Monsters, Inc. 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Monsters, Inc. 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Disney has released the fur-tastic Pixar film 'Monsters, Inc.' to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/HDR encoded video resolution and a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. No new extras are included but the studio has bundled in two Blu-ray 2-D discs that contain extras previously found on the 2013 Blu-ray 3-D release

Monsters, Inc. 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Monsters, Inc. makes its UHD debut with a 2160p/HDR UHD presentation. This is a fairly basic UHD upgrade, presenting an appreciable, but not dramatic, suite of improvements over the aged, but still very visually robust, Blu-ray that debuted way back in 2009, over a decade ago. The HDR color spectrum renders the movie a bit cooler compared to the Blu-ray, which takes on, overall, a warmer appearance. On the UHD, tones are deepened but also brought to life with an improved feel for liveliness and vitality, strength and screen command. Sulley's fur, for example, leaps off the screen with dynamic color qualities that blend the teal and purple to terrific visual result. Mike's green body finds added color depth and nuance, a deeper, more pronounced shade that helps separate the character from colorful backgrounds and other monsters, which of course appear aplenty throughout. There's no shortage of spectacular colors to enjoy for the duration, each of them beefed up with more vitality, clarity, and accuracy compared to the Blu-ray. Additionally, whites appear with greater intensity, brilliance, and accuracy while blacks and low light scenes offer very impressive improvements to overall depth and shadow detail.

Textural gains within the 2160p resolution are not dramatic, but viewers will certainly note modest, but ultimately critical, adds to sharpness and clarity. Henry J. Waternoose's vest and jacket, for example, appear with greater care for fine fabric definition and offer a more tactile, in-depth look compared to the Blu-ray, which offers the same materials looking flat and smooth by comparison. Sulley's fur enjoys sharper strands, and the barrage of monsters seen throughout the film all feature improved clarity, whether slimy bodies or hair-covered exteriors. Backgrounds and locations are playgrounds for the bumped resolution, allowing for satisfying gains in wear and tear on one extreme and slick and smooth surfaces on the other. Everything is improved across the board. While not a transformative experience, the textural solidification and color improvements make this UHD well worth the upgrade.

Monsters, Inc. 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Monsters, Inc. growls onto the UHD format with a generally effective Dolby Atmos track that only comes up short in the usual Disney areas. The Atmos track is rather typical of a Disney outing. It's slightly volume challenged at reference, calibrated levels, but not to a degree where a volume adjustment is immediately necessary or plainly obvious, as has been the case with numerous past Atmos releases from the studio. The track does deliver plenty of information throughout the entire channel spectrum. The overhead channels engage during the simulation announcement early in the film with a clear top end pronouncement, and similar effects are heard at a couple of other junctures throughout the film. There's a nice bit of ambient din inside the Monsters, Inc. headquarters. Ringing phones, chatty employees, and the like pleasantly fill the stage to impressive result, with plenty of full stage and discrete effects alike filling the listening area with monsterific goodness. Music is lively and spreads wide along the front, lacking a solidified low end depth and beefier detail but offering good essential clarity and naturally immersive spacing to what's there. Monster growls, giant footfalls, and other sound effects that rely on the bottom end are left a little shortchanged, but not so flat as to destroy the experience. Dialogue is clear and presents with fine front-center positioning and prioritization. While not perfect, this Atmos track delivers a satisfying listen in its sum.

Monsters, Inc. 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Monsters, Inc. UHD disc contains no supplemental content, but the pair of bundled Blu-rays do include a rather large assortment of content. See below for a list of what's included and please click here for full coverage. Note that some of these extras were seemingly not present in the original 2-D Blu-ray; the link above points to the 3-D set. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

Blu-ray Disc One (Feature Film):

• Toy Story Tunes: Partysaurus Rex
• For the Birds
• Mike's New Car
• Filmmakers' Round Table
• Audio Commentary

• Roz's 100 Door Challenge
• Pixar Fun Factory Tour
• Story
  
  
  • Story Is King
  • Monsters Are Real
  • Original Treatment
  • Story Pitch: Back to Work
• Banished Concepts
  
  
  • Intro to Banished Concepts
  • Assistant Sulley
  • End of Day
  • Bad Scare
  • Scream Refinery
  • Original Sulley Intro
• Storyboard to Film Comparison
  
  
  • Storyreel
  • Final Color
  • Split-Screen Comparison
• Art Gallery
• Designing Monstropolis
• Set Dressing Intro
• Location Flyarounds
• Monster File
  
  
  • Cast of Characters
  • What Makes a Great Monster?
• Animation
  
  
  • Animation Process
  • Early Tests
  • Opening Title Animation
  • Hard Parts
  • Shots Department
  • Production Demonstration
    
    
    • Animation
    • Final Color
• Music & Sound
  
  
  • Monster Song
  • Sound Design
• Release
  
  
  • The Premiere
  • Trailer #1
  • Trailer #2
  • TV Spot: Men in Teal
  • TV Spot: Your Eye
  • TV Spot: Green Skin
  • TV Spot: Your Eye #1 Review
  • International Inserts
  • Multi-Langauge Clip Reel
  • Toys
  • Outtakes and Company Play
• Wrap-Up
• New Monster Adventures
  
  
  • Monster TV Treats
  • "If I Didn't Have You" Music Video
• Behind the Screams: On the Job with Mike & Sulley
• Orientation
  
  
  • Welcome to Monsters, Inc.
  • Your First Day
  • History of the Monster World

Monsters, Inc. 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Monsters, Inc. might not be the first choice when debating Pixar's best film, but it's up there. Colorful, charming, and visually and dramatically robust, the film certainly stands as one of the studio's best. Disney's UHD release delivers a quality 2160p/HDR video presentation and an imperfect but generally effective Dolby Atmos soundtrack. A large assortment of extras port over from previous high definition releases. Highly recommended.