Lively and fun

Rating: 7/10 (21 January 2011)

'Monsters Inc.' is a Disney (or at least, a Pixar) film. Which means one has a corporate satire made by one of the world's most powerful corporations; and a tale where two friends (one talkative, one cute) argue but always get together in the end to ensure that everyone lives happily ever after. If the template is familiar, the film also marked a move away from the realistic animation of 'Toy Story' (the first wave of computer animation) back towards something more obviously cartoony. It also lacks 'Toy Story's bleak undercurrents, but it's generally fun and inventive, even if you can spot the end coming a long way off. As an adult, I don't quite buy the idea that Pixar's films are the greatest of all time; but there's no denying that they do what they do well.