Blu-ray Deals: Up and Monsters, Inc.

[Woochifer]

The big release this week is Up, and accompanying that release is the Blu-ray version of Monsters, Inc. The BDs for Up and Monsters, Inc. are four-disc sets with the BD and DVD versions plus a digital copy and bonus features. Fry's and Amazon are both selling Up for under $20 (BB has it for $23).

Seems that retailers are also trying to bundle Up and Monsters, Inc. Both Fry's and BB are offering $10 off Monsters, Inc. with the purchase of Up.

I also saw that Disney has an $8 off coupon for Monsters, Inc. if you already have the DVD or VHS version (actually, all you have to do is enter the UPC number and you get access to the coupon -- no rebates or proof of purchase mail-in needed). You'll need to register with Disney's Movie Rewards program (free to join), if you're not already a member, in order to retrieve the coupon.

http://disney.go.com/disneymovierewa...onstersupgrade

Fry's is selling Up for $20 and Monsters, Inc. for $24. (BB is selling them for $23 and $28) With $10 off, that brings the purchase price for Monsters, Inc. down to $14. And with the $8 off coupon, that brings the price down to $6. Combined price for both titles comes out to $26 ($33 at BB). Not a bad deal at all!

[Woochifer]

Interesting journey to get my BD copies of Up and Monsters, Inc.

I went to Fry's after work on Tuesday, and they were completely sold out of Monsters, Inc. They still had some copies of Up, but I wanted to buy both of them together to get the $10 discount. Went to a nearby Best Buy to see if they could do a price match on the Fry's price, but they were also sold out.

Had some business to do on the other side of the bay yesterday, so I went to the Fry's location there, and they indeed had both titles in stock (only three copies of Monsters, Inc. left). Went to the checkout, and was told that they would not accept the $8 off upgrade coupon. So, I decided to head over a few blocks down the street for Best Buy yet again.

This BB location also had both titles in stock. They agreed to do the price match (and even gave me a lower price on Up because of how their registers split the discounts on two-item deductions), and they also agreed to take the coupon. Both the cashier and the manager were amazed at the final tally -- less than $27, tax included. Once these deals expire, the regular price on both titles go up to $35 each.

I've already watched portions of both titles, and Up looks and sounds absolutely amazing. Definitely an upgrade from when we first saw the movie at a drive-in over the summer! (With a two-year old, the drive-in is a great way to go) If you haven't seen Up, it's a great movie and well worth the blind buy with all the steep discounts out there for the week of release.

Monsters, Inc. is definitely a step down with the video quality. With the animation dating back to 2001, the detail is not nearly as refined, but it's still a huge upgrade over the DVD version especially with the new DTS audio track.

[Feanor]

What I want to know about Monsters, Inc. is whether Disney/Pixar paid royalties to Monster Cable, (Noel Lee), for the use of the name.

[kexodusc]

What I want to know about Monsters, Inc. is whether Disney/Pixar paid royalties to Monster Cable, (Noel Lee), for the use of the name.

I'm guessin Disney/Pixar is one sum***** Monster does NOT want to make the mistake of thinking they can intimidate with frivolous patent lawsuits...

[Feanor]

I'm guessin Disney/Pixar is one sum***** Monster does NOT want to make the mistake of thinking they can intimidate with frivolous patent lawsuits...

No kidding, eh?!!

[Woochifer]

What I want to know about Monsters, Inc. is whether Disney/Pixar paid royalties to Monster Cable, (Noel Lee), for the use of the name.

According to this 2004 SF Chronicle article, Monster Cable has already sued Pixar over that movie name. Supposedly, that happened before the movie even came out. Most of these suits get settled out of court, with Monster Cable coming out ahead because the businesses getting sued either don't have the resources or the patience to drag things out.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...UG1J9N3C61.DTL

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

According to this 2004 SF Chronicle article, Monster Cable has already sued Pixar over that movie name. Supposedly, that happened before the movie even came out. Most of these suits get settled out of court, with Monster Cable coming out ahead because the businesses getting sued either don't have the resources or the patience to drag things out.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...UG1J9N3C61.DTL

When they sued us, we went for the jugular and countersued threatening their whole copyright of the name Monster as overly broad. When we stated we were not going to back down or be bullied, they relented and called off the suit. When Paramount/Dreamworks released Monsters and Aliens, they started rattling their sabre again, but we told them we would partner with Dreamworks and go after them again, they reversed course and stated they have no intention of going after them.

Monster picks on little guys who cannot afford long lengthy and expensive lawsuits. The get them to relent in their favor as to avoid the whole expensive process. When they go after guys that are bigger and more financially able to deal with this kind of thing, they don't get their way.

[Woochifer]

When they sued us, we went for the jugular and countersued threatening their whole copyright of the name Monster as overly broad. When we stated we were not going to back down or be bullied, they relented and called off the suit. When Paramount/Dreamworks released Monsters and Aliens, they started rattling their sabre again, but we told them we would partner with Dreamworks and go after them again, they reversed course and stated they have no intention of going after them.

Monster picks on little guys who cannot afford long lengthy and expensive lawsuits. The get them to relent in their favor as to avoid the whole expensive process. When they go after guys that are bigger and more financially able to deal with this kind of thing, they don't get their way.

Good to hear that. Sometimes I wish they would just foolishly go to trial on one of these suits and get their trademarks stripped down. That would put an end to all this nonsense.

When they sued Blue Jeans Cable over a purported patent violation, they didn't realize that BJC's owner is a former corporate litigator. His response to Monster Cable's cease and desist letter was comical in its thorough beatdown of Monster's patent claims. He was practically begging them to bring it on so that he could get the court to invalidate Monster's patents.

[frahengeo]

Back to the Up and Monster's Inc promotion...I saw a better promotion on Amazon.

Right now, you can get Up, Monster's Inc, and Cars (all blu-ray) for ~$32.00. That's ~$10.00 per blu-ray for these great titles (especially if you have kids).

[Woochifer]

First week sales figures have been tallied, and it looks like Up got off to a strong start. More importantly, the data also indicate that Blu-ray accounted for 24% of the total sales for Up. According to Reuters, this is a new high for a family film, where Blu-ray has typically accounted for a lower share of sales than with action pics.

http://www.reuters.com/article/indus...5AI0P620091119

Also, sales for the new Blu-ray release of Monsters, Inc. were strong enough to propel it to #6 in overall sales (combined DVD and Blu-ray) for the week.