Monsters, Inc. (2001) voices John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi directed by Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich Movie Review

Monsters, Inc. (2001)   4/54/54/54/54/5


Monsters, Inc. (2001) voices John Goodman, Billy Crystal

A Monster Hit

When they're not making little children scream as they try to sleep, the monsters who stalk little children's rooms live in the land of Monstropolis where the screams they capture are converted to power. Two of the best scarers are Sulley and Mike whose double act has lead to them edging ever closer to the scream record. It is a record which rival monster Boggs is also after and he is willing to break the rules to get it. When Boggs decides to do some after hours scaring he leaves the door open to Monstropolis leading to a young child crossing over. Whilst Sully and Mike attempt to hide the child they also try to reveal Boggs as the cheat he is.

There are animations for children, there are animations for family and then there is that small group which not only appeal to children and their parents but also grown ups who don't have children. "Monsters, Inc." is one of just a few animations which manage to entertain one and all with a great mixture of comedy. But before I get to that there are the basics and we have some lovely animation combined with some story cleverness such as the Monsters shredding doors when they discover the kids behind them are not scared anymore. I could go on but to put it simply the storyline which features the comedy of Mike and Sulley hiding a child which brings out their softer side works for children and adults.

Monsters, Inc. (2001) voices Mary Gibbs

But as mentioned "Monsters, Inc." manages to appeal to everyone thanks to the comedy and we have such simple comedy as Mike waking Sulley up with a foghorn and a monster taking his dentures out to visual gags such as Mike gets a whiff of his deodorant. But what we also get is the subtle humour which even non parents will enjoy such as a club called Harryhausen's a reference which appeals to movie fans. This combination of visually simple, family friendly but smart for adults flows throughout the movie from start to finish and constantly draws you in with the next funny scene which is never far away.

Because of this both the writers and animators deserve a whole lot of credit because they have created that rare animation which appeals to everyone. But the voice casting is perfect and the combination of John Goodman as the large and cuddly Sulley with Billy Crystal as the wise cracking Mike is comedy gold. Never have two voices not only worked so well together but fitted their animated characters.

What this all boils down to is that "Monsters, Inc." is one of those animations which is cute and funny for everyone from young children who will enjoy all the slapstick comedy to adults who will love all the clever comedy references. Basically as a movie reviewer it takes something special to keep my attention for and entire 90 minutes and "Monsters, Inc." managed it.


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