4 DISC ULTIMATE COLLECTORS EDITION
Review by John Delia, Senior Critic
Bringing back two of my favorite cartoon characters Sully and Mike with a prequel called Monsters University, Pixar presents renewed delight. Now on 3D Blu-ray in a combo pack the madness that the two opposites brought to Monsters Inc more than ten years ago doubles in Monsters University. The combo pack includes the 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD along with a digital disc in a special 4 Pack collector’s edition. Add to this a monster amount of bonus features for added fun and laughter.
A follow up to a great animated film like Monsters Inc would not have been easy and would have required a lot of repetition, a stretch for new characters and a continued storyline that would be hampered with the lack of surprise. I like the way the writers chose to do the start up relationship between the two characters that takes on a whole new atmosphere filled with wonders they can let loose with their brand of comedy and it shines.
The story starts with Mike having his dream of becoming a scare monster for the Monster Energy Company. Being this one-eyed goofy character that is more cute than scary, Mike doesn’t fall into the frightening category for monsters. However, he’s very determined and he finds himself taking his first step onto the campus of Monsters University. After meeting his new roommate Randy Bogs (yes the same little lizard guy from Monsters Inc) he gets a tour of the campus.
Mike finally sees the School of Scaring and makes it his first choice for a degree. Here is where he gets introduced to Sully, the son of one of the top students in Monsters University. All into himself, even the instructor Professor Knight (voice of Alfred Molina) has his eye on Sully for something big. When the two come together for a campus fright contest quite by chance, the big challenge is for both of them to work together and complete their degrees.
The voice talent has grown with Helen Mirren as evil Dean Hardscrabble a daunting overseer of the School of Scarring at Monsters U. She’s a tough old bitty part centipede the rest bat winged crab. Taking top honors in acquiring screams from tots has put her in charge of the incoming scholars and it’s her choice whether they stay or get booted out of her classes. I like this character more than Roz in Monster’s Inc who oversaw the operation of closet door entry into the human world as Hardscrabble is more of a sinister character.
Other new characters that really add comedy include the furry neck pillow scary frat guy named Art (Charlie Day) who’s clueless, Terri and Terry Perry (voices of Dave Foley and Sean Hayes) a monster with two heads that often disagree with each other, and Scott “Squishy†Squibbles (voice of Pete Sohn) one of Mikes fraternity brothers who’s always seems to see things in an agreeable fashion (maybe it’s because he has five eyes). There are tons of new faces in Monsters University so the computer graphics and design crew must have been kept real busy coming up with that many characters.
Monsters University has been rated G by the MPAA and really contains very little material that would be disturbing to most children except for a few monsters that aren’t very fluffy. The film also plays well to the older crowd mainly because it takes place at college where most adults can equate.
The video quality with enhanced HD 3D or just the Blu-ray is amazingly good featuring 1080p widescreen. It fills my 16×9 HD television due to its 1.78:1 Aspect ratio and provides the best possible presentation. The colors are bright, the 3D exceptional and the animation perfect with nary a pixel out of place.
The audio quality featuring the 5.1 Dolby Digital TrueHD turns your television showroom into a theater showcase. Easy to understand dialogue, special effects sound and surround side to side and front to back keep the movie a fun time experience. Fun for the whole family you’ll get caught up in the experience no matter what age.
The Blu-ray has all the special features and they are very good. Although most of them are geared for older kids and adults, the children make like them with an accompanying adult to which they can ask questions.
BONUS FEATURES
- “Campus Life†takes you into the PIXAR studio where you can get a look at a day in the life of the “Monsters University†crew through their own eyes.
- “Story School†a documentary that runs through the creation of the movie and how the whole thing comes together with developing the comedy and other themes.
- “Scare Games†shows how they developed the family friendly scare games in the movie at PIXAR studios.
- “Welcome to MU†The artists take over and show how they created the movie Monsters University.
- “Music Appreciation†the amazing work of Randy Newman comes to life as this features delves into his scoring of the Pixar films.
- “Scare Tactics†in this look at how the Monsters University animation team worked, you’ll see their process of how they channeled their own monster-selves and created moments on screen.
- Color and Light here they go over the paintings and how they were used to make the film
- “Paths to Pixar – MU Edition†the Monsters University crew tells their own back stories and share the challenges they overcame along their paths to Pixar.
- “Furry Monsters: A Technical Retrospective†how the animators turned back the clock to show the monsters as their younger selves.
- “Deleted Scenes†Four separate scenes – “Rivalry,†“Recon,†“Movie Night,†and “Drama Class†are highlighted with an introduction from director Dan Scanlon.
- “The Blue Umbrella†an animated short film from Pixar Animation Studios, directed by Saschka Unseld and produced by Marc Greenberg, played in theaters in front of “Monsters University.”
- An Art Gallery and more
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good adventure film for the whole family. (A)
Specifications and additional film information:
Voice Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Charlie Day, Dave Foley, Bill Hader, Bonnie Hunt, John Krasinski, Alfred Molina, and John Ratzenberger
Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Genre: Comedy, Animated
MPAA Rating: G
Running Time: 1 hr 43 min
Video Release Date: October 29, 2013
Original Film Release Date: June 21, 2013
Language: English
Format: 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD
Audio: Blu-ray & 3D- English Dolby Digital 5.1 TrueHD, DVD- 5.1 Dolby Digital
Video: 1080p High Definition, 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
Subtitles:Â English SDH, French, Spanish
Number of Discs: 4 Disc Box Set
Distributed by: Buena Vista Home Entertainment