"Monsters, Inc." Review (Spoilers. Major Spoilers for "Monsters Univeristy" too)
Also reviews for the Pixar shorts "Mike's New Car", Toy Story Toons "Partysaurus Rex", and "For The Birds" as well as the special Lego Star Wars The Yoda Chronicles, and the latest episodes of DC Nation, Beware The Batman, Marvel's Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H., MAD, Power Rangers Mega Force, Under The Dome, and the series finale of Futurama.
Upcoming reviews include Star Trek Into Darkness (Blu-Ray), Grimm: Season 2, Arrow: Season 1, Revolution: Season 1, Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited 5-8, Doctor Who: Series 7, Iron Man 3 (Blu-Ray), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ultimate Showdown, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters: Season 3, Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, Much Ado About Nothing, and Haven: Season 3.
Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles "Episode II: Menace Of The Sith"
This addressed one of my biggest complaints about the franchise: why does someone HAVE to choose a side in the Force? Especially when the Light Side is so obviously flawed and wrong-headed? The Force is basically sci-fi's version of Scientology. It makes no sense and doesn't actually matter morally which side you choose. Darth Vader's deathbed redemption is proof of this. Still, notice that Yoda and company didn't actually LEARN anything from Jek. Couldn't be helped with the mythology set in stone but it basically reinforces my opinion that Yoda is kind of a tool.
And yes, Yoda's speech impediment can get REALLY annoying at times especially since the creators feel they can turn it on and off like a switch.
The Wookiees celebrating "Life Day" cracked me up. I cannot believe George Lucas actually signed off on that joke. Good for him.
WAAAAAYYYY better than "The Phantom Clone". ****.
DC Nation
Beware The Batman "Family"
That. Was. AWESOME!
Seriously. This show is so much fun I can't stand it. The little kid in me is jumping for joy every second I watch it. It goes without saying that the series kicks the tailfeathers out of The Batman and Batman: The Brave And The Bold. But I'm starting to think that if this show lasts 65 episodes it will wind up being better than Batman: The Animated Series too. Don't get me wrong: BTAS' highs will be VERY hard to top. The show has yet to deliver an episode as perfect as some of my favorite BTAS ones. But people forget BTAS had a ton of lows too. The amount of BTAS twaddle mixed in with the good stuff is kind of mindblowing if you actually sit down and read an episode list for it sometime. Beware The Batman is WAAAYYYY more consistant in tone and quality than Batman: The Animated Series ever was.
I'll concede it's not as good as Justice League Unlimited or even Justice League: Season Two. But since those were three of the best action cartoon seasons of all time and b.t. had three previous series to work the bugs out of his universe it doesn't even matter to me. This show is everything Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice SHOULD have been. I may be passing judgement prematurely but I got a similar vibe watching the first season of Transformers Prime and that wound up being one of my favorite cartoons of all time. Even when GLTAS and YJ were excellent there was always the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that they wouldn't end well with YJ's repeated Xanatos Gambit cliffhangers and GL turning Aya into a villain at the worst possible point. I don't see either of those things happening on this series.
Lady Shiva is awesome. She reminds me a bit of Farscape's Scorpius. Yes, she is WAAAYYY hotter than that repulsive baddie but part of what made him so scary was his soft and matter of fact voice coming out of that S&M bondage nightmare costume. The series uses Shiva's sexy costume to similar contrasting effect with her mild tone. It gives me the willies.
I'm loving this show. I'm sorry I ever doubted it. I was wrong. *****.
Character Profile: Bizarro:
SO glad they drew Bizarro in Young Justice style even though Young Justice is long gone and he never appeared on that show. Hooray for profile consistancy! Are you listening, Fury Files? ****1/2.
Plastic Man in... Superheroes Wear Pajamas:
Are we done with these yet? Because frankly I've had enough. These and World's Funnest were cute at first but I've totally lost interest at this point. CN, finish airing the rest of these and move on. I can't believe someone thought this idea would make a good half hour series at one point. Its no wonder the pilot wasn't picked up. **.
Marvel's Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. "All About Ego"
I find Red Hulk to be a very interesting character. His personality is not at all like Thunderbolt Ross but he DOES have a lot of Ross' bossy, fascist tendencies. It's ironic that the monster is a nicer and more likable guy than the man is.
The computer animation on Ego was very cool. Weirdly spooky.
Too many bodily function jokes this episode although that could turn out to be a series mainstay. It was funny in the pilot but if they are going to keep going back to that scatalogical well it will be less funny every time they do it.
Pretty good episode. ***1/2.
MAD "Iron Bland 3 / Monsters Community"
I don't think the episode really nailed Abed or Community's meta. Community's meta doesn't simply involve them referencing other shows but pointing out the tropes the characters themselves do and how it relates to both their situation and Greendale in general. Granted, I think that idea could have been difficult to convey in a 3 minute sketch but there are plenty of other aspects of Community worth lampooning that wouldn't take so long (such as Chevy Chase's jackassery). Iron Bland 3 wasn't all that great either although it was a rare sketch that wasn't a lame combination of two franchises, so it gets points for that. **1/2.
Futurama "Meanwhile"
"Avenge Us!"
Best. Title card. Ever.
I don't think they should have backpedaled. I think they should have gone for broke and had Fry and Leela's lifetime together be permanent even if it meant the destruction of the universe. What, are people going to suddenly call them on it in 987 years? 3013 is NOT 1996 (when Star Trek's Eugenics Wars was supposed tp happen) or 2012 (When The X-Files' alien invasion was supposed to happen). If the human race is still around in 1000 years I'd be very impressed if I wasn't already dead for a thousand years.
What they should have done: filmed two endings. One for if the series WAS renewed (this one) and the bleaker yet way more satisfying ending of the Professor NOT saving the day if it was canceled. The series has been canceled twice now. I wish the creators would take the hint and given the audience a definite ending. They had a PERFECT opportunity to do it here but David X. Cohen and Matt Groening have Adult Swim and DTV's gleaming in their eyes. Futurama's concept is NOT The Simpsons'. It is NOT an "evergreen" property that can and should run for decades. If Groening and Cohen really DO have more stories to tell they should have told them in the 124 episodes they got. Many shows would KILL for that episode number. Futurama should have used it better.
