Boo Goes Blu: A Blu-ray Review of Monsters, Inc.

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One of my favorite Pixar movies, nearly eight years to the date, Monsters, Inc and now I have the joy of owning it on a FANTASTIC Special Blu-Ray Edition.

This edition of Monsters, Inc includes FOUR discs: a two-disc Blu-Ray set, a DVD copy, and the now obligatory Digital Copy of the movie. While I still say it’s silly to include the DVD since you won’t be able to enjoy all of the features, I suppose it’s still a nice feature to have in case you know you will be upgrading to Blu-ray.

Unlike many of the releases of late, this Blu-ray is PACKED with Bonus Features which is probably no surprise considering the people at Pixar are at the helm! The first bonus feature happens as soon as you put in disc one of the Blu-Ray with an introduction by the director, Pete Docter.

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Many features are ported over from the earlier DVD release but they only add to an impressively fun collection of new material. One of the new features to the Blu-Ray is the Filmmakers Roundtable. While the Blu-Ray does feature a full length audio commentary this one is a bit different.

Filmed at the Hidden City Cafe where many Pixar stories came into development, we have a more relaxed conversation between Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, Darla Anderson, and Bob Peterson. They discuss why the 2002 special edition of the DVD had a chimpanzee in almost all of the Bonus Features, as well as a little hint of a possible sequel to Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek: Building Monstropolis in Japan is the single reason you should go out and buy this Blu-Ray if you're a fan of the Disney Parks! Taking a look at the dark ride in Tokyo Disneyland this, gives us a peak into how the built the attraction.

This feature also gives us at all to short look at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort. While I absolutely love our attraction at Disney’s California Adventure it does make me a bit jealous of their robust Audio Animatronics.

Rounding out the Bonus Features on Disc one are the two Pixar shorts. For the Birds and Mike’s New Car. Both are from the special edition DVD release but I’m glad they included these again. They both have an optional commentary that could be turned off or on during the shorts.

My favorite is the re-imported commentary from the filmmakers’ sons on Mike’s New Car. I just love hearing how children describe how they think computer animation works. Super cute and a commentary I could listen to over and over.

Disc two of the Blu-Ray is pretty hefty with features. It’s split up into three options. Humans Only, Monsters Only, and the third is Roz’s 100 door Challenge.

1. The Humans Only portion of the disc is broken up into several different sections. Each section may include either one or a few different featurettes. Most of the featurettes are the same from the 2002 special edition release.
   
2. Pixar: Pixar Fun Factory Tour is a great inside look into the newly built studio. Newly built, of course, was when the 2002 edition came out but it is still a great look into how fun it is to work for the Pixar Studio!
   
   
3. Story: This includes Story is King, Monsters are Real, Original Treatment, and Story Pitch: Back to work. Each give an insight on what the movie might have been and how they had to make the monster world come alive.
   
   
   
   
   
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4. Banished Concepts features Lee Unkrich who introduces the five banished concepts but doesn’t explain why they never made it to the film. More than likely, it was due to time and moving the story along, that always seems to be the obvious answer. The five concepts are Assistant Sully, End of Day, Bad Scare, Scream Refinery, and finally Original Sully Intro which was almost fully animated.
   
   
5. Storyboard to Film Comparison offers a scene in three different forms: Storyreel, Final Color, and a Split-Screen Comparison of the two.
   
   
6. Art Gallery is divided into four categories: Characters, Color Script, Concept Art, and Posters. This has a handy Play All feature that makes looking through everything much easier.
   
   
7. Designing Monstropolis shows how the designers created Monstropolis including many models of the Main Street of Monstropolis.
   
   
8. Set Dressing Intro shows how the animators took each scene and tried to make it feel like a real busy city.
   
   
9. Location Flyarounds is a great feature that shows different locations in Monstropolis and gives you a 360 degree view of the location. It’s neat to see the attention to detail the animators put into the background.
   
   
10. Monster File is a Cast of Characters, showing footage of the recording studio and the different actors bringing the character’s to life. We also see how they got the voice of Boo to say her lines like she wasn’t just reading them off the page. What makes A Great Monster? Shows the different monster concepts that the designers had to come up with.
    
    
11. Animation features a few different pieces. Animation Process and what it takes to make a computer-generated film. Early Tests is exactly what it sounds like. This shows early animation of the film without sounds. Opening Title Animation explains why they went with a jazzy opening for the titles. Hard Parts explores the difficulties of animating snow, and Sully’s hair. Finally, Shots Department also explains difficult shots of shooting a scene.
    
    
12. Music and Sound includes two featurettes: Monster Song which is a comedic look at Sully’s and Mike’s duet and Sound Design which is a look into the movies sound effects and how they had to create a practically fresh soundtrack just for the background music.
    
    
13. Release takes place at the Premiere at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. International Inserts shows the efforts Pixar takes to cast people internationally for their releases of the movie. Multi-Language Clip Reel plays a scene while changing the language. Toys documents the different merchandise from the movie.
    
    
14. Outtakes And Company Play shows different outtakes and the full version of Mike and Sully’s play for the Company.

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The second section of the Bonus Features is Monsters Only. These are a lot lighter on the content and might be enjoyed more by children.

• New Monster Adventures is a fun special where Mtv (Monster Television) shows different animated spots for commercials showing off the characters of the film. Ponkickies 21 is a look at different animation the animators made for a hugely popular Japanese show. Finally, If I Didn't Have You is the music video for the Randy Newman song that is featured for the ending credits of the movie.
  
• Behind the Screams shows a very cute featurette of On the Job with Mike and Sully. This is a very cute interview with them on the Scare Floor.
  
• Orientation has three different featurettes which shows what it would be like on your first day on the Scare Floor. This is very cute carryover from the special edition of the movie.

The final section is a HEFTY one, Roz’s 100 door challenge: This has to be the most difficult DVD game ever. It’s literally 100 different mini games which after ten correct answers you move up the ranks in Monsters, Inc. I have no idea what happens after you finish the game, since we probably got up to question 50 before we gave up for the night. It’s probably a little difficult for little kids to try but it’s perfect with adult help.


This is undeniably a great addition to anyone’s gift list for the upcoming Holidays it will pretty much take you all of the holiday break to get through it! I absolutely loved all of the Bonus Features, the repeats and the new ones! It’s quit refreshing to feel overwhelmed by how many things there are to enjoy. Monsters, Inc. Blu-Ray edition is definitely a holiday must-have!