Monsters, Inc. (2001) User Reviews

Nothing To Criticize Here - Very Solid Animated Film

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 10 July 2006]

This is a very entertaining animated film. I've seen it twice and enjoyed even more the second time. Billy Crystal said he enjoyed making this film as much as any film he's ever done, so that's a good testimony that you'll get some laughs and enjoy this movie as an adult, too.

Kids will love it, I am sure. The "monsters" in here are funny-looking and almost lovable, nothing that would scare your kids (or you). Crystal has a bunch of funny lines but overall I found this to be as much if not more of a human interest story than a comedy.

There is a lot of sentimentality to it, even overdone a bit at the end, but that's okay. There is absolutely nothing offensive in here, either. The colors look spectacular, too.

The animation even holds up at times.

[jackgdemoss · 9/10 · 29 December 2019]

I was recently gifted a "100 movie advent calendar" for Christmas. When you are ready to watch a movie you scratch one of the boxes off and it tells you what to watch. The first draw was Monsters, Inc. I haven't seen this classic for over 10 years, but my wife was pulling quotes out verbatim. The opening 10 minutes are executed to perfection. The characters are introduced nicely, the plot and obstacle to overcome laid out, the world built, and the comedic timing perfect. The compilation of Mike training Sully with scare exercises had me rolling. The movie does lose steam after this first 10 minutes but it certainly never sputters out. Monsters, Inc. is a classic for a reason, and is a must see.

Monstrously clever and funny early Pixar CGI feature

[jamesrupert2014 · 9/10 · 8 January 2019]

Sully and Mike (voiced by John Goodman and Billy Crystal) are employees at Monsters Inc., a scream-fueled plant that provides power to Monsteropolis. Screams are generated by 'scarers' (and Sully is the best), who enter children's bedrooms via the closet and are harvested by their partners (in Sully's case, his best friend Mike). Extreme care must be taken, as children are highly toxic to monsters, so when one is accidently transported to the factory, pandemonium ensues. The film is the fourth of Pixar's full length animated features and like most of the studio's work, is excellent. The story is fun with a clever 'twist' to the ending, the animators manage to inject a tremendous amount of character and personality into the CGI characters, and the choice of voice talent is perfect (I especially liked Steve Buscemi as the chameleonic villain Randall). CGI technology has advanced considerably since the film was released but the imagery still holds up and the vast 'closet door' storage facility is great. Typical of the studio, there are a lot of amusing details in the background that are worth watching for. Good, timeless fun for all ages.

Adorable, funny, perfect voice casting for the lead roles

[vchimpanzee · 31 October 2004]

I thought Billy Crystal and John Goodman were great. I like them anyway, but I can't imagine anyone else in their roles. John Goodman comes across as a warm, fuzzy teddy bear type in so many of his roles, and this time he was actually drawn that way. Crystal and Goodman were great together, even when their characters showed signs of not getting along. And Boo sounded so natural, so childlike. There's no way an adult could have done her lines the way they were executed.

And the writing was so intelligent, this movie was not just for kids. There were a lot of clever jokes that kids might not get. Still, the warm and fuzzy qualities of so many of the monsters make this a perfect choice for kids as well as adults, and I really don't get why ABC couldn't give this a TV-G rating. It may have been a little violent or scary at times, but never all that intense. Kids see worse on Saturday morning.

Now here's a story children and adults can relate too. Monsters in the closet.

[ahill-1 · 10/10 · 12 December 2001]

While monsters in the closet may seem to be a scary reality for some children, `Monsters, Inc.' makes it light hearted by showing them it's all in a night's work. The characters are as charming as the cast that speaks for them.

It's a learning experience children get to see how an industry works. Monsters, Inc. is an in-genius corporation that has scientifically learned how to channel children's screams into energy that is used for electrical power. It has monster employees, an assembly line of doors (which give monsters access to children's bedrooms), a top-flight training program and some of the top Monsters in the scaring business.

There's a colorful Metropolis, filled with houses, buildings, businesses, cars and everything that makes a city run smoothly along with a population of colorful creatures. One of the colorful groups of creatures is the yellow swat team. Their job is to protect the Metropolis of Monsters, Inc. from human contamination.

But what happens when a human child mysteriously gets through the bedroom door and terrorizes the city with screams and boo's. It's wondrous and funny. In the mist of all this is industrial crime, brought on by greed. But, the story ends on a very happy note.

John Goodman is the voice of `Sulley' a colorful large blue-green ape like monster who's the star Monsters, Inc. employee. He's some type of monster, cut, cuddly, and he has a conscience that leads him to feelings of regret about scarring children. He becomes attached to Boo (voice of Mary Gibbs) a cute, little big-eyed girl who is mysteriously brought to Monsters, Inc. and in his quest to return her home becomes very attached to her.

