Good, but it is no "Toy Story"

Rating: 6/10 (11 November 2001)

Seeing this film with my kids, I noticed something that was quite different than the experiences of the "Toy Story" films and "A Bug's Life": The kids were having a better time than I was. That was really too bad, because I wanted to have the fun too, but I could not find it.
Maybe I am not as dazzled as I was with "Story". Computer animation is fantastic, but movies still come down to one thing: story. I just did not feel that the "Monsters, Inc." tale was as good as the previous efforts of Disney/Pixar.
Before I go into a long talk of the failings of this film, let me first state that kids do enjoy it. From their standpoint, taking in an average of the 3 of my children, I would rate it ***1/2 out of ****. I know they will go to school, tell all their friends to see it, and there will be "Monsters, Inc." toys under the Christmas tree this year.
So much for the kid review. From my viewpoint, this film tried to appeal utilizing many of the same methods of the "Toy Story" movies. Unfortunately, those films were better. "TS" gave us the idea of lives existing somewhere that we can't see. And, instead of Buzz Lightyear and Woody, replace them with Sulley and Mike.
In "TS2," Woody gets the girl and Buzz is the one driven to fulfill the mission. In "Monsters," Mike gets the multi-legged girl and Sulley focuses on the job. There is even that moment between Sulley and Mike where they have an argument and go their separate ways. Seems very familiar.
I guess I hoped for something funnier. This one has funny moments, but it seems to be going more for the "Cute" factor. The little girl, Boo, has a very cute face that can evoke many emotions. Sulley and Mike, voiced by John Goodman and Billy Crystal, are quite good too.
Walking out of the theater, I had the disappointing feeling that I wished the movie could have had more. While the kids rate it ***1/2, my rating is either ** or **1/2.