This was a wonderful episode that would have been a wonderful series finale had they not chickened out. The episode itself was magnificent but the ending REALLY weakened it. ****1/2.
Power Rangers Mega Force "Man and Machine"
I liked this episode. Sue me.
Robo Knight may be a bit lame but at least he isn't obnoxious like the original show's Ninjor was. I'll take goofily stern authority figure over a wacky, obnoxious sidekick any day of the week.
No, seriously. This was pretty good. ****.
Under The Dome "Exigent Circumstances"
You notice the big thing with Dodie's death this episode? She was basically being a hindrance to the heroes all throughout the series until she finally learns the truth about Big Jim and its too late. He kills her. That is pretty much Rennie's MO. Trust him at your own Peril, Linda. Because when you learn the truth he will kill you and blame it on someone else. That is precisely the reason he is so evil and iredeemable.
And he's stupid evil too which is part of the point of him in the book. Remember when Barbie asked him how he would know Jim would keep his word and not hurt his friends? Remember Big Jim's response "You don't"? I'm betting Rennie got that line from a villain in an action movie and didn't realize that even if it SOUNDS bad@$$ on TV it is a REALLY bad thing to tell your hero if there are other people he is trying to protect from you and he fears that his death won't help them. Rennie thinks he's this tough guy genius. He really isn't. He's an idiot who knows everything he does about evil schemes from 80's action films. Without bothering to remember that the villains in those always wound up getting killed anyways.
Anyways, this dovetails into the idea the book hinted at that the outside world knew of Big Jim malfeasance and that was a BIG part of the reason Big Jim didn't want the Dome to come down. I figured Rennie would be on the hook for some murders but I didn't think Coggins was gonna be the first one pinned on him because they were the only two people there. Then I was like "Oh, yeah, cameras". There were a LOT of reasons Rennie tried to keep the Dome up in the book but knowing that the outside world probably viewed him as a criminal was one that even though the book hinted at it, it never really explored it. And it kind of should have.
I'm loving Angie besting Junior in all of these various situations. Now I actually hope they don't kill her off (although I'm betting they do). If they don't they could subtitle the series "Angie's Revenge".
I'm starting to really enjoy this series. Pretty much all from two weeks ago is forgiven. ****1/2.
Monsters, Inc.
As I rewatched this after seeing Monsters University my opinion of this film improved a little bit and my opinion of the prequel likewise lessened. I thought they were about equal quailty before but now I think the original is far better, even if it IS still in the bottom half of Pixar's film output.
I think the scene that REALLY made me like this film better than Monsters U was the early scene of Mike and Sulley walking to work and both being idolized by the neighborhood. Even Mike. Who did not get ANY respect from anyone other than Sulley in the prequel. Why couldn't the end of Monsters U actually stop at the point where Mike and Sulley not only became Scarers but seasoned and respected profressionals as well? It seems like the end of Monsters U has an ending that is SUCH a downer that if you hadn't seen the first film you would have left the theater bummed. Monsters Inc's ending isn't that great either to be honest but even though you wanted more you STILL got just enough.
The scene that effected me most in the movie was where Sulley accidentally scared Boo. It worked on several levels. The filmmakers commented that for them it was a statement of a parent making a mistake that they instantly wish they could take back. But it was SO much than that. Because in that one moment it basically said that the central premise of the movie was ghastly. Because it was. Even though it had been played for laughs until then Sulley realizing how horrible it must be for kids to be traumatized for no good reason was profound. His entire profression was obscene and their society was literally powered by the tears of children. That's kind of deep and is WAY more literal than most allegories. I couldn't tell if they were trying to send a deeper message about animal butchers, bankers, Oil Barons, cigarette company CEO's, or weapons manufacturers but what would it take for a person to realize the job they were hired to do is actually disgusting? That's another thing that wasn't addressed in Monsters U. That too weakened the prequel, but to be fair since it WAS a prequel, they couldn't actually find a believable way to address it there, even if they wanted to.
One thing I've never seen people comment on are the designs of the toilets of the movie. I laugh hard every time I see them. Do you notice how gigantic they are and how wide the pipe at the bottom is? Talk about monster dumps! It was a REALLY non-obvious scatalogical joke that they were able to sneak into a G rated movie. Good for them.
Retroactive continuity nitpicker alert: in the film it is stated that Mike and Sulley have known each other at least since the fourth grade (the commentary claims kindergarten). If we were to take everything in this film literally Monsters University couldn't possibly exist.
Randall didn't make much of an impression on me when I first saw the movie but upon seeing it years later I realize he is the perfect villain for this particular story. Why? Because his superpower is invisibility and in a movie where the main characters are trying to conceal a secret to stave off disaster that is PRECISELY the superpower you don't want your enemy to have. How can you keep a secret if you aren't even sure the bad guy is in the room with you? It was a brilliant idea.
I have a new appreciation for the movie although I still contend it isn't perfect. ****.
Mike's New Car:
They found every concievable way to hurt Mike while still keeping it funny and light. Somehow a darker cartoon (I'm thinking Futurama or Family Guy) could have made those exact same injuries gruesome so props to Pixar. ****.
Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex:
As a kid, I could NEVER understand why other little kids were so reluctant to come inside and take a bath. Baths are super fun! They were probably the best and most relaxing part of my day as a kid and I always looked forward to them. This shorts shows exactly WHY they are so much fun. I didn't have that many bath toys, or suds but you could REALLY let your imagination run loose when you were alone. Pixar prides itself on bringing shared experiences to its audiences and I think it is REALLY cool that this short did exactly that in six minutes. ****1/2.
For the Birds:
One of my faves. Those rotten little cheeping Birds get what's coming to them. I find the bird on the end realizing what the Birds' fate is and his expression hilarious. *****.
Filmmakers' Round Table:
I love when they acknowledged and poked fun at the random chimpanzee shots in the extras for the original DVD release. So THAT'S why he was there: to confuse people. It worked. The part about 9/11 really depressed me because it reminded me that during those dark days we were told that we weren't allowed to be funny and that satire was dead. I cannot think of anything more effed up than a President telling an entire country how they could feel and behave. There is a reason Monsters Inc was so popular. It was a light, fun movie right when we needed one. And no-one could tell us not to enjoy it. ****.