Sulley's best friend is Mike (voice of Billy Crystal) who's a funny looking green ball with stick legs and one huge eye. His comedy is seen through out the movie. Mike is Sulley's driving force, acting as his agent. Mike's job is to make sure Sulley remains the top Monsters, Inc. employee. But when it comes to laughter Mike proves he's on top.

Mike's girl friend Celia (voice of Jennifer Tilley) is the stylish employee who has Mike's best interest at heart. Her job is to keep him out of trouble.

I give Monsters, Inc. a ten. It is an animated movie that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It makes for great family fun.

Does For Monsters What "Toy Story" Did For Toys!

[MovieAddict2016 · 10/10 · 12 March 2003]

Monsters, Inc.

We were all, at one time, scared of monsters under the bed. Shadows of clothes in the closet. Weird sounds outside in the trees. I remember thinking there were all kinds of monsters in my room - not as much under my bed as in the closet. And once again, Pixar, who brought us "Toy Story" 1 & 2, plays on both adults' memories and children's dreams, making it equally enjoyable for both children and adults.

John Goodman voices James P. Sullivan, known as "Sulley" to friends. He is a big, blue, hairy monster with horns on his head and hands the size of a watermelon. Billy Crystal is Mike Wazowski, his wisecracking, one-eyed best friend. Both of these monsters live in Monstropolis, a world where monsters roam freely. Their city is powered by a rare source of power - children's screams. That is where Monsters, Incorporated comes in. At Monsters, Inc., monsters like Sulley and Mike open portals into children's rooms - through closet doors - and scare the children, capturing their scream in a little yellow bottle. Sulley is the top-scarer, bringing in the most scares. But Randall (the always enjoyable - even when animated - Steve Buscemi), a wormy, multiple-armed lizard-monster with the ability to change appearances to its surroundings, is jealous of Sulley, and will attempt anything to get more scares...even if it means taking a child from the real world and bringing it into Monstropolis. But after the child escapes, Sulley and Mike reluctantly look after it, all the while trying to get it back to the real world before Mr. Waternoose (the late James Coburn) and others find out about the incident...

"Monsters, Inc." does for monsters what "Toy Story" did for toys. Pixar once again not only expands our mind, but our very worlds. I respect their company and commitment values very much, as you can read in my "Toy Story" review. They stick to the values that made Disney films so family-friendly back in the fifties and sixties: Respect for the audience, respect for quality, and respect for the audience's INTELLIGENCE, something Disney, who has recently coughed up a bunch of lousy, thoughtless sequels, has forgotten. Now, I know that LEGALLY Disney is co-creator of "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc.," but they really are not. They just give Pixar the money and get their name branded on the front box of the film. And even then, I have heard multiple claims that Disney is very mean-spirited towards Pixar (read into sequel trouble for "Toy Story 3") and gives them the bare minimum.

But that is straying off the subject. "Monsters, Inc." is one of the most enjoyable animated films I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. I didn't enjoy it as much the first time, but I then bought it, and have since watched it many times. It is an instant classic. I will be watching it years from now, when I am old and frail and in a rocking chair. It ranks right up there with "Toy Story" 1 & 2, and all the OLDER Disney films from the 50's-70's. It has all the elements of a sweet, charming, emotional and pleasurably good-natured animated film. And, more coudos to Pixar: Thank you for not packing it full of the language and inappropriate content that Disney shoves into the dark recesses of their films nowadays.

Not only has Pixar brought back the "Family Film" genre to what it should be, but it also redefines it. Pixar's animated films are some of the most thoughtful, imaginative and enjoyable animated films ever - not to mention 100 % family safe. Thank you, Pixar, for getting back on track.

5/5 stars

Adorable movie with top class entertainment.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 10/10 · 21 January 2004]

The best way to describe this movie in one word is; fun! "Monsters, Inc." is a movie you can easily fall in love with. It has some great fun character, some awesome moments and some well placed comical moments. "Monsters, Inc." is entertainment at its bests.

The voice cast is amazing. John Goodman and Billy Crystal form a great leading duo. Steve Buscemi is a great villain and James Coburn has a great voice that fits his character perfectly. John Ratzenberger as always is very entertaining this time in a role as banished Yeti.

The story itself is pretty simple but thats what makes it easy to follow and so much fun to watch. The movie not only knows how to entertaining but also knows how and when to emote. The combination of fun and emotional things is perfectly balanced and placed within the movie.

There is some great dialog but the true power of "Monsters, Inc." are the wonderful characters. Not is there only a wild variety of strange and weird characters but also some characters that are good for some serious laughs and Boo is simply adorable and a pretty fair representation of a kid in real life. Well done Pixar!

Pure entertainment for the entire family!

10/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

touching, emotional, original and hilarious masterpiece

[sati_84 · 10/10 · 24 April 2004]

I only watched it on DVD, but I wish I was at the theater, when Monsters, Inc. was released. Anyway, I was blown away. Sometimes I was rolling on the ground while laughing, sometimes I couldn't hold back my tears. Simply amazing, marvellous filmmaking.

