monsters inc.

A healthy competition between Sulley and another scarer monster by the name of Randall for the title of the top producing scarer is supposed to motivate all scarers to produce more scream energy. But this competition heats up and gets out of control when Randall works overtime to increase his yield of children's screams. One evening, Randall leaves the magical portal closet door unguarded and a small human girl wonders to the monster world, causing all sorts of problems for the monster civilization and for Monsters, Inc. The human girl befriends Sulley, when Sulley discovers that human children are not dirty and disgusting (as the monster world would have him believe). Sulley enlists his best friend Mike's help in trying to return the human girl back to her bedroom before management of Monsters, Inc. does something drastic. Will Sulley and Mike return the human girl back to her bedroom? How will Monsters, Inc. produce enough energy to meet the demands of their monster world, when human children becomes increasingly jaded (perhaps due to their exposure to violent TV shows and video games - what, could this be?) and as a result become more difficult to scare?

As a child at heart when it comes to high quality animated movies, I enjoyed this latest Disney-Pixar collaboration immensely. It is the perfect family film and you can enjoy it with your children again and again. The adult and parent in me loves this movie too. It's good wholesome entertainment. The computer animation is visually phenomenal. Simply put, it's eye candy for DVD viewers. The animation is world class, bar none, and the picture quality is THX certified for the best possible "video" transfer. (I believe it's actually a direct computer-to-DVD digital transfer.) The sound design is equally fantastic, with lots of surround sound channel information in the Dolby Digital EX 5.1 soundtrack. (For THX trailer fans, this movie starts with a new THX logo featuring a pretty cool cow mooing surround sound demo.) This Monster's Inc. DVD is a very collectible DVD indeed. It gets my highest recommendation!

Special Features: There's a lot of bonus features here in this 2-disc set. Most of it is on the dedicated bonus disc. The first disc contains the feature film, including audio commentary by the filmmakers and a dedicated Dolby Digital EX 5.1 sound effects-only soundtrack, a THX Optimizer feature, and the usual Disney sneak peaks/trailers of upcoming theatrical and DVD/home video releases (Finding Nemo, Beauty and the Beast, Lilo and Stitch, Inspector Gadget 2, Treasure Planet).

On the second disc, you'll find: outtakes which includes "The Monster's Inc. Company Play" short, two animated shorts called Mike's New Car (created exclusively for this DVD/home video release) and the Academy Award winning animated short For The Birds, and two "worlds" of bonus features (Monster World and Human World). In the Monster World, you'll find a "Train For Your First Day at Monsters, Inc." featurette, view "The Monsters, Inc. Employee Handbook" featurette, learn "The History of the Monster World", play a "Peek-A-Boo" Boo's Door Game (a video game using the DVD navigation/cursor buttons; results will depend on the speed of your DVD player), play a DVD-ROM game "The Lunch Room" (a computer with DVD-ROM drive is required), and check out other interesting facts. In the Human World, you'll find deleted scenes, 3-D Location Flyarounds feature, Monstropolis Art Gallery (with hundreds of images), animation gags and guide to "In" jokes, and behind the scenes of If I Didn't Have You - 2001 Academy Award Winner for Best Original Song. There's so much bonus material, it's a good thing that Disney/Pixar included a fold-out booklet that helps viewers navigate the various programs.

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