Monsters University Sneak Peek:
They are SO overselling this movie. People who saw this were BOUND to have been disappointed. **1/2.
Monsters University Trailer: Cute. ****.
Pixar Fun Factory Tour:
John Lassetter gets so excited. I like the Love Room. ****.
Story:
Four featurettes on the story process. The actual first story treatment of the movie is however awful. Overall: ***.
Story Is King: After seeing the story treatment I have to say this statement is bitterly ironic. Yeah, it's true for Pixar but it turns out not all of their ideas are good ones. ****.
Monsters Are Real: Interviews from the producers and stars. ****.
Original Treatment: This was stunningly bad. Worse than an average episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. By far. To its credit it had a better ending than the actual movie but to get to it you had to slog through cliche after cliche including the Sulley stand-in "Johnson" (nice, creative name there by the way) being bad at his job and having something to prove and the "Mary" Sue being better at scaring than Johnson is. This kind of thing is the kind of story that Pixar gets spoofed about without them actually making a movie this bad. It's still sort of fascinating to watch in a train wreck kind of way because it's REALLY cool to see how a bad movie evolved into a good one. But you sort of realize by the end that it was never gonna be a GREAT one. And it wasn't. *.
Story Pitch: Back To Work:
A story pitch of a scene that didn't make it in the movie. ***.
Banished Concepts:
You'd normally call this group of scenes "deleted scenes" but that is an understatement. They reworked the entire movie completely so these don't even feel like they were cut out of the same movie. I imagine there is an entire storyboarded Monsters Inc. variant movie with temporary voice tracks at Pixar's vault. And that it sucks. Overall: *1/2.
Intro To Banished Concepts: What the director DOESN'T say is how these scenes probably could form an entire deleted movie if they showed us all of them. ***1/2.
Assistant Sulley: Sulley being bad at his job is SUCH a terrible idea that I'm a little dismayed it lasted until storyboards. **.
End Of Day: A Mike scene. Sulley is still a wimp in this scene. **1/2.
Bad Scare: It goes without saying that the movie's version was better. **.
Scream Refinery: Another scene of Sulley being a total doormat. This is not a movie I would have wanted to see. *1/2.
Original Sulley Intro: This is the only interesting deleted scene of the bunch and I see why it was nearly completed. I don't think it would have confused an audience as much as the creators think it would have although I'm still on the fence about whether I prefer Sulley's actual intro. ****.
Storyboard To Film Comparison:
This is one of those angle button features. A rough animatic would have been nice. Overall: ***1/2.
Storyreel: ***1/2.
Final Color: ***1/2.
Split-Screen Comparison. ****.
Art Gallery:
An insanely massive still and animated gallery. I think my Blu-Ray remote is now mad at me. Overall: *****.
Characters:
Mike Wazowski: Mike's D-Bag goatee is absolutely revolting. He looks like a one-eyed Ted Nugent. ***1/2.
James P. Sullivan: I am amused to think that the filmmakers actually thought making Sulley with tenctacle legs would actually work. Maybe in Japran and if Boo was 13. ***1/2.
Boo: It's difficult to envision Boo as anything but what she was but the writers were originally gonna make her an older "Mary Sue" type character. Thank goodness that didn't happen. All that said, I DO wish the producers had kept Boo's design more "cartoony" and less realistic. In 2001 even Pixar had trouble creating realistic humans that weren't creepy. It wasn't TOO much of a problem because Boo was in that adorable monster suit for a good portion of the picture but I never found Boo quite as cute as I think the creators were hoping I would. ****.
Sulley And Boo: Sweet. ***1/2.
Henry J. Waternoose: The skeevy designs are interesting but I prefer the final design in the film: grandfatherly, trustworthy, and doesn't give a hint of treachery until he needs to. ***1/2.
Randall: Randall was pretty much the only character they nailed at the outset (even if he was originally green). *****.
Rivera: I don't even remember this guy from the movie. ***.
Celia: Giving Celia two heads would have been WAAAYYY too much, especially because if your mind took her and Mike's love life to its natural conclusion, there would be orgy and incest implications. **1/2.
Roz: It looked like for awhile Roz was going to be more mobile than she wound up being. I like the change. ***.
Fungus: It's the three lens glasses that make the character memorable. Once those were established everything fell into place. ****1/2.
Jerry: I don't remember this character either. **1/2.
Ted: I'm trying to picture how that detached rolling eye design would work. And I can't do it without feeling a little bit sick. ****.
Smitty: Fun fact: Sulley was originally gonna be the kind of loser character Smitty and Needleman wound up being. ***1/2.
Needleman: Only two designs here. **.
George: Like Randall they pegged George immediately. Unlike Randall, he's a bit character so my kudos are limited. ****1/2.
Claws: They originally were gonna go with a MUCH slimier and sinister design. It reminds me a bit of Randall which may have been the problem. ***.
Bile: I never much cared for this design but its just generic enough that you understand why they opened the movie on it. ***.
Harley: This design isn't scary at all. Harley looks like one of those characters who washed out from Monsters U. **.
Bud: I can't even tell what this is. **1/2.
Bob: The dentures monster. ***1/2.
Ricky: Now THIS is a great design. Just freaky enough to believe it would really scare kids but not so ugly as to be unappealing. The best of both worlds. *****.
CDA: What I love about the CDA suits is that since in the Monsters World there aren't really two body types that are the same, each hazmat suit obviously has to be hand-tailored for the person wearing it. Which raises a ton of questions of what they'd do if there was a REAL emergency like an actual plague. I think the Monsters World is far more vulnerable than they realize. ****1/2.
Monsters Wannabe's: Rejected monsters that didn't make the film. Mostly for good reason. *1/2.
Yeti: The earlier designs were nowhere NEAR as funny as what was in the film. ***.
Color Script:
Paintings of pretty much every single scene in the entire movie. Wow! *****.
Concept Art:
Apartment: I would have prefered pencil designs to paintings. **.
Boo's Bedroom: Can't see much in the dark. **.
Door Station: I'm glad to see not every still image here is a painting. ***.
Door Vault: I'd love to have seen the look on the CGI renderer's face when the writers described this scene to them, showing them these sketches. The commentary said "You could have heard a pin drop in the room" but I would love to have heard expressions described. ****.