The animation is picture-perfect, the dialogue is brilliant, the story is truly original. Pixar's finest, I think, it's way better than Finding Nemo. A cinematic masterpiece, which is full of emotions and laughter. If you haven't seen it yet, then GO, RENT IT! You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it.

Boo is the cutest animation movie character EVER.

An obvious 10/10

Goodish children's movie

[grantss · 6/10 · 17 October 2015]

Goodish children's movie.

In the city of Monstropolis, a company, Monsters Inc, harnesses the power of children's screams to generate electricity. Its employees, being monsters, venture into children's bedrooms and scare them. Then one day, a child accidentally returns with a monster to Monstropolis, something which should never happen...

Quite original story. Starts off in good fashion and is pretty good fun. However, after a point is really just one huge chase / caper movie and gets fairly predictable as a result. This is where adults will generally zone out (it was certainly where I started to lose interest) but kids should still enjoy it.

Good voice casting, with John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn and Jennifer Tilly in the main roles.

"We scare because we care"

[theinaniloquent · 10/10 · 15 October 2011]

Monsters generate their city's power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley finds his world disrupted.

Monster's Inc explores childhood fear, the fear of looking under your bed or looking at your open closet thinking a monster would pop out. Pixar of course wouldn't make it fearful, but brought lightheartedness to it and made a highly imaginative tale of a fictional world where monsters scare children to power their city. This film is illustrated with creative monsters and styled with classy/jazzy music. The feeling while watching this is amazing and the emotions you feel for the monsters is just magical. Pixar has once again OUTDONE their-selves with every project they have thought of. Monster's Inc is definitely one of the top Pixar movies and also one of the most creative. If you can outlook the childish themes and look deeper into the movie's heart and soul, you will definitely be immersed in Pixar's movie-making magic. Most people would complain about the animation because animated movies have this thing when where one sees one, it's automatically horrible and childish. If one is made by Pixar, I highly recommend you sit down and see what they can do to animations; you will be amazed. 10/10.

Light, enjoyable fare that proves animation is still on top...

[Howlin Wolf · 7/10 · 9 February 2002]

... when it comes to producing well-rounded, realised and consistently entertaining movies. Is it just me or have there been no REALLY awful animated films from the stables of the top studios like Pixar and Dreamworks, etc? The movie industry as a whole should perhaps sit up and take notice of the craft that goes into these movies. Both 'suits' and audiences are sure to benefit if that ever happens. Long may the tradition of quality animated movies be, I say!

I actually bought a ticket for this last night after finding to my dismay that another premiere, "From Hell", was already sold out by the time I arrived. These are certainly two distinctly different films in theme! I was slightly grouchy, because, coupled with that minor disappointment, I'd had an argument with a friend on the way over to the theatre, and was now proceeding solo. I wouldn't say that "Monsters Inc" made me glad I missed "From Hell", but I still got a solidly entertaining film for my money. I just hope I don't miss "Ocean's 11" next week...

For every plus-point to the movie I can also think of a criticism, but on the whole the good points JUST outweigh the bad. The setup may be a little too complicated for younger audiences and the supporting cast of voices is wasted. There was definitely not enough Steve Buscemi, whose bad guy just seemed like an afterthought to all the Keystone Cops esque capers of trying to get "Boo" out of Monstropolis. The script is pitched at a much younger level than "Toy Story" was, and so as a result adults may be bowled over by the animation, but slightly starved in the belly-laughs department. That said, there are still a couple of moments guaranteed to have older patrons guffawing heartily, just not enough for my liking. Even without laughter, the story is still diverting and inventive enough to fix your attention satisfactorily. The movie really comes into its own when the kid is introduced, as thereafter the action rarely pauses for breath.

Good as the voice talents of Goodman and Crystal are, it is undoubtedly youngster Mary Gibbs who inadvertently steals the show. Her cute gurgles and shrieks are enough to put a smile on most people's faces and warm their hearts. The job the team did on collecting all her voice samples for the finished movie is nothing short of amazing; indeed, just like the animation achievements were as well. Goodman excels in his voice acting, making "Sulley" a truly memorable character.

The animation is wonderful, and at times will make you unable to do anything else but gawp. Techniques in this arena seem to be moving at lightspeed, and in just a few years will make the graphics seen in "Toy Story" seem unremarkable. Just for this factor alone, "Monsters Inc." deserves to be seen, but the likeable (if not always best used) cast and the imaginative plot add an extra dimension that make it worth your time. Nowhere near a "Toy Story" beater for sheer polish and appeal to all ages, but a commendable effort nonetheless. Well done!

Altogether now... "Put-that-thing-back-where-it-came-from-or-so-help-me..." !

