I have yet to see Chicken Little. I’m not sure it’s going to
happen, at least in the theater; I suspect it would not be an
appropriate use of a trip to the big screen. Quite frankly, Disney’s
latest computer animated effort looks scary, in more ways than one. It’s
left me longing for the most endearing of the Disney-Pixar
collaborations, most especially Monsters, Inc. How can a movie about monsters be so adorable? Why hasn’t any Disney flick since achieved that level of brilliance? (Actually, Finding Nemo came close, but no others have.)
I know Epinions needs another review of Monsters, Inc. like an ostrich needs a swimming pool, but I couldn’t resist. The premise is very clever. While the Toy Story
movies imagined the everyday activities of toys while their owners
aren’t looking, allowing for all sorts of creative possibilities, Monsters, Inc.
subverts the old idea of the monster in the closet by showing us a
world in which the monsters are just ordinary folks who provide
electricity for their town by collecting the energy given off by the
screams of children. The bulk of the film takes place in the titular
factory, which contains a dizzying array of doors – one for every
child’s room in the world. (Toward the end of the movie, we actually get
to see the inner workings of the factory in a scene that reminded me
both of Star Wars and The Emperor’s New Groove.) The
monsters take their job of scaring the children seriously but are in
fact terrified of the kiddies, as evidenced by the hilariously
omnipresent task force responsible for decontaminating areas that have
been touched by anything from the human world.
The variety of
life in Monstropolis provides a feast for the eyes. The animators
must’ve had a lot of fun with this one. Each character is distinctively
freakish, with multiple eyes or limbs, fur or scales, snakes for hair or
the plump body of a slug to shimmy along the floor. And yet very few of
these characters seem sinister at all – the exception being Randall
(Steve Buscemi), the sneaky chameleon-like rival of the film’s heroes,
buddies with the incredibly working-class names James Sullivan (John
Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal). Sulley is a warm and fuzzy
gentle giant, the steady, dependable top scarer at his company who finds
himself inexplicably becoming attached to the child who mysteriously
turns up in Monstropolis. Short, squat, one-eyed Mike has all the
frantic energy of Donkey in Shrek. He’s sarcastic and neurotic
and can’t seem to stop talking. The two make a great team, playing off
one another perfectly as they strive to return the little girl Sully
dubs “Boo” (Mary Gibbs) to her rightful bedroom before anyone finds out
what they’re up to. Pixar still hadn’t quite perfected its portrayal of
humanity yet at this point; she’s a cutie, but she seems far less
realistic and vibrant than her monster counterparts. Nonetheless, she’s
adorable, and the relationship that develops between her and Sulley
becomes the heart of the film. Meanwhile, her antics ring amusingly true
for anyone who has ever had to babysit a toddler.
Though Mike
and Sulley get the most attention, there are a number of monsters to
whom we are introduced. There’s Roz (Bob Peterson), the slug-like,
grating secretary always after Mike to complete his paperwork, and Celia
(Jennifer Tilly), his easily offended girlfriend whose snake-filled
hair rattles when she’s angry. There’s the apparently paternal boss,
Henry J. Waternoose III (James Coburn); the nerdy and servile Fungus
(Frank Oz); the obligatory John Ratzenberger character (the gregarious
Yeti) and plenty of other amusing characters. While the inclusion of Boo
and the rampant slapstick are appealing to the youngest crowd, there
are plenty of jokes and references especially for adults. The absolute
silliness of the child contamination task force allowed an opportunity
to laugh a bit at the anthrax scare that had the country in its icy grip
when the movie came out. Monstropolis’ energy crisis also hits close to
home; if only the solution for us were as simple as the one Sulley hits
upon!
Monsters, Inc. is hilarious and heart-warming,
one of the best animated movies I’ve ever seen. Let’s hope there are
still a couple more where that came from.
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