Environments: I liked seeing the progression of the CGI. ****1/2.
Monsters, Inc.: Paintings = bad. Pencils and Inks = good. ***.
Monstropolis: Outdoor backgrounds, most of which don't seem to have appeared in the movie. ***.
Scare Floor: Some nice designs but a pretty boring gallery. **.
Posters:
Promotional art. ****.
Designing Monstropolis:
A lot of thought was put into this world. I'm not going to say it feels "real" but it feels like there is an actual history behind it and logic to it which is just as important. ****1/2.
Set Dressing Intro:
This was a very useful special feature although the still gallery had more examples than they showed here. ****.
Location Flyarounds:
CGI aeriel views of all of the sets and locations (which are revealed to have been filmed by Smitty and Needleman.) Best extra on the set. *****.
Monster File:
Two featurettes about the cast and characters. Overall: ****.
Cast Of Characters: Excellent job describing everybody. ****1/2.
What Makes A Great Monster?: Pretty good, if short, extra. ***.
Animation:
Six featurettes / extras about the animation of the film. The early test reel is the best. Overall: ****.
Animation Process: Informative. ****.
Early Tests: I still can't believe they thought Mike would work with no arms or Sulley with tentacles and then glasses. Still, these are really cool, especially because they included the failures. ****1/2.
Opening Title Animation: That guy's weird curlicue beard is beyond distracting and I couldn't focus on the feature. It's hard to fathom why some people dress themselves the way they do and why they think other people will find their off-puttingness attractive. The dude looks like he belongs on the lawn of a trailer park. **1/2.
Hard Parts: All that fur looked like it was a nightmare. ****.
Shots Department: My favorite effects in the movie is Sulley's near-tears at the end too. They look perfect. ****1/2.
Production Demonstration: Four progressions of the scene with George and the CDC as well as an introduction. Overall: ****1/2.
Production Demo Intro: ****.
Storyreel: ***.
Layout: ****1/2.
Animation: ****.
Final Color: *****.
Music & Sound:
One documentary on "If I Didn't Have You" and one documentary on sound effects. Overall: ***.
Monster Song: This is the exact same song as "You've Got A Friend In Me". Exact. Randy Newman is such a hack. The song wouldn't be as charming as it wound up being if John Goodman and Billy Crystal were better singers. Although Newman's a crummy singer himself and that doesn't usually help his songs. **1/2.
Sound Design: I totally missed the screams coming from cars and electronics in the background. Nice and subtle. ****.
Release:
The Premiere: I noticed a few celebrities who weren't in the film like Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, and Christine Lahti. ****.
Trailers & TV Spots:
Trailer #1: Loved the use of licensed music in this one. ****1/2.
Trailer #2: I'm guessing this played before Harry Potter screenings. *****.
TV Spot: Men In Teal: Pretty good. ****.
TV Spot: Your Eye: Nice. ****.
TV Spot: Green Skin: Nobody say "Fabulous" (or "marvelous" for that matter) like Billy Crystal. ****1/2.
TV Spot: Your Eye #1 Reviews: Even Pixar isn't immune from blurb whores. *.
International Inserts: This shows how every piece of English writing has to be translated into many different languanges. ****1/2.
Multi-Language Clip Reel: A disappointment. After hearing in the preceding featurette how they tried to cast foreign actors who sounded like the English ones you realize they didn't actually try very hard. Also the previous Inserts doc detailed how they changed the writing on various signs and papers and the like for different audiences around the world but everything in this demonstration was in English so we don't get to see what that looked like. *.
Toys: Those plushies sure were cute! ****1/2.
Outtakes And Company Play:
Say one thing for Mike: when he commits to a bit he REALLY commits. This was the thing I was most hoping would be on the extras. Loved Rex's cameo too. *****.
Wrap-Up:
Concludes the Pixar tour and leads to Easter Eggs. ****.
Easter Eggs:
Atrium Design: Introducing the atrium. ***.
Pixar Air Show: Its amazing the people at Pixar get any work done at all. *****.
Early Animation Test: I was looking for the full-length version of this with sound. *****.
Animation Gag Reel 1: Sulley / Boo / Waternoose: Not that funny. **1/2.
Animation Gag Reel 2: Giraffe Gag: This made me laugh. ****.
Animation Gag Reel 3: Sulley Bowling Boo: Strike! ****.
New Monster Adventures:
Promotional kids stuff. The Japanese stuff is absolutely bizarre. Overall: ****.
Monster TV Treats: ABC bumpers. ****.
Ponkickies 21: Japan has the absolute craziest stuff. Both: *****.
Janken: What?! *****.
Lucky Door Game: Dear Lord. *****.
"If I Didn't Have You" Music Video: Not that I like the song or anything but it would have been nice if they played the extended theme heard over the end credits. ***1/2.
Behind The Screams: On The Job With Mike & Sulley:
Monstropolis TV News Interview with Mike and Sulley set before the film. ****1/2.
Orientation:
Commercials for Monster Inc. AND a very cool storyboarded tale of the history of the Mans and the Mons who became Monsters. It is narrated by Bud Luckey. Overall: *****.
Welcome To Monsters, Inc.: The entire commercial from the film. ****.
Your First Day: I was most interested in the brief summary it gave of Henry Waternoose the First inventing the door system. ****1/2.
History Of The Monster World: I love the idea that there is an entire history behind the Monster World. Very mythic. This also hints that magic plays a role in Monster technology, which we could have guessed based on the bedroom door vault. *****.
Roz's 100 Door Challenge:
That was an ordeal. Seriously. For some strange reason a great deal the of the challenges involved math problems. Once they went past grouping by prime numbers I pretty much started to just guess. The puzzles were sort of fun but the brain teasers were REALLY hard. Even though I finished all 100 doors I didn't have much fun playing this. Oh, and Roz doesn't actually appear in this so there's that. *.
Employee Handbook: Funny stuff. ****1/2.
Guide To In Jokes: Another super handy special features that lists all of the best Easter Eggs in the movie. And yes, it is strongly implied Boo's actual real name is Mary after all. *****.
Employee Of The Month: Merry Christmas, Mike! **1/2.
Scarer Cards: These are nifty. ****.
Disc 1 Blu-Ray Menu: Excellent. ****1/2.
