Surprisingly excellent.

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2002)

Disney is really starting to get in gear. I am amazed at some of the brilliant films they have produced within the last few years.
Spoilers.
Monsters, Inc. is a great tale that strives for action and adventure as well as heart-felt emotions and good morals. James P. Sullivan is a scary monster at its best in the industrial power plant of Monsters, Inc. and intends to keep up his good reputation. Mike Wazowski is the comical, witty little one-eyed... thing... who intends to keep Sulley up on top. However, Randall, a creepy, lizard-like monster, is out to do more than just get on top. His plans are much more dire, and I think this is one reason I liked Monsters, Inc. so much.
First of all, the characters, although monsters, can easily be connected with. We understand what Sulley is feeling when he gets attached to Boo. We understand why Mike is upset with Sulley when they're stranded with the Yeti. The characters are so real that it's like I could reach out and feel them there.
I was a bit skeptical at first. I thought that Monsters, Inc. would take place in a strange world with different physics and absolutely incomprehensible functions. However, the movie tries its hardest to be as human-like as possible and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all with it. It kept me in the loop on how things work.
The plot is very unique. The toddler, whom Sulley names "Boo", somehow gets into the power plant and starts to wreak havoc on Monstropolis. In reality she is not harmful, and the events that take place before she is finally returned are downright hilarious and intense.
The actual story was indeed excellent. The problem amounted to unnerving heights as soon as they had Boo in the apartment, and even after that it continued to grow more and more. I found myself hoping they wouldn't be caught, telling the characters not to go there, and I was even compelled to bite my nails. The final conflict involving Randall and many doors is humorous yet, once again, intense (I especially liked the part when Mike and Sulley dive down into a door only to find that they're no longer falling...).
The music, composed by Randy Newman, starts out in the credits with a light jazz composition. Usually I find jazz annoying, but this wasn't so bad. Once it got into the movie, though, he switched to a nice composition. It wasn't a major factor in the movie, but it held up in the end when Sulley is searching for Boo.
There were some things I didn't like about Monsters, Inc. For one, the evil villain, Randall, did not have a decent enough end. I felt his story was unfinished as he was thrown through a door and beat down like an alligator. But, like it showed in the end, he could easily leave that house and find another, enter a closet, and easily return to the monster world.
Also, the end had two things wrong with it. First, it was a happy ending. In real life, it's a half and half chance of things turning out to be good. But in Disney, it always seems to end nicely. I think it would have been more emotional if, when Sulley said goodbye, it was for forever. But I suppose that wouldn't appeal to some of the younger children.
Second, it was a little stretched out. I felt that the movie did not wrap things up quickly. Instead, it added more stuff in the end that I felt was not necessary.
Altogether, despite those little annoyances, Monsters, Inc. is a marvelous tale. Its setting in a different world makes it so interesting, the characters add depth to the story, and the events are mellow and intense at the same time. It's a great film.