By Kit Bowen
Story
Leave it to Pixar to come up with another clever story. We are introduced to a thriving monster metropolis, where Monsters, Inc. employs an elite group of big, bad guys to go into children's closets and gather the city's energy supply--the children's screams. But lately, there has been an energy crunch; it seems kids are not getting as scared as they used to. Enter top Kid Scarer, Mr. James P. Sullivan, a.k.a. Sully (voiced by
John Goodman), a big, blue fuzzy monster who, along with his assistant Mike Wazowski (voiced by
Billy Crystal), a green, one-eyed wisecracker, gets potent screams from the kiddies. Unfortunately, the one thing Sully, Mike and the others are deathly afraid of is the children themselves. And when one child, Boo (voiced by Mary Gibbs), makes her way through the closet door into the monster world, things get decidedly complicated for Sully, who learns kids aren't so scary after all.
Acting
Honestly, how could you go wrong with the vocal talents of John Goodman, Billy Crystal,
Steve Buscemi and
James Coburn? In
Monsters, Inc., they absolutely shine. Oscar-winning Coburn brings the head of Monsters, Inc., Mr. Henry J. Waternoose, a crablike, spidery monster, vividly to life. Buscemi as the evil Randall Boggs, a slimy serpent monster who can camouflage himself to blend with anything, plays the perfect foil to Sully, a monster with grand plans who rivals the big guy in the quota for kids' screams. Crystal is hysterical as Mike, with enough neuroses and wild antics to offset the sweet Sully--without stealing the show. Even the little girl Boo comes across convincingly as a two-and-a-half-year-old, especially when she sings in the bathroom. It's Goodman who makes the movie complete--his Sully is one big galoot you can wrap your arms around.
Direction
Pixar Animation must constantly search high and low for the cream of the crop in animation and story development; they never settle for second best. The studio has the Midas touch when it comes to computer-animated films--its three features so far,
Toy Story,
Toy Story 2 (still one of the best sequels ever made) and
A Bug's Life, have grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide. Yes, Dreamworks may have given Disney a run for its money with its spectacular summer blockbuster
Shrek, but Pixar isn't going to roll over that easily.
Monsters, Inc. is a wonderfully inventive film, especially in its creation of such otherworldly settings as the factory and its assembly line of closet doors. The movie combines all the right elements--there's a good guy, a funny sidekick, a slimebag, a climactic chase scene and an adorable reason for things to end happily.