One of the most endearing animation films created

[astutekitty · 10/10 · 16 January 2005]

Pixar is the best! Of them all, Monsters, Inc. takes the cake. The realism of the characters' movements & feelings is perfect. The ending is a tear jerker on a happy note. At first I was concerned with the plot of monsters scaring children with a "business as usual" attitude, but right away you discover that the monsters are as terrified of the kids as the kids are of monsters.... wonderful juxtaposition throughout the film... a totally enjoyable, feel-good story. Buy it for the kids and let them watch it over and over. (adults may want to sit-in on more than one occasion themselves). Personal Note: For me, a mystery about this film was "Roz"; the voice reminded me so strongly of the grandmother in "Dinosaurs", and I thought the character drawing was similar as well; upon researching the two, I found they are definitely different actors.

Boo & Kitty & All Those Blasted Closet Doors

[strong-122-478885 · 6/10 · 21 February 2015]

When it comes to "coming-out-of-the-closet" (Ha! Get the pun?), you can be sure that a star "Monster Incorporated" employee, such as Sulley or Randall, are the type of monsters who don't mess around. No. These guys mean business when they step out from behind a child's closet door.

For the most part, I enjoyed Monsters Inc. and found it to be quite imaginative as it told its cute, little tale of forbidden friendship and defying authority.

Set in the make-believe world of Monstropolis, where everyone's a literal monster (but usually a nice monster), we find that this urban centre's electrical power is generated from harnessing the screams of human children who are, nightly, scared out of their wits by the hideous, growling creatures who emerge, like demons, from out of their darkened, bedroom closets.

As we soon discover - A monster is, of course, forbidden to ever come into direct contact with a child, as the touch of these beings is both more toxic & deadly than any plague or disease imaginable.

Directed by Pete Docter (writer of Toy Story, Wall-E, Up), Monsters Inc. is a delightfully colourful, CG animated tale which tells us, plain & simple, that laughter is, indeed, 10x more powerful than a scream.

2 thumbs-up to Pixar Studios for delivering this good-natured, little gem that's sure to entertain audiences of all ages.

Stay away unless you're under 10yr

[jmaycock · 3/10 · 11 February 2002]

I can honestly say that I haven't seen a film this bad since I sat through Planet Of the Apes(Tim Burtons). I laughed at most twice and they were strained. There were some children around me who seemed to like it, but it seemed to me like one big game of Hide and Seek. Gave it a 3 simply because kids will like it. I thought Toy Story was good(not great, not as good as Shrek for instance), but this terrible.....

`Monsters, Inc.' is the best animated feature this year and one of the greatest of all time.

[JohnDeSando · 25 October 2001]

You may admire the hair detail on Sully the Yeti's arm, but you will be amazed at the warmth of characterization in `Monsters, Inc.,' surpassing even the great `Shrek' earlier this year. Goodman and Crystal are a comedic team reminiscent of the zaniest Martin and Lewis days. Crystal's Borscht-belt routines brought smiles even to this jaded and admittedly tough-on-comedy critic. I thought Eddie Murphy's donkey in `Shrek' was smart and funny; Crystal's one-eyed monster is even better with its wry and annoying wit.

Cleaning the environment of child contamination is a hilarious conceit that turns around the usual fears children have of monsters in closets. It is also a chilling parallel to the challenge of removing anthrax from today's letters. Generally, the allegorical underpinnings of animation are natural for the medium, powerful like the images of the novel `Animal Farm' for political and sociological levels of meaning. For example, the endless-door motif in this film is an ingenious metaphor for the scary and glorious possibilities the present and future hold for kids.

Even before you see this feature, Pixar offers the short feature `For the Birds' -- a brilliant takeoff on Hitchcock's memorable film besides being a great commentary on diversity. The expressions around the animated eyes, as the little birds deal with the big bird interloper, are more expressive than those of most contemporary film actors, with the exception of Brando, Pacino, Depp, and Streep.

The short trailer for `Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones' may precede the showing as it did ours for an added delight.

`Monsters, Inc.' is the best animated feature this year and one of the greatest of all time.

The best computer animated film of them all, and the most adult

[Spleen · 10/10 · 2 January 2002]

Until now I couldn't bring myself to believe that computer animation was the equal of either stop motion animation or hand-drawn animation. All computer animated films looked a little (usually more than a little) too sterile, many were animated poorly ("Antz", "Shrek", "Final Fantasy"), and even the single unqualified success ("Toy Story 2") provided little evidence that a computer animated film COULD reach the heights other kinds of animation could. "Toy Story 2" had flawless character animation, but nothing as inspired as the best in "Tarzan" (released the same year, although I could have chosen almost any other Disney cartoon to make my point); effective art direction, but nothing to match "Fantasia" or "The Nightmare Before Christmas". And I thought that "Toy Story 2" was as good as the art was ever going to get.