Disc 2 Blu-Ray Menu: Equally good as Disc 1 with different graphics. ****1/2.
DVD Menu: Similar to the Disc 1 Blu-Ray Menu. ****.
Upcoming reviews include Star Trek Into Darkness (Blu-Ray), Grimm: Season 2, Arrow: Season 1, Revolution: Season 1, Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited 5-8, Doctor Who: Series 7, Iron Man 3 (Blu-Ray), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ultimate Showdown, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters: Season 3, Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising, Much Ado About Nothing, and Haven: Season 3.
Lego Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles "Episode II: Menace Of The Sith"
This addressed one of my biggest complaints about the franchise: why does someone HAVE to choose a side in the Force? Especially when the Light Side is so obviously flawed and wrong-headed? The Force is basically sci-fi's version of Scientology. It makes no sense and doesn't actually matter morally which side you choose. Darth Vader's deathbed redemption is proof of this. Still, notice that Yoda and company didn't actually LEARN anything from Jek. Couldn't be helped with the mythology set in stone but it basically reinforces my opinion that Yoda is kind of a tool.
And yes, Yoda's speech impediment can get REALLY annoying at times especially since the creators feel they can turn it on and off like a switch.
The Wookiees celebrating "Life Day" cracked me up. I cannot believe George Lucas actually signed off on that joke. Good for him.
WAAAAAYYYY better than "The Phantom Clone". ****.
DC Nation
Beware The Batman "Family"
That. Was. AWESOME!
Seriously. This show is so much fun I can't stand it. The little kid in me is jumping for joy every second I watch it. It goes without saying that the series kicks the tailfeathers out of The Batman and Batman: The Brave And The Bold. But I'm starting to think that if this show lasts 65 episodes it will wind up being better than Batman: The Animated Series too. Don't get me wrong: BTAS' highs will be VERY hard to top. The show has yet to deliver an episode as perfect as some of my favorite BTAS ones. But people forget BTAS had a ton of lows too. The amount of BTAS twaddle mixed in with the good stuff is kind of mindblowing if you actually sit down and read an episode list for it sometime. Beware The Batman is WAAAYYYY more consistant in tone and quality than Batman: The Animated Series ever was.
I'll concede it's not as good as Justice League Unlimited or even Justice League: Season Two. But since those were three of the best action cartoon seasons of all time and b.t. had three previous series to work the bugs out of his universe it doesn't even matter to me. This show is everything Green Lantern: The Animated Series and Young Justice SHOULD have been. I may be passing judgement prematurely but I got a similar vibe watching the first season of Transformers Prime and that wound up being one of my favorite cartoons of all time. Even when GLTAS and YJ were excellent there was always the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that they wouldn't end well with YJ's repeated Xanatos Gambit cliffhangers and GL turning Aya into a villain at the worst possible point. I don't see either of those things happening on this series.
Lady Shiva is awesome. She reminds me a bit of Farscape's Scorpius. Yes, she is WAAAYYY hotter than that repulsive baddie but part of what made him so scary was his soft and matter of fact voice coming out of that S&M bondage nightmare costume. The series uses Shiva's sexy costume to similar contrasting effect with her mild tone. It gives me the willies.
I'm loving this show. I'm sorry I ever doubted it. I was wrong. *****.
Character Profile: Bizarro:
SO glad they drew Bizarro in Young Justice style even though Young Justice is long gone and he never appeared on that show. Hooray for profile consistancy! Are you listening, Fury Files? ****1/2.
Plastic Man in... Superheroes Wear Pajamas:
Are we done with these yet? Because frankly I've had enough. These and World's Funnest were cute at first but I've totally lost interest at this point. CN, finish airing the rest of these and move on. I can't believe someone thought this idea would make a good half hour series at one point. Its no wonder the pilot wasn't picked up. **.
Marvel's Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H. "All About Ego"
I find Red Hulk to be a very interesting character. His personality is not at all like Thunderbolt Ross but he DOES have a lot of Ross' bossy, fascist tendencies. It's ironic that the monster is a nicer and more likable guy than the man is.
The computer animation on Ego was very cool. Weirdly spooky.
Too many bodily function jokes this episode although that could turn out to be a series mainstay. It was funny in the pilot but if they are going to keep going back to that scatalogical well it will be less funny every time they do it.
Pretty good episode. ***1/2.
MAD "Iron Bland 3 / Monsters Community"
I don't think the episode really nailed Abed or Community's meta. Community's meta doesn't simply involve them referencing other shows but pointing out the tropes the characters themselves do and how it relates to both their situation and Greendale in general. Granted, I think that idea could have been difficult to convey in a 3 minute sketch but there are plenty of other aspects of Community worth lampooning that wouldn't take so long (such as Chevy Chase's jackassery). Iron Bland 3 wasn't all that great either although it was a rare sketch that wasn't a lame combination of two franchises, so it gets points for that. **1/2.
Futurama "Meanwhile"
"Avenge Us!"
Best. Title card. Ever.
I don't think they should have backpedaled. I think they should have gone for broke and had Fry and Leela's lifetime together be permanent even if it meant the destruction of the universe. What, are people going to suddenly call them on it in 987 years? 3013 is NOT 1996 (when Star Trek's Eugenics Wars was supposed tp happen) or 2012 (When The X-Files' alien invasion was supposed to happen). If the human race is still around in 1000 years I'd be very impressed if I wasn't already dead for a thousand years.
What they should have done: filmed two endings. One for if the series WAS renewed (this one) and the bleaker yet way more satisfying ending of the Professor NOT saving the day if it was canceled. The series has been canceled twice now. I wish the creators would take the hint and given the audience a definite ending. They had a PERFECT opportunity to do it here but David X. Cohen and Matt Groening have Adult Swim and DTV's gleaming in their eyes. Futurama's concept is NOT The Simpsons'. It is NOT an "evergreen" property that can and should run for decades. If Groening and Cohen really DO have more stories to tell they should have told them in the 124 episodes they got. Many shows would KILL for that episode number. Futurama should have used it better.
This was a wonderful episode that would have been a wonderful series finale had they not chickened out. The episode itself was magnificent but the ending REALLY weakened it. ****1/2.
Power Rangers Mega Force "Man and Machine"
I liked this episode. Sue me.
