Monsters, Inc.

Mar 06, 2013
By Laurence Boyce

Director: Pete Docter

The craze for re-releasing things in 3D may seem a bit of a desperate grab by Hollywood to wring as much money out of their films as possible. Which, let’s face it, is not that much of a surprise. But, as we get used to increasingly sophisticated home entertainment and movies on television on constant rotation, it’s great to see some well-known films back on the big screen where they belong (with the added bonus of 3D). 10 years since it first hit the screens, “Monsters, Inc.” is something of a Pixar classic and - on watching it again – it’s clear that it deserves its place alongside the mighty “Toy Story” as one of the great animated films.

The main source of energy for the city of Monstropolis is the screams of little children which are provided by power company, Monsters, Inc. It is the job of Sulley (John Goodman) 7ft 6in of blue and purple fur and the one-eyed Mike (Billy Crystal) to collect said screams, by entering children’s bedrooms and scaring them silly. But a human child (the ridiculously cute one-year-old, Boo) escapes into the realm of the monsters, causing chaos for Sulley and Mike. In the midst of the chaos the “nasty, even for a monster” Randall (Steve Buscemi) stakes his claim to become the top-rated scarer in the employ of the company.

Even though technology has advanced since it was made, the animation is still consistently superb, with the story clearly allowing the animators to have a lot of fun. Monsters of every size, shape and color provide evidence of imaginations gone wild, there is the usual quota of sight gags for those paying attention and the 3D manages to enhance the film (in particular the climactic chase sequence).

In the end, no matter how good their technology, the success of “Monsters, Inc.” is still due to the story. The witty script appeals to old and young alike, the voice casting is spot on (Goodman does particularly well) and it manages to be both sentimental and scary without going over the top and – all in all – remains a delightful experience for all the family.

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