| MONSTERS, INC. |
2001 - USA
Directors: Peter Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich - Reviewed by Linda
Despite having an overall plot-depth of an expanded short story, Monsters, Inc. has enough visual razzle-dazzle and memorable characters to entertain both adults and kids alike. In a parallel universe called Monstropolis, the huge company Monsters, Inc. runs the business of harnessing human children's screams in order to power the city. It all comes down to the classic "there's a monster in my closet" nightmare that all children seem to have. The company has a warehouse full of bedroom closet doors, which, in best assembly-line fashion, are zipped along and clanked into a device hooked up to tanks to "catch" the screams, then the door opens up briefly for the designated monster to leap out and scare the pudding out of the unsuspecting kid. When the mission is accomplished, the scream tank is sealed, the monster leaps back out of the bedroom, shuts the closet door, and it is zipped off to make way for the next. The top producer of screams at Monsters, Inc. is James P. Sullivan (John Goodman), known as Sully to his friends. Along with his partner Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), they're a team that can't be beat. Oh, and did I mention that Sully is big, fuzzy, and turquoise with purple spots? And Mike is like a squat green eyeball? Anyways, one day, as a result of some some scheming late-night competitiveness by Sully's co-worker nemesis Randall (Steve Buscemi), a small girl-child accidentally walks through her opened closet door into Monstropolis and into the lives of Sully and Mike. The monsters are all more terrified of the child than she is of them, but they have to figure out a way to get her back to her world, while evading the four-alarm officials who are out to capture and do-away with the "dangerous" kid. The animation in Monsters, Inc. is, of course, eye-popping. But the plot moves along at a quick pace, and the script is quite clever and witty, so I can easily recommend it as a stand-alone comedy as well. Kudos to the screenwriters for not resorting to obnoxious pop-culture references that will be dated in a few years, like so many other animated films these days. Monsters, Inc. will have a much longer shelf-life because of this. Plus the characters are memorable, both the good guys and bad guys (my favorite creature being the humorless boss Roz, who resembles a slug with cat-eye glasses, lipstick, and a pointy beehive hairdo). And ultimately, the film concludes with a feel-good Dr. Seussian moral to take with you after the credits rolled. * As an extra treat, anyone conscious after the 1960s should watch for a "cameo" by a familiar monster from holiday specials. This, like many jokes, were aimed at the adults in the audience, who enjoyed the film as much (if not more!) than the squealing youngsters. Don't feel like you have to have a kid in tow to enjoy this one! |
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I
have to say that Disney's computer-animation offshoot PIXAR is single-handedly
saving that classic studio's animated feature-film reputation. While Disney's
traditional animators continue to churn out cookie-cutter soul-less fare like The
Lion King and Pocahontas, PIXAR, with flicks like the Toy Story
series and A Bug's Life to its credit, creates films with wit and charm.
They can now add Monsters, Inc. to their shining resume.