Robo Knight may be a bit lame but at least he isn't obnoxious like the original show's Ninjor was. I'll take goofily stern authority figure over a wacky, obnoxious sidekick any day of the week.
No, seriously. This was pretty good. ****.
Under The Dome "Exigent Circumstances"
You notice the big thing with Dodie's death this episode? She was basically being a hindrance to the heroes all throughout the series until she finally learns the truth about Big Jim and its too late. He kills her. That is pretty much Rennie's MO. Trust him at your own Peril, Linda. Because when you learn the truth he will kill you and blame it on someone else. That is precisely the reason he is so evil and iredeemable.
And he's stupid evil too which is part of the point of him in the book. Remember when Barbie asked him how he would know Jim would keep his word and not hurt his friends? Remember Big Jim's response "You don't"? I'm betting Rennie got that line from a villain in an action movie and didn't realize that even if it SOUNDS bad@$$ on TV it is a REALLY bad thing to tell your hero if there are other people he is trying to protect from you and he fears that his death won't help them. Rennie thinks he's this tough guy genius. He really isn't. He's an idiot who knows everything he does about evil schemes from 80's action films. Without bothering to remember that the villains in those always wound up getting killed anyways.
Anyways, this dovetails into the idea the book hinted at that the outside world knew of Big Jim malfeasance and that was a BIG part of the reason Big Jim didn't want the Dome to come down. I figured Rennie would be on the hook for some murders but I didn't think Coggins was gonna be the first one pinned on him because they were the only two people there. Then I was like "Oh, yeah, cameras". There were a LOT of reasons Rennie tried to keep the Dome up in the book but knowing that the outside world probably viewed him as a criminal was one that even though the book hinted at it, it never really explored it. And it kind of should have.
I'm loving Angie besting Junior in all of these various situations. Now I actually hope they don't kill her off (although I'm betting they do). If they don't they could subtitle the series "Angie's Revenge".
I'm starting to really enjoy this series. Pretty much all from two weeks ago is forgiven. ****1/2.
Monsters, Inc.
As I rewatched this after seeing Monsters University my opinion of this film improved a little bit and my opinion of the prequel likewise lessened. I thought they were about equal quailty before but now I think the original is far better, even if it IS still in the bottom half of Pixar's film output.
I think the scene that REALLY made me like this film better than Monsters U was the early scene of Mike and Sulley walking to work and both being idolized by the neighborhood. Even Mike. Who did not get ANY respect from anyone other than Sulley in the prequel. Why couldn't the end of Monsters U actually stop at the point where Mike and Sulley not only became Scarers but seasoned and respected profressionals as well? It seems like the end of Monsters U has an ending that is SUCH a downer that if you hadn't seen the first film you would have left the theater bummed. Monsters Inc's ending isn't that great either to be honest but even though you wanted more you STILL got just enough.
The scene that effected me most in the movie was where Sulley accidentally scared Boo. It worked on several levels. The filmmakers commented that for them it was a statement of a parent making a mistake that they instantly wish they could take back. But it was SO much than that. Because in that one moment it basically said that the central premise of the movie was ghastly. Because it was. Even though it had been played for laughs until then Sulley realizing how horrible it must be for kids to be traumatized for no good reason was profound. His entire profression was obscene and their society was literally powered by the tears of children. That's kind of deep and is WAY more literal than most allegories. I couldn't tell if they were trying to send a deeper message about animal butchers, bankers, Oil Barons, cigarette company CEO's, or weapons manufacturers but what would it take for a person to realize the job they were hired to do is actually disgusting? That's another thing that wasn't addressed in Monsters U. That too weakened the prequel, but to be fair since it WAS a prequel, they couldn't actually find a believable way to address it there, even if they wanted to.
One thing I've never seen people comment on are the designs of the toilets of the movie. I laugh hard every time I see them. Do you notice how gigantic they are and how wide the pipe at the bottom is? Talk about monster dumps! It was a REALLY non-obvious scatalogical joke that they were able to sneak into a G rated movie. Good for them.
Retroactive continuity nitpicker alert: in the film it is stated that Mike and Sulley have known each other at least since the fourth grade (the commentary claims kindergarten). If we were to take everything in this film literally Monsters University couldn't possibly exist.
Randall didn't make much of an impression on me when I first saw the movie but upon seeing it years later I realize he is the perfect villain for this particular story. Why? Because his superpower is invisibility and in a movie where the main characters are trying to conceal a secret to stave off disaster that is PRECISELY the superpower you don't want your enemy to have. How can you keep a secret if you aren't even sure the bad guy is in the room with you? It was a brilliant idea.
I have a new appreciation for the movie although I still contend it isn't perfect. ****.
Mike's New Car:
They found every concievable way to hurt Mike while still keeping it funny and light. Somehow a darker cartoon (I'm thinking Futurama or Family Guy) could have made those exact same injuries gruesome so props to Pixar. ****.
Toy Story Toons: Partysaurus Rex:
As a kid, I could NEVER understand why other little kids were so reluctant to come inside and take a bath. Baths are super fun! They were probably the best and most relaxing part of my day as a kid and I always looked forward to them. This shorts shows exactly WHY they are so much fun. I didn't have that many bath toys, or suds but you could REALLY let your imagination run loose when you were alone. Pixar prides itself on bringing shared experiences to its audiences and I think it is REALLY cool that this short did exactly that in six minutes. ****1/2.
For the Birds:
One of my faves. Those rotten little cheeping Birds get what's coming to them. I find the bird on the end realizing what the Birds' fate is and his expression hilarious. *****.
Filmmakers' Round Table:
I love when they acknowledged and poked fun at the random chimpanzee shots in the extras for the original DVD release. So THAT'S why he was there: to confuse people. It worked. The part about 9/11 really depressed me because it reminded me that during those dark days we were told that we weren't allowed to be funny and that satire was dead. I cannot think of anything more effed up than a President telling an entire country how they could feel and behave. There is a reason Monsters Inc was so popular. It was a light, fun movie right when we needed one. And no-one could tell us not to enjoy it. ****.
Monsters University Sneak Peek:
They are SO overselling this movie. People who saw this were BOUND to have been disappointed. **1/2.
Monsters University Trailer: Cute. ****.
