Another good effort from Pixar

Rating: Null/10 (9 November 2001)

Like the previous work from the gurus of computer animation, this one gets high marks for artistic excelence. The fur on Sully's coat is alone worth the viewing--rich and vividly detailed. Sully's partner, Mike Wazowski, is built on more simple lines--basically, a walking eyeball--but is given a full range of expression that makes him, well, human.
Sully and Mike work at Monsters, Inc., a power company that fuels their dimension with the screams of frightened children. This is dangerous work for the monsters--kids are not only becoming increasingly difficult to scare, they're believed to be a biohazard (any relation to current events is both coincidental and handled in such a manner as to not be disturbing). So naturally, panic breaks when a toddler named Boo slips through the portal into Monstropolis. Sully and Mike are given the task of getting Boo home; en route, they fend of the machinations of professional rival Randall (a nasty chameleon-like creature) and the Monsters Inc. CEO Waternoose (a crab-like being well-voiced by James Coburn) and of course, realize humans might not be so bad after all.
As with all previous Pixar films, the supporting cast is colorful and entertaining. Among the highlights: Mike's girl Celia, who looks like the love child of Cyclops and Medusa, and Roz, a slug with cats-eye glasses who seems to be a compilation of every dour-faced, embittered, nicotine-and-caffene-addicted drudge I've ever worked with.
Despite the high-quaility animation, "Monsters, Inc" lacks the captivating quality that would have rocketed it into masterpiece territory. The characters aren't as engaging as those in the Toy Story films, nor is the humor as infectious as Shrek's. But the film has its moments; in particular, the climactic roller-coaster chase through the closet-door portals that grant the monsters access to the human world is a highlight.
"Monsters, Inc." may not be perfection, but it's a beautifully rendered and overall fun journey into another world and that's always a good thing in my book.