I know that I'm in the minority, but I'm not a very big fan of the Disney/Pixar movies. I thought "Toy Story" was disappointing, and "A Bug's Life" wasn't all that satisfying either. I liked "Toy Story 2," but not nearly as much as most others did. On the plus side, any of their movies is better than "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within," though that's not saying much. When it comes to computer animated films, I much prefer the ones by PDI DreamWorks. So far, they've only released two of them, but I loved both. "Antz" was a very funny, very witty movie that was decidedly more mature than it's competition, "A Bug's Life," though not surprisingly, it was "A Bug's Life" that made much more money. Then there's "Shrek," a hilarious satire that had a lot of adult humor that went over the heads of the kids who loved it as much as their parents. The computer animated films from PDI DreamWorks are more my speed because the stories are more mature and sophisticated. However, when it comes to the actual animation, Disney/Pixar is definitely better. Still, I'm more interested in the writing than the quality of the animation. That was sorta like how I was in my comic book days. While all the fanboys were buying the Image and Marvel comic books, the ones that had the best artists, I was a fan of DC (especially their Vertigo line), Dark Horse, and many of the independent comics, which had the best writers.
Truth be told, the only reason why I went to see "Monsters, Inc." was because the teaser to "Star Wars: Episode Two - Attack of the Clones" was attached to the film. I was also pleased that the new trailer for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" was attached, but I really wanted to see the "Star Wars" teaser. The way I was seeing it, I paid six bucks to see the teaser, and I got to see a free movie with it.
By the way, the "Star Wars" teaser didn't show much, but judging from what they DID show, it's gonna be a lot darker and a lot better than "Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace".
Before "Monsters, Inc." started, they showed a computer animated short film called "For the Birds." It's a lot better than the short film that preceded "A Bug's Life," and it was a great way to prepare the audience for the movie that would follow. Right after the short film was over, "Monsters, Inc." began.
Surprise surprise, I really liked "Monsters Inc." It's definitely my favorite of the Disney/Pixar movies. It's still a movie for kids, but I was thoroughly entertained by the misadventures of those funky little beasties. They only had one human character, but it's very obvious based on that one little girl that if Pixar were to try something like "Final Fantasy," it would be an amazing thing.
Lately it's become common for big names to do voice work for animated films and "Monsters, Inc." is no different. Great character actor John Goodman (he was also the voice of "Pacha" in the very cool Disney flick, "The Emperor's New Groove") and comedian Billy Crystal (no one is better than him when it comes to hosting the Oscars) lend their voices as the two main monsters. They worked great together, and even though it's just their voices at work, the chemistry is obvious. Other celebrity voices include James Coburn (recently won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in "Affliction"), Jennifer Tilly (she was AWESOME in the great movie by the Wachowski Brothers, "Bound"), and Steve Buscemi. The voice of "Boo," the adorable little girl in the movie, belongs to Mary Gibbs, who's actually the daughter of Pixar story artist Rob Gibbs. This is her voice acting debut.
"Monsters Inc." was directed by Pete Docter, who helped write "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2." Strangely, aside from the "Directed by" credit, there's also a "Co-Directed by" credit. I have no idea what the difference is, but the names under "Co-Directed by" are David Silverman & Lee Unkrich. Silverman has written for lotsa TV shows, including that horrible MTV show, "Undressed." Interestingly enough, he helped direct the DreamWorks animated film, "The Road to El Dorado." He also directed some episodes of "The Simpsons." A piece of information that I found amusing is that he was an animator for a very silly animated show I remember from way back called "Turbo Teen." As for Unkrich, he helped write and direct "Toy Story 2." "Monsters, Inc." was written by Dan Gerson (writer of several TV shows) and Andrew Stanton (he helped write and direct "A Bug's Life" and helped write "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2"). They all did a fantastic job in making this an entertaining movie.
I liked the concept for "Monsters, Inc." It was very unique, and I like what they did with it. Personally, I think it woulda been a lot cooler if it was in the hands of someone like Tim Burton. Not every movie can be dark, though. Still, it's surprising that despite the fact that my tastes lean towards darker, more mature themes, I actually like what they did with this movie. I dunno, it just worked for me.
The animation is phenomenal. I've never seen it as effective as it is in this movie. With every new computer animated film that comes out, I become increasingly amazed at the vast improvements made in only a couple of years. I've seen computer animated fur before, but I've never seen fur used as well as it's used in this movie.
So finally, I saw a Disney/Pixar movie that I really liked. I still didn't like it as much as "Antz" or "Shrek," but I was certainly entertained by it. I'd really like to see Pixar make a movie that's not just for kids, though. With the talent of the crew they have there, I have a feeling that they could make a masterpiece if they wouldn't be so tied down to making the kids happy. I don't think that's gonna happen, though. I don't think they'll try to fix something that isn't broken. But if their kid flicks are going to be the quality of "Monsters, Inc.," than I can deal with it.
Scale of 1-10: 8