Animation becomes ordinary

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2002)

Whereas much of the success of films like `Toy Story' or `A Bug's Life' is a result of the fact that the phenomenon of entire computer animation was a fairly new genre, now gradually this plus gets lost. More and more frequently, computer animated movies about various cute creatures are made and audiences aren't surprised any more about the endless possibilities of computer techniques. Moreover, I believe that with `Shrek', the genre already reached its climax as well as its ironic turn. What could follow?
`Monsters, Inc.' provides less laughs than `Shrek', it doesn't have the sensational character of former computer animation features. Of course the monster world and its population are nice and imaginative, but the story started off a little too complicated. It is becoming harder and harder to fulfil the task of creating `human' situations in a world of non-humans, so the basic structures are getting more and more far-fetched. However, there were some surprising features, especially towards the end, which made this (children's) film something special, also for adults: the ice sequence for instance, and that magnificent door-machine. All in all, not more than a lovely evening at the movies.