The Britney Spears of CGI - Oops! Pixar's done it again...

Rating: Null/10 (22 June 2002)

10 reasons why "Monsters, Inc." was robbed by "Shrek" at the Oscars:
1. The writing holds together better - there isn't a single wasted bit in the movie, from the simulation at the beginning to the seemingly pointless croaky-voiced martinet for paperwork who turns out to be... but that would be telling.
2. The humour is less scatological and more character-based.
3. The animation is so effective that it's hard to believe it's animation (two highlights are Sullivan's sleigh ride down a snowy mountain at night and the door chase climax - door chase? Just see the movie)...
4. ...but the movie never gives you a chance to just wind up being amazed at how it looks and forget about how it feels.
5. It doesn't try and impress you with its pop-culture references and how clever it is generally (there is a restaurant called Harryhausen's, but that doesn't really count).
6. The voice performances; one of the tests of a cartoon is if the voice cast isn't distracting, and save the Abominable Snowman (voice of John "Cliff Clavin" Ratzenberger) that isn't the case. Kudos all round, but particularly Crystal, Goodman, Coburn, and Bonnie Hunt as the aforementioned martinet (see #1).
7. Only one "proper" song, and even then it's by the great Randy Newman.
8. The relationship between Sullivan and Boo (the little girl who gets into Monstropolis) is genuinely touching.
9. The end credits not only feature always welcome "outtakes" but also follow up a plot strand from the movie itself.
10. No DreamWorks tit-for-tat pokes.
But then, they don't need to - movies like "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2" and this one speak for themselves.