There's a simple story handled appropriately under solid conditions from a great studio. What more do you need?

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2013)

Isn't it unfathomable that Monsters Inc. is now twelve years old? Even Pixar's first masterpiece Toy Story is quickly approaching twenty, which is equally unfathomable in any state of mind. Rewatching Monster's, Inc., in light of the upcoming prequel, I couldn't help but realize that Pixar hasn't changed a whole lot in their animation style. Little noticeable additions and upgrades such as lighting and texturing have been made, but changes like that are pretty much unnoticeable to the public. Pixar has been one of the few companies that has done little innovation to the overall layout and design of their animation since their breakout in 1995.
Pixar, however, has to remain witty, original, and subversive in their material and story lines to remain the almighty, animation patriarch they've always been. In 2013, I'm proud to save I've never been letdown by a Pixar film so much so that I gave it a negative review. Even their lesser stories are better than Disney's average ones, and even a good Dreamworks movie is not usually the equivalent of an average Pixar one. Monsters, Inc. is a story that is cinematic bread-and-butter, combining the quirks and uniqueness of monsters and articulating their appeal to children wonderfully in a film. While the subject matter may have you thinking otherwise, this is a sweetly appropriate film for children over five, and unlike maybe some modern animated releases such as Hotel Transylvania this one doesn't segregate the viewer solely because they've seen more modern monster films than everyone in the audience.
The plot concerns Mike (voiced by the lovable Billy Crystal), a stout, green, Cyclops-esque monster and his pal Sulley (John Goodman), a lovable, furry, blue monster and their duties at Monsters, Inc. The company is dedicated to frightening children of all ages after hours, and to do so, they use a series of doors, assigned to each monster. The doors look like they lead nowhere, but actually house a child's room behind them. When a monster walks back through the door, it is extracted from the ground and taken through an elaborate conveyor belt behind the scenes.
Mike and Sulley always find themselves harassed by Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), who leaves a door on the floor, allowing a child to enter the premises so he can get them kicked out of Monsters, Inc. The child is two years old, unafraid of monsters, and thinks of Sulley as a lovable teddy-bear rather than a ferocious monster. The film follows Mike and Sulley as they try and hide the girl - who they nickname "Boo" (Mary Gibbs) - from their boss and try to keep their jobs intact.
There's a surprising (and equally unsurprising) zealous energy to the material here. By having such a loose plot, the characters are free to roam in many different directions, trying to find a way to keep precious little "Boo" hidden from all the other monsters.
Speaking of the other monsters, Pixar's creativity as a group seems to bleed through Monsters, Inc. as each character has their own artistic design and color scheme to go with them. No two monsters look alike, and none look anything like the classic movie monsters or basic retreads of them, showing Pixar's high creativity. Even if you remain unfazed by the story or the plot, the art design of the characters is something that will hold your attention for quite sometime.
Monsters, Inc. is a charming affair that should be equally rewarding for adults as it will be their children. There's no reliance on immaturity, stupidity, or even blatant shallowness. There's a simple story handled appropriately under solid conditions from a great studio. What more do you need?
Voiced by: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, and Mary Gibbs. Directed by: Pete Docter.