Monsters, Inc. Review
by Harvey S. Karten (film_critic AT compuserve DOT com)November 5th, 2001
MONSTERS INC.
Reviewed by Harvey Karten
Disney Pictures
Director: Peter Docter, David Silverman
Writer: Dan Gerson, Andrew Stanton
Cast: Voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, James Coburn, Steve Buscemi, Bonnie Hunt, others
Screened at: Loews 34 St. NYC 11/3/01
The media's bashing of Big Business has reached the cartoon level, albeit as a fun thing, a sidelight to the Pixar pleasures that "Monsters Inc." brings to children, adults and monsters alike. The G-rated picture's idea of cartoon violence is nothing like the smashing of heads we've been accustomed to in Merry Melodies Loony Tunes fare; no weasly wabbits bashed on the head or pigs and hunters hurled from cliffs and dynamited. Instead, "Monsters Inc." is about a business whose slogan is "We scare because we care," and although Peter Docter and David Silverman, who directed this confusion of cartoon characters do not make clear the relationship between scaring kids and caring for them, they do indicate the ways that kids can scare leviathans in return without meaning to and how children's screams are welcomed by monsters not as simple power plays but because their very power depends on it. The more kids scream, the more the lights and machinery of their homeland, Monstropolis, continue to function. (If the energy of the little ones can be harnessed in the U.S., we may not have to depend on the Trucial States for oil, and how the balance of power would change!)
Using technology just slightly more dazzling than that employed by the Pixar people in the previous journeys--"Toy Story 1," "Toy Story 2," and Bug's Life," Docter and Silverman, using the sharp dialogue created by Dan Gerson and Andrew Stanton, create a parallel universe of things that go bump in the night. But except for one malevolent creature, these monsters are so nice, presumably so unable to scare today's none-too-naive children, that we wonder that the monsters have any light or industry at all.
In the high concept of this comedy, kids are so difficult to scare that Monstropolis is in trouble, facing a shutdown of industry so great that their living quarters could be as dark, cold and depressing as Northern Finland in January. The company known as Monsters Inc. appoints ape-like blue monster Sulley Sullivan (voice of John Goodman) and his little, one-eyed pal Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal) to scare up a storm in kiddieland. Periodically the CEO, lobster-like Henry J. Waternoose (voice of James Coburn), holds a contest, awarding prizes to those who place on top in number of scared children's screams. The efforts of the two heroes are challenged by the villainous Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi, whose villainous roles continue in "Domestic Disturbance"),a lizard-like creature who seeks to be number one by using illegal methods. Somehow a two-year-old girl, Boo (voice of Mary Gibbs) crosses over into monster country, striking terror in its denizens since the mere touch of a child is supposed to contaminate them. Mike and Sulley become attached to the kid and do their best to protect her from the scheming, cheating Boggs.
The movie is quickly paced, ideal for the kids in the audience (who are soon going to be challenged by the 152-minute length of "Harry Potter") and while there are some sight gags for the adults such as a traffic light that reads "Don't Stalk" and "Stalk", and a restaurant named Harryhausen in honor of one of the developers of animation, there isn't much there for the sophisticated big fry. Nonetheless, while "Monsters Inc." does not have the curious emotional power of Steven Spielberg's "E.T."--which is to be reintroduced to a new generation in March-- the brightly colored, true-to-life Pixar technology is ideal for getting the audience to root for the one-eyed little one (who is being pursued by the equally one-eyed but mini-skirted and sexy Celia (Jennifer Tilly).
Usually, an audience will not stay around for the rolling of the credits that closes a movie and this time the crowd acted true to form--which disappoints me. With the uplifting song and colorful titles and names crossing the screen at its conclusion, the least the adults can do is to use this opportunity to introduce their small fry to the large numbers of people involved in the creation of a major work and perhaps to get them accustomed to showing a fine movie the proper respect by leaving only (in this case) when the final note, "No monsters were hurt in the making of this film" crosses the screen.
Rated G. Running time: 88 minutes. (C) 2001 by
Harvey Karten, film_critic@compuserve.com
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
