An adorable addition to the Pixar repertoire

Rating: 8/10 (3 November 2001)

Monsters Inc. follows in the footsteps of its predecessors in being an extremely charming movie that is fun for the whole family. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend it to both children and adults. Pixar has had many great hits in the past, the most shining examples being the Toy Story movies. Monsters Inc. is clearly designed to be similar to those movies, and to appeal to the same crowd that they did -- and for the most part, it succeeds.
The performances (vocal) by Billy Crystal and John Goodman are excellent, as one would expect. There are a few other recognizable voices that make cameos as well (can you figure out who plays the Abominable Snow man? It took me a few minutes). The animation is, of course, first rate (if you get a chance, perhaps on a second viewing, which this movie is worth, pay attention to the way Mike's one eye shows so much expression, and to how the fur movies on Sully with the breeze).
This movie isn't quite as good as Toy Story, though. Where it lags behind its predecessors is that the story is a bit, well... obvious, once you get the feel for it, and it is slightly slow in the beginning. The ending is exciting, however, and that makes up for the slow start. The one real disappointment (if you can call it that, since it is minor) is that the movie doesn't have very many interesting supporting characters. Boo, Sully, and Mike are the main stars, but other than one or two slimy villain-types, there really aren't many other interesting characters in the movie. And that's a shame, since the monster world certainly could have given us plenty of nifty personalities.
That said, Monsters Inc. was fun, and gives the viewer much to laugh at, and maybe even a thing or two to sniffle at along the way. Boo, the little human girl, was absolutely precious -- I wanted to take her home with me. I recommend this one to children of all ages -- especially those of us over the hill.
My score: 8/10