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| Special Features: |
"Humans Only" featurettes (doors)
- Pixar
- Animation
- Design
- Story
- Music & Sound
- Monster Files
- Release
(See "Extra Features" section for details of each featurette.)
"Monsters Only" treats
New Monsters Adventures - assortment of animated shorts, interactive game, TV spots, theme song video clip, and DVD-ROM features
Behind the Screams - outtakes, "On the Job With Mike & Sulley" animated short, and company play program
"Orientation" animated featurette
For the Birds animated short
Mikes New Car animated short
Outtakes |
| Video Format: |
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
[SS-DL]
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| Languages: |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
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| Subtitles: |
English
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| Captions: |
Yes
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| Casing: |
2-Disc Keep Case
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Disney-Pixar’s fourth animated feature goes into a world of diverse-looking creatures living normal decent human lives. Except that they are not human. They are called monsters and looked like such. Many of them work in a power plant called Monsters, Inc. where they make their living – and their city’s power source – by scaring human kids all over the world. But there is one catch: the monsters are deathly afraid of them. So what happens when a terrifying human child enters into their world? (Think Mickey, Donald and Goofy caught up in some funny mishaps.) Monsters, Inc. is most entertaining to the very audience they intended to scare: human children. Billy Crystal and John Goodman are a dynamic pair as little one-eyed Mike Wazowski and ‘scary’ furball best friend James P. Sullivan respectively. Steve Buscemi provides a villainous foil as slimy slithering chameleon-like Randall. This is a definite Pixar gem.
With the release of Beauty and the Beast Platinum Edition DVD less than a month away, Disney-Pixar brings their fourth consecutively successful animated feature (out of a total of 4) to DVD in a mon’Star’ fashion. Within this DVD set is a motley of stories, interactive game, documentaries, and audio and visual treats, not to forget the movie itself in both full screen and widescreen.
Picture Quality: 9/10
Both widescreen and full screen versions are available on the DVD. Surprisingly, the full screen version provides as much clarity and sharpness as the widescreen version. The cinematography is also dual friendly in screen captures such that no significant detail is omitted from widescreen to full screen. However, a few animated clips in the extras are blurry, and occasional graininess are noticeable in the featurettes.
Sound Quality: 10/10
From the movie to the extras, the overall sound quality is excellent. The 5.1 Surround sound effects mix is remarkably sharp - the finest in the entire DVD set. From Mike’s light footsteps and Waternoose’s eight-legged hard taps to Randall’s rustling slitherings, the character of each sound effect is distinctive and unique. There is only two minor gripe. In the audio commentary, Doctor, Stanton and Lasseter are pleasantly audible, but Unkrich is the only soft voice among the four. At certain times, he is almost unheard when the sound mix is not sufficiently muted. At other times, he sounded as if he’s part of the sound mix, which can prompt the viewer to ignore his comments. What could be worse than that having the directors’ children provide audio commentary for Mike’s New Car. The quality of recording is fine, but the commentary itself leaves much to be desired. (What else can one expect from kids?)
Menu: 10/10
One of the themes of Monsters, Inc. is the Doors. No, not the rock band; the ones that can be opened and closed. The doors are prominently featured as links to all of Monstropolis’ energy sources, and the gateways between Monstropolis and the dangerous human world. The layout for Disc 1 draws excerpts from the 2-D animated opening credits. After “Monsters, Inc.” is introduced, a main door opens to a list of menu items. The door theme is repeated for the Human world in Disc 2 but this time going 3-D, with the doors (seven plus one exit) nicely suspended on overhanging conveyor tracks. Each door opens to a sub-menu of items. The theme is simple, the items neatly arranged, and the layout given an exquisite Pixar treatment with jazzy soundtrack accompaniment. “Monsters Only” world does away with doors since there is no need for them in Monstropolis. In their place are choice scenes from the movie selected to fit the theme of the sub-menu. Naturally, the first place the “Monsters Only” door opens to is the receptionist’s desk where Celia Mae is handling the phones. “Behind the Screams” shows different shots of the scream energy canister, while “Orientation” goes inside Monsters, Inc. office to the Dispatch Manager’s front desk where Roz is waiting (if you wait a bit longer, you’ll see her close her office after Code 2319 is announced). Overall, the menu layout is excellent combination of organization, use of movie thematic ideas, great animation and terrific music accompaniment.
Extra Features: 10/10
The best part of this DVD set is the bountiful extras. They can be accessed via two doors: “Monsters Only” and “Humans Only”. The names are self-explanatory as to what the doors open to. Prior to this, an introductory clip by the producers and directors of Monsters, Inc. is automatically played to welcome you to the DVD extras.
