Μύ It seems only appropriate that a monster movie should get a monstrous release on DVD. You're guaranteed hours of fun with this two-disc beast.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture As the film was directly transferred to DVD from the digital source, the image result is about as pure as you could ever hope for. The gorgeous colours and textures look sensational, and this disc is a must-have for projector owners so you can show your kit off to its maximum potential.
Sound Whether you choose the Dolby or DTS 5.1 mixes, you're guaranteed a remarkably involving audio experience. The level of detail on offer is incredible, and it's so good that the DVD comes with an optional effects-only track so you can appreciate the work that's gone into it.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Disc One
Audio Commentary This genial and often interesting audio commentary features co-directors Pete Docter and Lee Unkrich, and executive producers Andrew Stanton and John Lasseter. There's plenty of chat about the animation process - you learn that creating toilet paper to stick to Mike's foot is a lot more complex than larger effects! The look of the movie aimed to mirror 60s architecture, but just as in a live-action movie, there's an expense to building electronic sets that limited the number that could be created.
Additional Disc One Extra Features Also on disc one is a teaser trailer for "Finding Nemo".
Disc Two
The menu system for disc two offers you a choice of going through two doors, one with Mike on it and the other with Boo. Along the bottom of the screen are a number of features, which we'll cover first.
Mike's New Car Want more of that comedy magic from Mike and Sulley? This four-minute short is a gem, as Mike buys a new six-wheel car with a mind of its own, which leads to a furious slew of hilarious sight gags. There's an optional commentary track, which is certainly unusual in that two kids do it, but they speak a lot more sense than many grown-up directors.
"For the Birds" Ralph Eggleston started on this three-minute short as a student project. You can watch it with or without his commentary, which is perhaps skewed a little too much to story explanation rather than how he managed to make it. The story involves little birds on a phone line that's then seriously unbalanced by a great big dopey bird. It's not hilarious but remains rather sweet and is impressively animated for a solo project.
Outtakes The outtakes that you see shown in a little box during the end credits are here presented in full-size widescreen for your chuckling pleasure.
Boo Door Go through the Boo Door and you'll be presented with a selection of other doors, many of which contain featurettes:
Pixar Door Here you get to go on a tour of Pixar - a land where garish shirt-robed animators whizz around on scooters. It's all very new media and, frankly, bizarre.
Story Door Through this portal you'll find banished scenes, a look at the storyboard process, and multiple angle breakdowns of the script to finished animation. There's also a 13-minute animated storyboard of the original plot concept behind the movie - this could have been equally funny but was certainly less ambitious in scale.
Monster Files Door The fabulous array of monsters in the movie are explored in this section, from drawing to voicing. There's a fascinating gallery of designs to explore here, including a huge variety of different looks for Sulley.
Design Door The detailed sets and props are put under the magnifying glass through a series of featurettes that take you from conceptual drawings through to 3D 'flyarounds' of the sets. There's also an amusing guide to the in-jokes of the movie, which includes close-ups of such things as the ingredients list for cereal boxes in the movie.
Animation Door Open this door and there are a few surprises to be found, including early animation tests of Sulley with tentacles! There's also a comprehensive look at the minute detail in the movie, from the hair on Sulley to the 23 million doors in the door vault.
Music and Sound Door The sound design of the movie is explored here, right down to spatial imaging and depth cues. There's also a look at building stereo and 5.1 mixes.
Release Door Crammed behind this door are all the trailers and promotional media created for the movie. There's also a chance to see a scene performed in various languages, plus a look at inserts put into the movie so it looked as if it had been specifically created for the country it was then shown in.
Mike's Door Yes, there are more special features, and behind Mike's door you'll find some highly entertaining little treats:
New Monster Adventures More Mike and Sulley fun is waiting for you here with TV commercials, Japanese games, the amusing Boo's Door Game, an interactive read-a-long story, and a music video.
Behind the Screams This little section is typical of the effort that has gone into creating genuine bonus features for this DVD that aren't merely recycled bits of the film. You can read the programme for the play that Mike and Sulley put on at the end credits: "Put That Thing Back Where it Came From Or So Help Me". There's also a highly amusing news interview where Mike and Sulley explain their jobs to a cheesy newsreader.
Orientation Fancy a job at Monsters, Inc.? Assuming you do, there's a corporate video for you to watch, a hilarious 'Your first day' training video, a brief history of Monster world, Scarer cards, 'Monster of the Month' noticeboard, and a detailed employee handbook.
Region: 2
Chapters: 32
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
Technical Features: Scene selection, animated menus, multiple languages and subtitles, and English captions for the hearing impaired.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-S57 DVD player.