I was wrong. This is far better. And what's more, there's no sense whatever that the script (an unusually rich and uninhibited script) is bumping up against the limits of what the medium will allow. It's now been proven that computer animation CAN be just as good as any other kind. Whether it will be allowed to be in future is another question, but for now, I'm hopeful. What we have here is computer animation's first ENTIRELY unalloyed artistic delight, with every character gracefully and characteristically animated, every virtual set just right and pleasing to look at, and an eye-tickling mastery of colour, light and shade that I thought would forever elude CGI artists.

It's not fair to judge anything good as "Monsters, Inc." as though it were a children's movie, but I can't resist comparing it with "Shrek" - which emphatically IS a children's movie. "Monsters, inc." is admittedly ABOUT children, in a sort of a way. The inhabitants of Monstropolis rely on children's screams for their energy, and the central story is kicked off when one of the monsters accidentally brings a small child (which he calls "Boo") into the city. But we never see things from her point of view. We see things from the point of view of the monsters, who are all adults - and who, like most adults, see children as frightening, almost incomprehensible members of another species. And they ARE. To be sure, Wazowski comes to feel strong affection for Boo, but she never becomes more than a humanoid pet (which is not to demean the relationship). This is a story about adults looking at childhood from the outside.

"Shrek", of course, is a children's movie through and through. Its attention span is short, it has an unthinking mean streak, and children will have a whale of a time watching the central characters (the bigger they are, the more fun it is) act childishly and make poo-poo jokes. "Monsters, Inc." has too much genuine wit, characters too rich, a world with too much depth, and a story at once too coherent and too complicated, to be PRIMARILY a film for children. This is not to say children won't like it. Maybe they will. (Who can say?) Here's the bonus: if they DO like it, it will (unlike "Shrek") actually have a beneficial effect. It will make them less frightened of the dark.

My personal favorite Pixar movie

[ManyGentleCuttlefish · 10/10 · 6 July 2006]

Pixar. With only seven movies you've built yourself a reputation as the greatest current animation studio of them all. Dreamworks has made some good ones and 20th Century Fox's movies have made me chuckle a bit, and Disney has gone downhill in recent years. But you can consistently produce quality work with almost no stain on your track record (except A Bug's Life, the one Pixar movie I did not enjoy). But I've lost track of my thoughts.I'm here to talk about Monster's Inc., my personal favorite Pixar movie.

I'm a doodler myself, and wan't to be an animator someday. And I love drawing monsters. Weird looking, many armed, strange-eyed creatures. That may have been the 1st reason Monster's Inc. appealed to me. So many of these creatures looked like something I would draw, and I spent much of my movie time looking at the creatures in the background.

I also was captivated by the world that was created in Inc. A big problem for me in Pixar's newest movie Cars was lack of real explanation for their universe, like how they built their buildings. In Monster's Inc. the monster world is explained so much more in depth, and we really believe this world could exist. There's a beauty in watching the thousands of closet doors zoom around and I always get goosebumps from watching the "scare montage", because I now know the mechanics of the world these creatures live in.

The characters in the world are also incredibly well realized. Mike and Sully both are easily relatable to, and even small characters have feelings and motivations we can understand. "Boo" actually behaves like a young child would, and that helped me believe she had real emotions. But the creature Randall is what stole the show for me. With his many arms, chameleon-like ability and sheer voice presence, it was hard for me to keep my eyes off of him. But what really made me love this movie so was the characters. When it comes time for the "sad part" of this movie, I was sad. I was actually seeing an animated cartoon that managed to make me feel for these animated creatures without being emotionally manipulative. And I'm not afraid to admit that I cry 4 out of 5 times at the ending.

So, in the end, I can't recommend this film enough. I think this stands above all other Pixar productions and is definitely one of the best animated films I've had the pleasure of seeing.

Great movie!

[action4jackson · 10/10 · 7 March 2002]

Great family film. One of the most underrated movies of the year. I took my 2 year old to see it. He loved it! He now has books and toys of Mike and Sully! This movie will be going into our library. We can't wait for the DVD release in September 2002!

Just think they did not need a campaign of trailers, food chain promotions and commercials. If you have a solid story line and a genuine script…people will come to see it!

Excellent in nearly every way

[C22Man · 7/10 · 22 January 2016]

The premise behind Monsters, Inc. isn't something that we haven't seen before, but it is one that allows for a lot of creativity and one that the film takes full advantage of. Pixar was still in a relatively early stage when the film came out, yet it was the perfect way to show that their imagination knew no bounds. It centres on two monsters at a company whose job it is to scare children because the monster world is powered by the screams of children. Now that is a really inventive idea. But their world is thrown into disarray when a child called Boo gets out (with monsters believing children are toxic) and our two heroes have to get her back, all while not being found out and uncovering a wider conspiracy. This leads to a story packed full of twists and turns, plenty of comedy and action set pieces, and a surprising emotional heft.