Just as Boo entered into the Monster world and had a ‘scary’ adventure, the same awaits those that enter the “Monsters Only” door. At the Monsters, Inc. facility, one can attend First Day Orientation that includes “Welcome to Monsters, Inc.” and “Your first Day” presentations, learn about the “The History of Monster World”, and be given an Employee Handbook that is styled very much like the employee’s package that one receives on the first day at work. In addition, there are Scarer Cards (aka character profiles), an interview of Mike and Sulley on the job, and a program for Mike’s company play “Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me”. A performance of the play can be found in the Outtakes.
At the conclusion of the orientation, one can embark on “New Monsters Adventures” by proceeding down the streets of Monstropolis. The adventures include Boo’s Door Game, “Mike’s New Car”, and the interactive story “Welcome to Monstropolis” – interactive only when “Read Along” option is selected (and be forewarned, Roz is the narrator and she’s always watching!). There are also several TV spots, shorts prepared for the Japanese TV show Ponkickies 21, music video to the theme song “If I Didn’t Have You”, and a DVD-ROM game “Lunch Room”. Undoubtly, the “Monsters Only” extras are fun-filled and delightful. Like the movie itself, it will be a ‘scary’ treat for the human children (and child-like adults).
The extras in the “Humans Only” door are further categorized in the following doors: Pixar, Animation, Design, Story, Music & Sound, Monster Files, and Release. Each door is a featurette series focusing on a specific area of the production process:
“Pixar” door opens to a tour of Pixar Studios, which appears here to be more of a funhouse than a place of work.
“Animation” door delves into the animation process for the characters. The featurettes illustrate some early test sequences, Opening Title animation, and a production demonstration showing the transformation of a scene from storyboard to final cut. Sulley is used as a frequent example in this series of presentation.
“Design” door explains the set decoration, cinematography, master lighting and color scripts, and how the crew decide on which to use where. “Location Flyarounds” and “Monstropolis’s Art” sections showcase plenty of artwork. The “Guide to “In” Jokes” section explains (a little) the origin of names of places and locations in Monsters, Inc..
“Story” door contains everything that is related to the screenplay. The storyboard process is explained in “Story is King”, while “Monsters Are Real” explains the storyline concepts. The “Original Treatment” presents the original script in children’s art panels. “Story Pitch” and “Banished Concepts” focus on a particular scene, except that materials in the latter are not in the final cut. “Storyboard to Film” compares the storyboard drawing with the final film version but using only one scene as an example. And to keep with the Sulley focus, an “Original Sulley Intro” is included (not to be confused with the ‘snoozing’ version in the final cut).
“Music & Sound” door has only two items of interest: “Monster Song” and “Sound Design.”. The former explains the theme song, the latter the sound effects mix. “Binaural Recording” takes a glimpse into a special sound variation system where recorded sound can be heard coming from a definite location at a definite volume. However, this technology can only be appreciated using headphones.
“Monster Files” door is a gallery galore of different sketch designs of Monsters, Inc. characters. The sketch designs are briefly discussed in “What makes a Great Monster?”. After deciding on a design for each character, the characters are fully introduced in “Cast of Characters”.
“Release” door features and assortment of items that have little to do with the production itself. There are clips of the movie premiere, the toy line and international inserts (for non-English speaking countries), and a Multi Language Clip Reel. Also included are repeat items from “Monsters Only” door: trailers and TV spots, and outtakes. Incidentally, the background for the “Release” menu features the “Monsters, Inc.” advertisement, another plus for menu layout.
The “Production Tour” is a rainbow of interconnecting documentary featurettes from all of the “Humans Only” doors. At the end of it is Easter Eggs. (That’s all you need to know. If you want to find out what they are, take the tour!) Rounding off Disc 2 is the Oscar-winning short For the Birds.
But that is not all. Disc 1 has a special feature uncommon to most DVDs: a THX Optimizer module to adjust your TV screen for best picture quality, and your speakers for best sound quality. The movie’s sound effects mix in 5.1 Surround is included for your audio pleasure. Audio commentary by executive producer John Lasseter, directors Pete Doctor and Lee Unkrich, and screenwriter Andrew Stanton, are also included. Both the sound effects mix and the audio commentary can only be enjoyed on the widescreen version.
In short, it is a monstrous treat. If the “Monsters Only” extras are meant to cater to kids, the “Humans Only” extras will do likewise to the adults. Each featurette series balances the documentary shorts with related animated sequences and/or art galleries, for a dynamic, immaculately polished presentation. The goodies in "Monsters Only" are a sheer delight, even if you are not young or young at heart enough to appreciate them. Disney-Pixar spares no expense in ensuring that this DVD set appeals to all ages. And they have definitely succeeded.
The Final Word:
Even if you don’t like the movie, the abundance and variety of extras is more than enough to satisfy. Its quality, quantity and style far exceeds the movie itself. Monsters Inc Collector’s Edition 2-disc DVD: It scares because it cares!
L’Apprenti
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