Pixar Fun Factory Tour:
John Lassetter gets so excited. I like the Love Room. ****.
Story:
Four featurettes on the story process. The actual first story treatment of the movie is however awful. Overall: ***.
Story Is King: After seeing the story treatment I have to say this statement is bitterly ironic. Yeah, it's true for Pixar but it turns out not all of their ideas are good ones. ****.
Monsters Are Real: Interviews from the producers and stars. ****.
Original Treatment: This was stunningly bad. Worse than an average episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. By far. To its credit it had a better ending than the actual movie but to get to it you had to slog through cliche after cliche including the Sulley stand-in "Johnson" (nice, creative name there by the way) being bad at his job and having something to prove and the "Mary" Sue being better at scaring than Johnson is. This kind of thing is the kind of story that Pixar gets spoofed about without them actually making a movie this bad. It's still sort of fascinating to watch in a train wreck kind of way because it's REALLY cool to see how a bad movie evolved into a good one. But you sort of realize by the end that it was never gonna be a GREAT one. And it wasn't. *.
Story Pitch: Back To Work:
A story pitch of a scene that didn't make it in the movie. ***.
Banished Concepts:
You'd normally call this group of scenes "deleted scenes" but that is an understatement. They reworked the entire movie completely so these don't even feel like they were cut out of the same movie. I imagine there is an entire storyboarded Monsters Inc. variant movie with temporary voice tracks at Pixar's vault. And that it sucks. Overall: *1/2.
Intro To Banished Concepts: What the director DOESN'T say is how these scenes probably could form an entire deleted movie if they showed us all of them. ***1/2.
Assistant Sulley: Sulley being bad at his job is SUCH a terrible idea that I'm a little dismayed it lasted until storyboards. **.
End Of Day: A Mike scene. Sulley is still a wimp in this scene. **1/2.
Bad Scare: It goes without saying that the movie's version was better. **.
Scream Refinery: Another scene of Sulley being a total doormat. This is not a movie I would have wanted to see. *1/2.
Original Sulley Intro: This is the only interesting deleted scene of the bunch and I see why it was nearly completed. I don't think it would have confused an audience as much as the creators think it would have although I'm still on the fence about whether I prefer Sulley's actual intro. ****.
Storyboard To Film Comparison:
This is one of those angle button features. A rough animatic would have been nice. Overall: ***1/2.
Storyreel: ***1/2.
Final Color: ***1/2.
Split-Screen Comparison. ****.
Art Gallery:
An insanely massive still and animated gallery. I think my Blu-Ray remote is now mad at me. Overall: *****.
Characters:
Mike Wazowski: Mike's D-Bag goatee is absolutely revolting. He looks like a one-eyed Ted Nugent. ***1/2.
James P. Sullivan: I am amused to think that the filmmakers actually thought making Sulley with tenctacle legs would actually work. Maybe in Japran and if Boo was 13. ***1/2.
Boo: It's difficult to envision Boo as anything but what she was but the writers were originally gonna make her an older "Mary Sue" type character. Thank goodness that didn't happen. All that said, I DO wish the producers had kept Boo's design more "cartoony" and less realistic. In 2001 even Pixar had trouble creating realistic humans that weren't creepy. It wasn't TOO much of a problem because Boo was in that adorable monster suit for a good portion of the picture but I never found Boo quite as cute as I think the creators were hoping I would. ****.
Sulley And Boo: Sweet. ***1/2.
Henry J. Waternoose: The skeevy designs are interesting but I prefer the final design in the film: grandfatherly, trustworthy, and doesn't give a hint of treachery until he needs to. ***1/2.
Randall: Randall was pretty much the only character they nailed at the outset (even if he was originally green). *****.
Rivera: I don't even remember this guy from the movie. ***.
Celia: Giving Celia two heads would have been WAAAYYY too much, especially because if your mind took her and Mike's love life to its natural conclusion, there would be orgy and incest implications. **1/2.
Roz: It looked like for awhile Roz was going to be more mobile than she wound up being. I like the change. ***.
Fungus: It's the three lens glasses that make the character memorable. Once those were established everything fell into place. ****1/2.
Jerry: I don't remember this character either. **1/2.
Ted: I'm trying to picture how that detached rolling eye design would work. And I can't do it without feeling a little bit sick. ****.
Smitty: Fun fact: Sulley was originally gonna be the kind of loser character Smitty and Needleman wound up being. ***1/2.
Needleman: Only two designs here. **.
George: Like Randall they pegged George immediately. Unlike Randall, he's a bit character so my kudos are limited. ****1/2.
Claws: They originally were gonna go with a MUCH slimier and sinister design. It reminds me a bit of Randall which may have been the problem. ***.
Bile: I never much cared for this design but its just generic enough that you understand why they opened the movie on it. ***.
Harley: This design isn't scary at all. Harley looks like one of those characters who washed out from Monsters U. **.
Bud: I can't even tell what this is. **1/2.
Bob: The dentures monster. ***1/2.
Ricky: Now THIS is a great design. Just freaky enough to believe it would really scare kids but not so ugly as to be unappealing. The best of both worlds. *****.
CDA: What I love about the CDA suits is that since in the Monsters World there aren't really two body types that are the same, each hazmat suit obviously has to be hand-tailored for the person wearing it. Which raises a ton of questions of what they'd do if there was a REAL emergency like an actual plague. I think the Monsters World is far more vulnerable than they realize. ****1/2.
Monsters Wannabe's: Rejected monsters that didn't make the film. Mostly for good reason. *1/2.
Yeti: The earlier designs were nowhere NEAR as funny as what was in the film. ***.
Color Script:
Paintings of pretty much every single scene in the entire movie. Wow! *****.
Concept Art:
Apartment: I would have prefered pencil designs to paintings. **.
Boo's Bedroom: Can't see much in the dark. **.
Door Station: I'm glad to see not every still image here is a painting. ***.
Door Vault: I'd love to have seen the look on the CGI renderer's face when the writers described this scene to them, showing them these sketches. The commentary said "You could have heard a pin drop in the room" but I would love to have heard expressions described. ****.
Environments: I liked seeing the progression of the CGI. ****1/2.
Monsters, Inc.: Paintings = bad. Pencils and Inks = good. ***.
