Originally, Pixar was not really keen on turning their hit movies into franchises, with the notable exception of Toy Story. This attitude has changed a lot over the last years and now a whole load of sequel seem to be arriving. Monsters University is one of them and even a movie that was actually not expected at all, arriving twelve years after its predecessor. Going for a prequel instead a sequel might have been a good idea, but unfortunately the movie’s dazzling visuals and entertaining characters are not able to weigh against the lack of good storytelling. It’s still a watchable movie though, but the Pixar magic is just not there. So the first completely new review of 2014 is, for once, not a fully positive one – even the DVD release is not all it could have been despite a flawless technical presentation.

Continue to Review »

It’s February already and this means I really have to get DVDLog out of the Winter hiatus slowly. As an introduction to 2014 and a preparation to a coming review, I’m pulling out a DVD from 2002: Pixar’s fourth movie Monsters, Inc.! It’s one of their best early efforts and while not completely without faults, one of the movies almost completely foreign to the studio’s usual fare. I only saw it in 2002 when the DVD came out because I had missed it in the cinemas, but while I was never a big fan of Toy Story and A Bug’s Life I always liked Monsters, Inc. – probably because of the great voice cast and the wonderful animation, making up for a slightly weak script. The DVD release from 2002 also has some small faults, but is still amazing today with its enormeous amount of extras.

Continue to Review »