Disc 1 also features two alternate audio tracks for the film, the usual audio commentary from the filmmakers and a unique “Sound Effects Only” track.

Audio Commentary (Available on Widescreen Version Only):  Director Pete Docter, co-director Lee Unkrich and executive producers John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton provide in their commentary lots of back story on the making of Monsters, most of which is elaborated on in further supplements on the second disc. They strike a pretty adequate balance between the nuts and bolts of computer animation and the creative processes involved in such a production, and manage to sneak in a couple of surprise cameos into the track as well (hint: be sure to listen all the way to the end).

The Top 10 Things We Learn from this Commentary:

1. Bonnie Hunt’s role as the training monster Flint was originally much larger. Unfortunately for Hunt’s fans (me included), her role was cut down to a mere cameo.
2. Billy Crystal was Lasseter’s first choice for Buzz Lightyear, but he turned them down. He “kicked himself for years” afterward, so he jumped at the chance to voice Mike Wazowski in this film.
3. Ted, the rather large, green-scaly monster we only see from the knees down on Sulley and Mike’s walk to work, was originally going to have a familiar monster-movie roar (think Japan). But rights issues couldn’t be met, so he ended up with the voice of ... a chicken.
4. An original story idea for Celia (whose full name is reveled, Celia Mae) was to give her the ability to turn people into stone, a nod to her Medusa like hair-do.
5. All the kid’s screams were recorded by actual children, mostly those belonging to Pixar staff members.
6. Cinematic homages within Monsters, Inc. include The Right Stuff (not Armageddon), Brazil and Barry Lyndon.
7. Randall’s scare assistant Fungus is voiced by Frank Oz of Muppet/Yoda fame and the Yeti is voiced by Pixar’s “lucky charm”, John Ratzenberger (Hamm in the Toy Stories and P.T. Flea in A Bug’s Life).
8. The makers of Monsters, Inc. are proud that their film includes the first computer animated flushing toilet in the history of animation. (Take that, Shrek.)
9. When Boo starts crying, the directors knew that they “needed the snot” to make it real.
10. All of Boo’s drawings in the film were authentic kid drawings that were then scanned into the computer for use in the film.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX Sound Effects Only Track:  Monsters, Inc. was the first animated film ever nominated for a Sound Effects Oscar. Alas, the award went to Pearl Harbor, so this alternate track is seemingly the sound teams consolation prize. But what at first seems like an odd inclusion turns out to be a mesmerizing experience. Devoid of dialog and music, all of the film’s sound effects, each slither of a tentacle, each scratch of a claw, is amplified. Even ambient noises such as birds on the streets of Monstropolis and the buzz of the overhead institutional lighting within Monsters, Inc. stand out. At first, I was only going to view a few scenes with this option, but I ended up watching over a third of the movie. Alarmingly addictive.

With the two viewing options of the movie taking up most of the room on the first disc, the bulk of the supplemental material is reserved for the second, where it is divided into two separate ‘worlds’, the ‘Human World’ and the ‘Monster World’.

But first, from the main menu, you have the option to jump to three of the highlights of the set, two of which accompanied the film’s original release and one brand new, specially made for the video release.

Outtakes:  What has become a tradition with Pixar films since A Bug’s Life, faux ‘bloopers, blunders and hilarious outtakes’ were created for Monsters, Inc. and then attached to the film about a month into its theatrical run. While the whole concept for these (an indirect homage to cheesy Burt Reynolds films of the Seventies?) is a hoot and they can be very funny, the Monsters set seems to stretch the laughs a bit thin, and one wonders if maybe this is the time to put a good idea to rest.

Maybe, I say, for this outtake reel ends with pure comedic genius: riffing on the idea of Mike’s “Company Play” ruse from the film, those jokesters at Pixar have their monster cast actually stage Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me! (“It’s a musical!”). Anyone who has ever been in a school play or tacky community theater production, or even just seen one, will be rolling in the aisles during this one. Proof positive that a good joke just keeps on giving.