Monstropolis: Outdoor backgrounds, most of which don't seem to have appeared in the movie. ***.
Scare Floor: Some nice designs but a pretty boring gallery. **.
Posters:
Promotional art. ****.
Designing Monstropolis:
A lot of thought was put into this world. I'm not going to say it feels "real" but it feels like there is an actual history behind it and logic to it which is just as important. ****1/2.
Set Dressing Intro:
This was a very useful special feature although the still gallery had more examples than they showed here. ****.
Location Flyarounds:
CGI aeriel views of all of the sets and locations (which are revealed to have been filmed by Smitty and Needleman.) Best extra on the set. *****.
Monster File:
Two featurettes about the cast and characters. Overall: ****.
Cast Of Characters: Excellent job describing everybody. ****1/2.
What Makes A Great Monster?: Pretty good, if short, extra. ***.
Animation:
Six featurettes / extras about the animation of the film. The early test reel is the best. Overall: ****.
Animation Process: Informative. ****.
Early Tests: I still can't believe they thought Mike would work with no arms or Sulley with tentacles and then glasses. Still, these are really cool, especially because they included the failures. ****1/2.
Opening Title Animation: That guy's weird curlicue beard is beyond distracting and I couldn't focus on the feature. It's hard to fathom why some people dress themselves the way they do and why they think other people will find their off-puttingness attractive. The dude looks like he belongs on the lawn of a trailer park. **1/2.
Hard Parts: All that fur looked like it was a nightmare. ****.
Shots Department: My favorite effects in the movie is Sulley's near-tears at the end too. They look perfect. ****1/2.
Production Demonstration: Four progressions of the scene with George and the CDC as well as an introduction. Overall: ****1/2.
Production Demo Intro: ****.
Storyreel: ***.
Layout: ****1/2.
Animation: ****.
Final Color: *****.
Music & Sound:
One documentary on "If I Didn't Have You" and one documentary on sound effects. Overall: ***.
Monster Song: This is the exact same song as "You've Got A Friend In Me". Exact. Randy Newman is such a hack. The song wouldn't be as charming as it wound up being if John Goodman and Billy Crystal were better singers. Although Newman's a crummy singer himself and that doesn't usually help his songs. **1/2.
Sound Design: I totally missed the screams coming from cars and electronics in the background. Nice and subtle. ****.
Release:
The Premiere: I noticed a few celebrities who weren't in the film like Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, and Christine Lahti. ****.
Trailers & TV Spots:
Trailer #1: Loved the use of licensed music in this one. ****1/2.
Trailer #2: I'm guessing this played before Harry Potter screenings. *****.
TV Spot: Men In Teal: Pretty good. ****.
TV Spot: Your Eye: Nice. ****.
TV Spot: Green Skin: Nobody say "Fabulous" (or "marvelous" for that matter) like Billy Crystal. ****1/2.
TV Spot: Your Eye #1 Reviews: Even Pixar isn't immune from blurb whores. *.
International Inserts: This shows how every piece of English writing has to be translated into many different languanges. ****1/2.
Multi-Language Clip Reel: A disappointment. After hearing in the preceding featurette how they tried to cast foreign actors who sounded like the English ones you realize they didn't actually try very hard. Also the previous Inserts doc detailed how they changed the writing on various signs and papers and the like for different audiences around the world but everything in this demonstration was in English so we don't get to see what that looked like. *.
Toys: Those plushies sure were cute! ****1/2.
Outtakes And Company Play:
Say one thing for Mike: when he commits to a bit he REALLY commits. This was the thing I was most hoping would be on the extras. Loved Rex's cameo too. *****.
Wrap-Up:
Concludes the Pixar tour and leads to Easter Eggs. ****.
Easter Eggs:
Atrium Design: Introducing the atrium. ***.
Pixar Air Show: Its amazing the people at Pixar get any work done at all. *****.
Early Animation Test: I was looking for the full-length version of this with sound. *****.
Animation Gag Reel 1: Sulley / Boo / Waternoose: Not that funny. **1/2.
Animation Gag Reel 2: Giraffe Gag: This made me laugh. ****.
Animation Gag Reel 3: Sulley Bowling Boo: Strike! ****.
New Monster Adventures:
Promotional kids stuff. The Japanese stuff is absolutely bizarre. Overall: ****.
Monster TV Treats: ABC bumpers. ****.
Ponkickies 21: Japan has the absolute craziest stuff. Both: *****.
Janken: What?! *****.
Lucky Door Game: Dear Lord. *****.
"If I Didn't Have You" Music Video: Not that I like the song or anything but it would have been nice if they played the extended theme heard over the end credits. ***1/2.
Behind The Screams: On The Job With Mike & Sulley:
Monstropolis TV News Interview with Mike and Sulley set before the film. ****1/2.
Orientation:
Commercials for Monster Inc. AND a very cool storyboarded tale of the history of the Mans and the Mons who became Monsters. It is narrated by Bud Luckey. Overall: *****.
Welcome To Monsters, Inc.: The entire commercial from the film. ****.
Your First Day: I was most interested in the brief summary it gave of Henry Waternoose the First inventing the door system. ****1/2.
History Of The Monster World: I love the idea that there is an entire history behind the Monster World. Very mythic. This also hints that magic plays a role in Monster technology, which we could have guessed based on the bedroom door vault. *****.
Roz's 100 Door Challenge:
That was an ordeal. Seriously. For some strange reason a great deal the of the challenges involved math problems. Once they went past grouping by prime numbers I pretty much started to just guess. The puzzles were sort of fun but the brain teasers were REALLY hard. Even though I finished all 100 doors I didn't have much fun playing this. Oh, and Roz doesn't actually appear in this so there's that. *.
Employee Handbook: Funny stuff. ****1/2.
Guide To In Jokes: Another super handy special features that lists all of the best Easter Eggs in the movie. And yes, it is strongly implied Boo's actual real name is Mary after all. *****.
Employee Of The Month: Merry Christmas, Mike! **1/2.
Scarer Cards: These are nifty. ****.
Disc 1 Blu-Ray Menu: Excellent. ****1/2.
Disc 2 Blu-Ray Menu: Equally good as Disc 1 with different graphics. ****1/2.
DVD Menu: Similar to the Disc 1 Blu-Ray Menu. ****.