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Remember life as a little kid, when you feared the monsters living in your closet or under your bed? Remember your parents assuring you that monsters don't exist? Monsters, Inc. verifies what every child really knows - the things that go bump in the night are more genuine than adults truly realise. Brought to the big screen by Disney & Pixar, Monsters, Inc. - the fourth offspring of this marriage (following Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2) - is a triumph of animated cinema. Co-directed by Pete Docter, David Silverman and Lee Unkrich (with Pixar guru John Lasseter serving as executive producer), this lively and endearing slice of animation is everything we come to expect from a product of the Disney/Pixar axis - it has an enchanting, imaginative premise as well as sumptuous computer animation, brilliant gags for every age, and a mouth-watering voice cast. Yet, this motion picture is a fresh and unique beast. Instead of taking place in the real world, Monsters, Inc. introduces an entirely new universe in which the marvellously-rendered CGI characters can live and flourish.
Behold Monstropolis - a thriving city populated by monsters of all shapes and sizes. Instead of coal or nuclear power, Monstropolis' power supply is derived from the screams of children. This means the scariest (and bravest) denizens of the city are employed by Monsters, Inc. (the largest scream processing factory in Monstropolis) to venture through closet doorways and elicit screams by scaring children all over the globe (these screams are then converted into electricity). However - as children are becoming more sophisticated and consequently more difficult to frighten - severe power problems are affecting the city, with "rolling blackouts" predicted throughout this serious scream shortage. The responsibility of harnessing sufficient electricity falls on the broad shoulders of the leading scream producer - a big blue monster known as Sulley (Goodman), ably assisted by his wisecracking pal Mike (Crystal). It's business as usual for Sulley & Mike until a young, curious human child (Gibbs) boldly goes where no human has gone before...into a closet, and onward into the monster universe. In this world, however, it's the monsters who are afraid of the children (believing them to be toxic and deadly). Pandemonium ensues as Sulley & Mike work to return the child home, in the process uncovering a sinister plot to rid Monstropolis of its power issues...
Monsters, Inc. is an enchanting animated picture which plays on childhood fears in a totally delightful, nonthreatening fashion. Familiar Pixar themes of childhood worlds of imagination are revisited, and on top of this it's a joyful celebration of the power of make-believe. Monsters, Inc. succeeds on two levels - as fast-moving, energetic fun for children and as slyly written, visually impressive entertainment for adults. The plot, however, is probably a bit too straightforward, and - even at a brisk runtime of 90 minutes - it feels slightly padded out, not to mention sluggish from time to time. The second act also tends to bog, with the single-note joke growing pretty old fairly rapidly. This is a fairly predictable affair as well; its conclusion quite foreseeable from about 20 minutes in. With the exception of a few twists and turns, the film traverses through by-the-numbers territory. These complaints are quite minor, however, as Monsters, Inc. remains an enjoyable, imaginative adventure.
Granted, Monsters, Inc. does lack the complexity evident in Toy Story and A Bug's Life, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. What it lacks in depth it makes up in boundless creativity. Two forms of comedy are on offer - simple laughs for the kiddies, and more imaginative gags aimed at adults. Pixar movies are generally overflowing with such humour, thus parents can watch a Pixar masterwork with their kids, aware that they'll also get a laugh. The cinematic references and in-jokes present in this film are terrific. There's the little girl referred to as "Boo", the Monstropolis/Metropolis angle, and a clever allusion to The Right Stuff. Most audiences will snigger at the "Stalk/Don't Stalk" street sign and a tabloid newspaper called The Glob, but only adults will chuckle at a club named "Harryhausen's" (for those unaware, Ray Harryhausen is a renowned animation pioneer). Some of the humour is hit-and-miss, though, with the occasional gag falling flat. Adults may find the script a few jokes short of true classic status.
Advances in computer graphics since Pixar's first feature-length endeavour (1995's Toy Story, six years earlier) are frankly staggering, and these advancements are on glorious display here. Each new Pixar movie raises the bar a little higher, and in this case the artists have become capable of animating fur. The animators have pulled out all of the stops to make Sulley look realistic...and their objective is completed astonishingly. In terms of richness of design and background detail, the animation present in Monsters, Inc. is truly a triumph. Pixar have keen eyes for detail, ensuring everything on-screen looks completely authentic.
The animation of Mike is particularly interesting due to the fact that the animators had so little to work with. Instead of a full face, Mike is merely an eyeball. Luckily, this eyeball has an eyelid, and thus the artists were able to provide the character with every facial expression a monster would ever need. It's a tour de force!
Probably the most entertaining sequence in the entire movie is a climactic scramble through a labyrinth of closet doors - each one containing another world. It's a breathless action-comedy set-piece which moves along at breakneck speed (although it is drawn out a bit). Another of the film's greatest assets is Randy Newman's superb, zippy score which was nominated for an Oscar. The film's excellent closing song (performed by Goodman and Crystal) earned the film its only Academy Award (an Oscar well earned!).
Pixar creations are always greatly elevated by the remarkable vocal talent they continue to attract. With computer-animated films grossing hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, big-time actors are far more eager to get involved in such a lucrative industry. In the case of Monsters, Inc., the cast is lead by the duo of the always-reliable John Goodman and the impeccable Billy Crystal. In an unprecedented break from tradition, Goodman and Crystal recorded their dialogue together (rather than separately). As well as voicing their respective characters, their screen personas are also drawn upon.
John Goodman is an ideal choice for Sulley. His deep voice suits the build of the character, and conveys a gentle-giant tone. Under Goodman's watch, Sulley becomes a big lovable teddy bear. Billy Crystal is his usual chaotic self as Sulley's one-eyed assistant Mike. Crystal steals the show and provides a large amount of the comedy.
The villain for the heroes to contend with is a reptilian creature named Randall, voiced by the terrific Steve Buscemi. As the diabolical villain, Buscemi is almost unrecognisable...and it's all the better for it. His usual quirky voice would never suit the character. The far more sinister voice he offers here, however, is a perfect fit. Jennifer Tilly is a great fit as the feisty love interest for Mike. The venerable James Coburn is suitably dignified as Mr. Waternoose; the owner of Monsters, Incorporated. Also in the cast is Mary Gibbs whose baby-talk makes Boo all the more adorable. In addition, Bob Peterson is hilarious as the tough-as-nails Dispatch Manager (Peterson's voice was apparently only temporary, but deemed such a success that it was kept in the final film), Franz Oz is very amusing as Randall's squirrelly accomplice (known as Fungus), and then there's John Ratzenberger (who stars in every Pixar film) who makes a side-splitting cameo as the Abominable Snowman.
The year 2001 saw the release of two greatly successful computer-animated features - Pixar's Monsters, Inc. and Dreamworks' Shrek. While the latter earned the Best Animated Feature Oscar and is by far the hipper of the two flicks, the former is still cheerful, creative, high-energy entertainment with a large supply of gags and a lot of heart. Judging by the box office results of Monsters, Inc. and Shrek, it seems the future of animation lies with computer-generated creations. Traditional animation may fast become extinct. As long as computer-animated films maintain this high level of quality, its ascendance to king of the animation realm can only be perceived as a positive thing. Monsters, Inc. reaffirms the fact that a good animated movie can be every bit as stimulating and satisfying as a live action endeavour. This is an easy recommendation.
7.6/10
