Monsters, Inc.

I hadn't seen Monsters, Inc. since it was first released back in 2002. I didn't think much of it at the time, and over the years had placed it towards the lower end of my list of favourite Pixar movies. But with this revisit thanks to a second Blu-ray release, my opinion has slightly improved.

Monsters is a satirical and humorous take on the nature of fear, and more importantly the actual logistics of scaring kids, the purpose of which fuels a monster world with the screams of the little runts.

Re-watching after all this time, I figured the reason it must have not made an impression is because the characters aren't really that memorable, and personally I didn't find any of them likeable. Mike, played by Billy Crystal, in particular is grating. He is surrounded by inoffensive and bland colleagues who populate the wacky world of Monstropolis.

What saved me from snoozing was the little girl that accidentally ends up on the wrong side of a portal and subsequently is hidden from other monsters for fear of scaring the crap out of them. She is ridiculously cute, and features great incoherent voice acting!

I'm not a fan of the soundtrack, but where Monsters excels is in its world design, the thought put into how everything in a monster's world works is impressive to say the least. There are so many humorous visual and wordy puns aplenty, the film's aesthetics will stand multiple viewings.

The 2013 Blu-ray release improves upon the 2009 release with changes in the sound mix, better transfer, 3D, and plenty of additional extras ranging from outtakes, trivia games, and various making of featurettes. A definite purchase for any kids younger than ten I'd say.