The brightest minds in show business

Rating: 10/10 (13 November 2001)

People can "Shrek" about it all they want. Here's the real deal: "Shrek"-style cynicism and sarcasm are easy. The ability to look at the world with a childlike sense of wonder and creativity is a gift. It's a gift the Pixar guys and gals are copiously endowed with. There are more clever, witty ideas in any given five minutes of any Pixar flick than there are in the entire running time of 99% of the crass Hollywood rubbish being foisted on the movie populace. It's a small miracle that these folks are able to do what they do, to say nothing of the technical advances they achieve. To those who say there's no difference between the flicks, please, watch "Toy Story" and its sequel. The advances in fabric motion, just to name one small aspect, are amazing, and take another step in "Monsters."
It's the attention to detail that makes the Pixar movies so great -- detail in the nuances of how a character behaves or what his life is "really" like, detail in the background of scenes, even in small supporting characters. These films are a long time in the making and it's time well-spent. What a treat to be able to sit in a theater with people of all ages and backgrounds, laughing and having a great time. There are few movies for children that adults can abide, much less enjoy. Most of them are insults to the intelligence of the average two-year-old, much less Mom & Dad. This movie, full of life, good cheer, and sincerity, makes the likes of "Pokemon" seem even more like the drab, lifeless and uninspired toy commercials they are.