The story itself allows for a vast amount of creativity with the concept of monsters having this kind of job, all the unique designs and the fact that they are terrified of children. It is also great how detailed the story is, because you simply never know where it's going or how it's going to end up and its constantly gripping as a result of that. The two leads are vital to the story and thankfully they are both great. Sulley is the company's top scarer, yet on the inside he's just a big teddy bear and there is something so endearing about him. He's a really warm screen presence and seeing his relationship with Boo grow throughout the film is strangely beautiful. Mike is much more of a wise-cracker and somewhat neurotic, which actually makes him a great contrast to Sulley. He does provide a lot of laughs and the friendship with Sulley feels very genuine. In fact both John Goodman and Billy Crystal deserve praise for giving such excellent performances.

It's also impressive how well Boo is handled. Usually very young children can be annoying or plain boring, but she is the right balance of curious and gentle whilst still having enough funny moments. The fact that she speaks in a muddled sort of baby talk is another positive and actually makes her more endearing. Most notable is her relationship with Sulley, as it is build up just perfectly and their final moments together are incredibly touching. That emotional core between is a real strong point of the film. The films comedic moments are very well done too. Mike relies much more on his witticisms and anxious behaviour to get laughs which works surprisingly well, while the other monsters ineptitude when it comes to scaring also provides a great number of amusing moments.

With that said one of the films few weaknesses are its villains. They're not bad, just a little one-dimensional and underdeveloped. Randall is a typically snide and aggressive rival, we don't learn anything about him and he doesn't really do much but try to hunt down Boo. He either needed to be funnier or more threatening to leave an impression. Waternoose also turns out to be involved in the plot despite his initial loyalty to Sulley, his conflict does make sense yet he is also a little underused. Despite that he does have a good design and James Coburn does a good job vocal. That said their actions do lead to a spectacular climax. It basically has Sulley and Mike frantically searching for Boo's door in what is effectively a gigantic room of doors. It's fun, it's exciting, it's tense, it is exactly the type of big climax you'd want the film to have.

The animation is excellent once again. The fact that its set in a world of monsters allows for some really interesting and colourful designs, the majority of monsters look unique and are memorable as a result of that. Just looking at Sulley, the amount of detail put in with all his hairs is so impressive. We don't see too much of the monster world, but the factory is an interesting setting and still permits plenty of creativity. The side characters are a bit hit-and- miss, although the Abominable Snowman (Pixar regular John Ratzenberger) gets some really good lines and the cranky receptionist Roz is enjoyable. Randy Newman's score has an effective light, jazzy feel to it and it is brilliant. Not only does it suit the tone of the film, but it also adds a nice energy to the more action packed scenes and provides some wonderfully emotive melodies.

So on the whole Monsters, Inc. is another big success for Pixar. I think that it works so because it gets the key areas right. The premise is interesting, the two leads are a great pairing, the main conflict is gripping and there is a strong emotional centre to the film that makes it even stronger. It is easy to care about these characters and want to see them succeed. I do think the villains are a bit weak and maybe the conspiracy is a little unneeded, but neither does too much damage to the overall product and that is because its central focus is so good. Added to that the animation, score and comedy all work fantastically to the best effect. It's a film that is funny, moving and engaging in all the right ways.

What a creative masterpiece!!!

[the_holc · 10/10 · 24 June 2006]

This movie is one of the most brilliant, creative and intelligent animated movies of all time, along with all the other Pixar Animation Studios' Movies. The characters are hilarious (Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski and John Goodman as Sulley was brilliant) and heartfelt, and the movie exposes raw sensitivity with the separation of Sulley and Boo. The animation is incredible, the humor is witty and the storyline is flawless. This movie should be seen by any Pixar fan, Billy Crystal or Goodman fan, or anyone who just plain likes funny movies, lighthearted ones. Pixar, you've done it again, made a brilliant epic masterpiece! Congrats! Watch out for another appearance by John Ratzenberger (Hamm, P.T.Flea etc.). Hint: Himalayas! Overall, loved it! And I can't see why anyone else wouldn't either. Something for everyone!

Not Pixar's best, but a fun and likeable family movie

[adamonIMDb · 7/10 · 17 July 2018]

'Monsters, Inc.' is one of Pixar's best known and most widely popular movies - an endearing and highly likeable family movie bursting with ideas and imagination. Though not one of Pixar's best and not a personal favourite of mine, I did get a lot of enjoyment out of this movie, especially the characters, which are all brilliantly unique, entertaining and genuinely funny.

The storyline, as enjoyable as it is, is not on the same level as the likes of 'Toy Story' and 'Up'. I always get the feeling I'm watching something special with those movies, but I think 'Monsters, Inc.', for all its creativity and likeability, lacks that special quality to put it up there with the very best animated pictures. That said, judging it on its own merits, this is a great animated family movie and one of those movies that is just impossible to dislike.

