Very good, careful with little ones

Rating: 7/10 (12 November 2001)

Monsters, Inc. was a very good movie, though not as good as either of the previous 2 Pixar "Toy Story" movies. I also felt the target age of this movie was higher than of any of the previous movies. There are explanations in this film, central to the plot, about things like an energy crisis and how the company, Monsters, Inc., provides the energy, by causing screams and bottling them (?). There is adult dating, and funny references to things you'd hear around the office (ie. not around the elementary school). There is a complicated system by which the Monsters actually GET to the rooms to scare kids. Easy concepts for adults, tough for little ones.
One other thing that tripped me out a little was that there were also many references and demonstrations of how monsters pop out of closets or out from under beds and scare the bejeezus out of poor little kids. This can be a little traumatic for little ones. Along these same lines are a few scenes involving a walk down into a dark, very scary looking dungeon-like corridor, and a few of a type of torture machine that slowly wheels up to a captive victim, who is held immobile in a special chair. Relatively short scenes, but they scared both my 6- and 3-year-olds. I was not expecting this and it kind of irritated me.
On the whole, it was an enjoyable movie. To be honest, the most enjoyable part for me was the short animated film that preceded the main attraction, a VERY cute and funny short called "For the Birds."