Absolutely average

Rating: Null/10 (4 February 2002)

The story: In Monsterworld, energy is produced by collecting kids' screams, which are then converted into electricity. "Monsters, Inc." is the leading energy producer, and it operates by sending monsters into kids' closets and under their beds, and scaring them. Each kid has its own biggest fear, and the company specializes in delivering just the right monster to the right kid. There are, however, two problems. First, kids are getting harder to scare, watching all those movies and playing all those videogames - which causes an energy crisis. And second, human kids are considered to be toxic to monsters - the most memorable scene occurs when a monster returns from his job with a sock stuck to his fur.... So it is easy to imagine what mayhem may ensue if a kid manages to get into Monstropolis...
The story follows two nice monsters, Sullivan, the most successful scarer, and his side-kick Mike, as they try to get rid off, hide, play with and protect (in that order) a little girl that finds her way into their world. It also features an evil chamaeleon monster and a cast of many very inspired background monsters, including a love interest for Mike. Watch out for her hair: It is one of the better ideas in the movie.
However, as nice as it sounds, this movie is strictly for kids only. Adults might chuckle every now and then, but in the end I walked out thinking of all the wasted talent. Why cast comedians like Billy Crystal and John Goodman as voice talents when the best comedy is restricted to a very small number of slapstick scenes? Also, the movie is very very obvious about its story and the surprise (or not so surprise) ending. It is made with kids in mind, so every lesson is repeated about five times. And, of course, it is about friendship, the power of being nice and all the other typical Disneyfied lessons in life. You might also notice this Pixar trend of only producing movies that are very very merchandiseable. Toy Story? Think plastic toys. Monster Inc? Think big Sulley-shaped fluffy animals...
There is one point where this movie is hard to beat, though: The animation. The fur of Sulley is incredible, and when he is hit by a snowball, it is most impressive how real it looks.
All in all it is very average. Not very funny, a bit repetitive, but entirely feel-good. Personally, I preferred the short movie that preceded it. It was short, funny, cute, to the point and it had all the qualities Monsters Inc lacked. Make sure you aren't late for this movie. You might miss the best part.... Also stay for the credits. Some of the fake outtakes are funny, especially the guest appearances of other Pixar characters...
5/10