Fantastic

[Pigalina · 10/10 · 14 September 2005]

This film is great. It made me laugh out loud and made me feel sad when I was supposed to too. The monsters all live in a city called Monstropolis and they need the screams of children to power everything. Sully (the big blue furry monster) is the top scarer and he and his one-eyed green friend Mike work together at "Monsters, Incorporated" gathering screams. The monsters are terrified of the children however, thinking that if they get touched by a child they will die. One of the children (she ends up being known as Boo) gets into the monster world and everyone goes into a panic. Sully and Mike must return her to her home before she gets caught. Boo is a cute little character and that's a lot coming from me (I am not a huge fan of small children - it may be because she isn't real). There is also an evil creepy monster called Randal who is planning on kidnapping children to harvest as much scream as possible. The animation was great, I am always amazed at the patience that must go into animating hair, Sully is very hairy. As with all Pixar films there are "bloopers" during the credits which were really funny. With some of the rubbish that Disney seems to be coming out with (Little Mermaid 2, Jungle Book 2 anyone?), Disney/Pixar has to be the wave of the future.

Colorful images and great imagination, but one heck of an annoying character. *** (out of four)

[Movie-12 · 7/10 · 18 November 2001]

MONSTERS, INC. / (2001) *** (out of four)

By Blake French:

When I was a kid, I imagined a world of monsters just like the one in "Monsters, Inc." I dreamed of a magical kingdom full of strange, menacing creatures. Creatures that waited anxiously for bedrooms to darken at night so they could jump out of closets and scare unsuspecting children. Alone in my darkened bedroom, surrounded by complete and utter silence, I heard lots of strange noises. When I noticed something unusual, like a sudden squeak or a shadow on the wall, it wasn't uncommon for me to pull the covers over my head. Heck, don't tell anybody, but I still do that today.

Children will remember the characters of this film long after they see it. Expect to hear comments about monsters in the closet weeks after they see it. But their remarks will not come out of terror, but out of pure joy. The Academy Award-winning creators of "Toy Story" give us a new, pleasing insight on monsters. It turns what was once a motif for terror into an imaginative realm of entertaining delight.

This computer animated production represents the most advanced technology of Disney and Pixar, the highly acclaimed team behind such family gems as "A Bug's Life," and "Toy Story 2." From its convincing depiction of monster fur, to the realistic shadowing, lighting, and movement, the filmmakers pay close attention to the even the slightest details.

The story revolves around a massive corporation where all kinds of monsters reside. It's called Monsters, Inc., the biggest scream processing factory in the monster world. Set in Monstropolis, the main power source of the city is the collected screams of human children. We meet a hairy blue creature named Sully (voiced by John Goodman), and his friend, roommate, and assistant, Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal). These guys are the best scream producers ever, much to the dismay of Randall Boggs (voiced by Steve Buscemi), a creepy, lizard monster who will stop at nothing to claim their coveted standing.

One day, Sully accidentally allows a human child to enter the monster world. To complicate matters, human children are said to be highly toxic to monsters and should be avoided at all costs. Sully quickly finds his career in jeopardy and his life in total chaos. When Mike enters the situation, the two uncover a scandal at Monsters, Inc. that will place their very lives in jeopardy.

"Monsters, Inc." works rather well until it introduces this annoying little girl as a plot device. I know I am being excessively critical here, and I know that my personal hatred for whiny, giggly, squirmy infants seized me over. Some audiences will find this character absolutely adorable, maybe even as the film's most distinguished. Though for me, this character almost destroyed the entire movie.

I understand the need for a child to enter Monstropolis, but why couldn't the film have had fun with the idea. Perhaps it could have used a child old enough to understand his circumstances, but young enough to delight in the wonder of his newly discovered world. Instead, the movie gives us a nonsensical plot in which the infant gets herself into one problematic situation after another.

This has worked before. In "Baby's Day Out" we laughed at the accidental irony of the situations. Here, the character gets herself into these situations. She becomes a nuisance even as she initially appears on screen. There is nothing innovative or creative with a young girl running in and out of rooms, yet "Monsters, Inc." insists it's funny. The film becomes a one-joke comedy. If you're old enough to cross the street by yourself, you're probably too sophisticated for this humor.

Despite this parasite of a character, "Monsters, Inc." still manages to come out of the one-joke routine and display a third act of climbing excitement, surprising twists, and entertaining action that will amuse children of all ages. If not for the pesky little girl, this movie might have been one of the most colorfully creative films of the year. All though it is not, "Monsters, Inc." does contain enough imagination and colorful images to warrant a trip to the multiplex.

But don't say I didn't warn you about the kids. During the screening I attended, jam-packed with children running all around and making noise, I had a little boy sitting behind me that kept kicking my seat. Now that's something I never want to see coming out of my closet.

Disappointing, not funny, boring

[lisaculbertson · 3/10 · 4 November 2001]

I was truly disappointed. I expected to find the humor that was in Shrek. I found myself looking at my watch. My older daughter fell asleep. The animation was great but I found the story and humor lacking. This is not one that I will purchase for video. When I walked out of Shrek, I couldn't wait for it to come out on video.

