Monster of a Movie

Monsters, Inc., the new computer-animated film from the kids at Disney and Pixar, has humor and heart to spare. The film does not break any new ground or make a dramatic leap in computer-animation technology--instead it relies on more conventional methods to dazzle its audience--sight gags, sound gags and the vocal talents of a gifted comedian (Billy Crystal).

Mike Wazowski (Crystal) is an oddball, eyeball-shaped monster who wears a single contact lens the size of a dinner plate. He's chronically overlooked by his peers, because it's his best friend, James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) that everyone wants to see. Mike doesn't care; he lives in blissful ignorance. Besides, he and Sullivan are a team--the best team of "scarers" at Monsters, Inc., an overwhelming corporation that supplies the entire parallel monster universe with energy derived from the screams of frightened kids.

Via what at first appears to be chance, Sullivan and Mike become guardians of a little human girl named Boo. After they uncover a fiendish plot being orchestrated by Randall (Steve Buscemi), Sullivan's chief competitor at Monsters, Inc., Mike and Sullivan work hard to not only protect Boo from the Child Detection Agency (a lovely sight gag with multiple miss-shaped monsters wearing full body biohazard suits--did I mention that the film really hits home?), but also to stop this industry of for-profit scaring--permanently.

Like Toy Story and A Bug's Life, the film's animation is full of gags and jokes that the target audience will never understand but a few sharp adults will find rewarding: There is a restaurant named Harryhausen's, a tribute to the animation pioneer. Also for adults, the Monsters, Inc., factory resembles the faceless, heartless American corporation so well, that the various jokes about employment and making a way in the working-class world have a sharp resonance. Some of the film's funniest moments take place early on when Mike and Sullivan are walking to work.

The animation itself is also top notch, especially the ending chase sequence, which involves a wild ride on conveyor belts with our heroes and villains taking the old "enter-one-door-come-out-another-door" sketch to new heights. The cleverness extends to a lovely Randy Newman score (perhaps he will finally get that Oscar in this year of bad and worse movie scores) and a bright color scheme that displays all of the powers of animation.

Like most good animated films--computer or illustrated--the humor of the film gets in the way of the mostly under-age-10 audience--resulting in an ending that is too cute for its own good. Nonetheless, your inner child can forgive the finale, given how much fun it was to arrive there.