Surprisingly entertaining

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2003)

My expectations weren't high for this film but, much to my surprise, I enjoyed it alot. Certainly it was a lot more enjoyable than Shrek (to me) and perhaps even Monsters, Inc. even though it might not quite match the technical achievements of either of those films. I just found the simple story that much more engaging and fun. Also, it's set in a more interesting environment than either movie (in my opinion, of course). I expected there to be a barrage of fart jokes in the film but was utterly amazed by the complete absence of them. Well, there *are* two instances involving "poop" but these are by no means gratuitous and have a lot to do with the development of the characters; moreover, they are actually quite funny. All the voice work was great, especially (again, surprisingly) that of John Leguizamo, whom I expected to be annoying, but as it turned out, the Sloth stole every scene he was in. He certainly gave Eddy Murphy's "Duncan" a run for his money (now, the donkey, HE was annoying).