An instant classic

[george.schmidt · 5 November 2001]

MONSTERS, INC. (2001) **** (Voices of: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, Steve Buscemi, Mary Gibbs, Bonnie Hunt, Bob Peterson, John Ratzenberger, Frank Oz, Steve Susskind, Jeff Pidgeon, Sam "Penguin" Black, Daniel R. Gerson. (Dir: Peter Docter/Co-directors: David Silverman, Lee Unkrich)

There's something undeniably magical about a Disney movie that brings out your inner child and the streak continues to manifest itself in the latest with its fine track record with upstarts Pixar (the "Toy Story " films) in delighting children of all ages in one of the year's funniest (and most fun) films.

The childhood phenomena of imagining monsters lurking in one's bedroom closet or under the bed is in actuality a reality that exists solely for the world of the monsters to use all the energy extracted from a child's screams as their natural resource to power their communities and subsist in their parallel universe. Specifically Scream Heat ("We Scare Because We Care"), the corporate entity that harnesses the youngsters' reactions to its hard-working crew of creatures including our heroes James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (marvelously voiced by Goodman) and his best buddy Mike Wazowski (ditto Crystal). Sulley is a bear-like, blue and purple hairy and horned monster and Mike is a cyclopean lime green M&M clone. The two couldn't be more different yet both share their passion for their vocation and the only thing getting in their way is their rival colleague Randall Boggs (Buscemi, at his oiliest menacing), a reptilian nasty who wants to beat Sulley for the all-time factory record of most points racked up in a single day on the job … at any cost. Watching the proceedings is Sulley's father-figure boss Henry J. Waternoose (Coburn) – a cross between a crab and Edward G. Robinson – whose main priority is avoiding any "rolling blackouts" (in one of the film's subtle jabs at the current climate in our nation). Mike is in love with cutie pie receptionist Celia (Tilly) who also sports one eye and is afoot taller than him, with a hairdo sporting a Medusa twist (snakes sit atop her head) who wants something from him besides excuses to their frequently put-upon dates together. One day after work Sulley accidentally lets into their world a tiny 4 year old girl – a big no-no – legend has it that one touch is toxic and fatal! – which causes mass havoc wreaked upon the populace as the authorities attempt to corral the tyke while decontaminating the infected workshop's workers (a running gag has the SWAT like DEA agents popping in at a moment's notice whenever a sign of human contact – i.e. a small cotton white sock attached to an unsuspecting monster – makes its ugly presence known!) Mike is in a panicky sweat that they will lose their jobs and tells Sulley he can't hide Boo (the nickname the big guy dubs the adorable tot) and they must return her to her bedroom. Easier said than done when Randall gets wind of the partners abetting the unsuspecting crime and he too has his plans to use Boo for his own selfish endeavors…at any cost! The film is a laugh a minute romp and an incredible mix of state-of-the-art computer generated dynamics that truly enhance the candy-colored world of Mike & Sulley with its picture perfect depictions of moveable hair (see how Sulley's locks sway to and fro so naturally! A first for CGI imagery!) and expressiveness given to the one-eyed Mike who works his brow into a real sweat. Never before has voice talent been so perfectly matched and acted to a t than in the comic team of Crystal and Goodman with their characteristics smartly enhanced into their characters with Crystal's liberal use of his "SNL" Willy the Masochist ("Oh I hate when that happens!") and Goodman's burly, awshucks demeanor fits his soft-hearted meanie like a golden glove. Sulley is the true star of the show with his emotional overload not unlike a kid learning to make a new life transition as he discovers there's more to his existence than meets the eye (same for Mike; pun intended). When he realizes that Boo (by the way, nice job by the producers to use real-life 4 year old Gibbs, in easily the cutest turn by a child performer ever without making an audience gag) is not threatened by his hulking presence. The laughs are largely thanks to Crystal's myopic M&M who is always one-step behind his behemoth buddy and slow on the uptake as the plot proceeds with his sly one-liners, sudden bursts of unrestrained anger and confusion, and slapstick antics leads the film into uncharted territories of hysterical laughter and a great breakneck roller-coaster ride with Mike & Sulley attempting to find Boo's bedroom door with Randall in hot pursuit gives the film a giddy headrush of adrenaline. The film is witty, bright, upbeat and has its shares of incisiveness (I loved the use of HarryHausen's as a local chic eatery that all the monsters are dying to get into; in case of those who don't know Harryhausen, Ray Harryhausen, is the premier stop-motion animator pioneer who gave life to scores of sci-fi creatures including the fabled "Sinbad" flicks of the 1960s and 1970s among others) that will undoubtedly have its constituents clamoring for a sequel pronto. Arguably one of the best films and funniest of the year; I loved it and so will you (and your kids if you have any; if not all the more to see it again) An instant classic.