Product Description

From the Academy Award®-winning creators of TOY STORY comes the computer-animated film that captured the hearts of fans and critics everywhere. MONSTERS, INC., is "visually dazzling, action-packed, and hilarious" (Boston Herald), featuring groundbreaking animation, imaginative storytelling, and unforgettable voice talent. John Goodman stars as the lovable James P. Sullivan (Sulley) and Billy Crystal as his wisecracking best friend, Mike Wazowski. Top scarer Sulley and his enthusiastic Scare Assistant Mike work at Monsters, Inc., the largest scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. The main power source of the monster world is the collected screams of human children. Monsters believe children are dangerous and toxic, however, and they are scared silly when a little girl wanders into their world. Sulley and Mike do their best to return the girl home, but they face monstrous intrigue and some hilarious misadventures along the way. MONSTERS, INC., is "supremely clever -- fun for kids and adults alike" (CBS-TV). Treat yourself to the most entertaining movie of the year with all-new exclusive bonus features and animation for monster laughs and monster fun.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #138 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2002-09-17
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.com
The folks at Pixar can do no wrong with Monsters, Inc., the studio's fourth feature film, which stretches the computer animation format in terms of both technical complexity and emotional impact. The giant, blue-furred James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (wonderfully voiced by John Goodman) is a scare-monster extraordinaire in the hidden world of Monstropolis, where the scaring of kids is an imperative in order to keep the entire city running. Beyond the competition to be the best at the business, Sullivan and his assistant, the one-eyed Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), discover what happens when the real world interacts with theirs in the form of a 2-year-old baby girl dubbed "Boo," who accidentally sneaks into the monster world with Sulley one night. Director Pete Doctor and codirectors David Silverman and Lee Unkrich follow the Pixar (Toy Story) blueprint with an imaginative scenario, fun characters, and ace comic timing. By the last heart-tugging shot, kids may never look at monsters the same, nor artists at what computer animation can do in the hands of magicians. --Doug Thomas

DVD features
The all-new animated short "Mike's New Car" is the promoted highlight of the DVD release of Pixar's hilarious film. However, this short--as good as it is--is far from the only new footage here. If you saw Monsters, Inc. early in its theatrical run, you missed the outtakes included here. Bits seen or heard about in the movie--commercials, guided tours, the "Company Play"--are shown uninterrupted and are a delight. The easily navigated extras are broken into two parts. The Monster World should interest kids and fans, giving viewers a you-are-there tour of the fantasyland, including games and funky odds and ends. The Human World provides all the usual making-of background, albeit with Pixar's normal air of lunacy and completeness. The film can be seen in its theatrical widescreen aspect, or in a new, reformatted full-screen aspect. Also, watch the movie with the effects-only audio track for a new way to enjoy the film. --Doug Thomas

From The New Yorker
A thoroughly charming movie from the artists and storytellers at Pixar that wins you over with its jazzy, retro title sequence and then introduces the pun-filled world of Monstropolis, where creatures of all description toil in factories, collecting the screams of children. The visual invention is on par with Pixar's previous effort, "Toy Story 2," but the crazy quilt of cultural references and backdoor subversiveness of that movie gets toned down for something more sugary. John Goodman and Billy Crystal give voice to the two heroes, but the gold star goes to John Ratzenberger (Cliff from "Cheers") for his homespun Abominable Snowman. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

The best animated film of the year!
I was lucky enough to see an advance screening of this movie the past weekend and *highly* recommend it to everyone: kids, adults, monsters--you all have to go see this one! The newest movie from CGI geniuses Pixar, the studio that brought you the "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life", is a sheer delight from beginning to end. The characters are cleverly designed and fun to watch, the animation is brisk and colorful, the dialogue funny and sparkling, the voice casting perfect, and most important of all, the story compelling and intriguing. This is a cartoon that insults no one's intelligence--it's perfect for the kids as well as adults, without condescending or sinking into juvenile humor (well, there are a few toilet jokes, but they're so lightly done as to be inoffensive to anyone).

This "E.T. in reverse" story has wonderful plot ideas--monsters in the closet scare human kids to create "scream energy" to power their city, Monsteropolis--but monsters are as afraid of kids as kids they are of monsters. When a charming and cuddly little tot nicknamed "Boo" escapes into the monster world, it's up to scaremonster Sulley and his nervous cohort Mike to save the kid, put her back where she belongs, and keep anyone else from finding out she's loose in the monster world--but Sulley's sinister co-worker Randall (a charmingly oily chameleon) has devious plans for little Boo...

There's so much detail going on that this one demands you see it multiple times (and with a plot, characters and voice acting as charming as this, you will *want* to). The voice acting is spot-on (I've always felt John Goodman was a great actor; who would have ever expected a blue and purple monster would be one of his finest roles?) and the care and attention Pixar has put into the making of this film shows: every frame sparkles with color and wit, and the last-act chase through the Monsters, Inc. factory, where Sulley, Mike, Boo and Randall leap from closet door to closet door thousands of feet above the factory floor is amazingly designed, brilliant and inspired, a breathtaking edge-of-your-seat chase that rivals the Death Star Attack in "Star Wars." Best of all, it features a sweet and emotional ending that had the cynical New York professional crowd I was seeing it with literally go "Awwwwwwwwww..." aloud. And if you have any doubt as to the sense of fun that this movie inspires, check out Sulley and Mike's Amazon.com Customer Reviews and Wish Lists! Heck, *I'd* buy Mike that copy of Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye"!

"Monsters, Inc": the best animated film of the year? Absolutely...maybe even the best *film* of the year. Certainly the most fun--and that's exactly what we need right now.

Great family movie
Great animation and story. I took my 3 yr old to see the movie at a preview and that's all she has talked about for the last 2 days. I think she enjoyed it as much as I did. It will be on my wish list for Christmas (and I'm 36 yrs old). You have to take your kids to see it.

Pixar has done it again!
Admittedly, I am a fan of Pixar's work. Their artists have done some incredible animated features over the years. Between the "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life," they have managed in a short time to build an impressive track record. Their shorts are also among the best ever produced. So my expectations going into this movie were very high.

The story concerns the monsters in your closet. The theory being that their world runs of the energy produced by children's screams. Sulley (John Goodman) is number one at getting screams. His main rival (Steve Buschemi) will do anything to gain the top spot. Oh, and they consider the touch of a human child to be toxic.

While not as instantly relatable as "Toy Story," the movie builds on the talents of Goodman and Billy Crystal (Mike) to bring you into this make-believe world as Sulley and Mike try to get little Boo back through the closet door to the safety of her bedroom.

Disney/Pixar has presented this well on DVD. Both Widescreen and Pan & Scan versions are available on the first disc. The second disc has games, outtakes, an award winning animated short, and a fun (easy to find) Easter Egg.

All in all, if you enjoy Pixar's work, or animated features in general, this is a must have for your collection.