Marvels of animation abound in "Monsters, Inc.," an amusing family fable from Pixar, the high-tech fun factory that produced the "Toy Story" movies and "A Bug's Life." Each of its films has trumped the last in digital artistry, but when it comes to irreverent humor and real heart, "Monsters" doesn't quite measure up.
Like "Toy Story," the movie draws its inspiration from fervent childhood beliefs: Toys talk when you're not looking and monsters live in bedroom closets, waiting till the lights go out to emerge. And then, if you don't keep the covers up to your chin, they'll eat you up.
Sully, right, voiced by John Goodman, and Mike, voiced by Billy Crystal, face their worst fear in "Monsters, Inc."
(Disney/Pixar)
|
|
This slapstick whimsy takes tykes, toddlers and knee-highs beyond the closet door, where they discover Monstropolis, the charmingly cockeyed parallel universe that's home to a hairy behemoth, John "Sully" Sullivan (affably voiced by John Goodman), and his chartreuse, one-eyed buddy, Mike Wazowski (quipping Billy Crystal).
Sully and Mike aren't really meanies. They're just a couple of hardworking lunch-bucketeers employed by Monstropolis's top utility company. Sully, Mike and the city's other boogeymen, you see, are mining Earth's natural resources – kids' screams – to create a steady energy source for Monstropolis.
For all their hard work, the city is facing power outages and rolling blackouts. "Kids don't get scared like they used to," laments Henry J. Waternoose (appropriately paternalistic James Coburn), the crablike critter in charge of the power company. (And why would monsters scare them? Real life is terrifying enough as it is.)
Sully, the top scream-producer in all of Monstropolis, and the other workers intensify their efforts on the Scare Floor, where a conveyor belt deposits doors, each of which opens directly into a child's bedroom. With Mike at the knob controls, Sully pops through an open door, growling and grimacing until the kid in the room yelps. These cries are captured in a canister, loaded onto a cart and hauled off for processing.
Randall Boggs (fiendish Steve Buscemi) is determined to best Sully's record and gain the adulation of Mr. Waternoose and all the other scream-catchers. Randall, a forked-tongued lavender lizard, is about to take the lead when Sully scores a slumber party. Embarrassed and enraged, Randall devises more nefarious methods of shriek extraction.
To add to his troubles, Sully unknowingly lets a burbling tot, Boo (Mary Gibbs), into the monster environment. The child is naturally drawn to him – he's virtually an outsize plush toy – but Sully keeps his distance, for monsters believe children are toxic. Eventually he and Mike realize that's just an urban legend and become so attached to Boo that parting is sure to produce sweet sorrow.
In the meantime, however, the friends must figure out a way to hide the little girl lest Waternoose and Randall discover the horrendous threat. Any sign of kiddie-contamination – such as a tiny sock stuck to one luckless monster's fur – calls for the swift intervention of the Monstropolis hazmat squad, who swarm over the factory like gnats on a nanner.
Pop allusions are prevalent, including many references to the animators' previous pix. They also have a good time with the monster motif. The traffic signals flash "Stalk" and "Don't Stalk," the tabloids celebrate a five-headed baby's birth, and soap comes with the warning "do not eat." Naturally, there's a moral to the story, and it's a useful one: Yes, Virginia, there are monsters in the closet, but better to face up to them now than to get a shrink later.
MONSTERS, INC. (G, 92 minutes) At area theaters.
