee’s handbook, which can be
read on screen without the need for a DVD-ROM player, scarer cards with audio
commentary by “Needleman,” and DVD-ROM users also have access to “The
Lunch Room” game, online registration, and online tech support.
The
human world features a 20-minute guided tour of the Pixar Studios that is the
basis of introduction to the balance of the extra features and Easter eggs. In
fact clips from the tour turn up in different sections of this part of the DVD.
Covering the “Story,” “Monster File,” “Design,” “Animation,”
“Music & Sound,” and “Release” submenus viewers will get access to
just about everything they might want to know about “Monster’s, Inc.” and
then some from watching a storyboard pitch session, viewing dozens of character
concept images, comparing how the various animation stages develop into the
final scene including multi-angle functions, lighting galleries, and even a
guide to the various in jokes slipped in by the animators.
Footage from the premiere as well as the theatrical teaser, two trailers,
and four TV spots are included along with a look at the merchandising, posters,
and international inserts and clips from the 30 languages “Monster’s,
Inc.” was presented in globally.
The
menus on both discs feature a mix of full motion animation with animated
transitions between screens to standard interactive still frame menus and all
are easy to navigate. The insert within the DVD keep case gives viewers a flow
chart like diagram on what exactly is included on the second disc even with
running times in some cases as well as detailed descriptions of some of the
bonus features. There are also some special offers within an envelope for the
consumer to consider. The packaging is a standard keep case with an extra
appendage within so the case can hold two discs.
Now
without being specific, I think Buena Vista’s presentation, content, and
arrangement is clearly superior to another CGI animated DVD I reviewed last year
and there were a few so don’t assume you know which one I’m referring to.
“Monster’s, Inc.: Collector’s Edition 2-Disc DVD” is a winner as far as
I’m concerned and well worth the investment especially for families.
“Monster’s, Inc.: Collector’s Edition 2-Disc DVD” will debut from Buena
Vista Home Entertainment on Tuesday, September 17, 2002.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.