Excellent in nearly every way

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2016)

The premise behind Monsters, Inc. isn't something that we haven't seen before, but it is one that allows for a lot of creativity and one that the film takes full advantage of. Pixar was still in a relatively early stage when the film came out, yet it was the perfect way to show that their imagination knew no bounds. It centres on two monsters at a company whose job it is to scare children because the monster world is powered by the screams of children. Now that is a really inventive idea. But their world is thrown into disarray when a child called Boo gets out (with monsters believing children are toxic) and our two heroes have to get her back, all while not being found out and uncovering a wider conspiracy. This leads to a story packed full of twists and turns, plenty of comedy and action set pieces, and a surprising emotional heft.
The story itself allows for a vast amount of creativity with the concept of monsters having this kind of job, all the unique designs and the fact that they are terrified of children. It is also great how detailed the story is, because you simply never know where it's going or how it's going to end up and its constantly gripping as a result of that. The two leads are vital to the story and thankfully they are both great. Sulley is the company's top scarer, yet on the inside he's just a big teddy bear and there is something so endearing about him. He's a really warm screen presence and seeing his relationship with Boo grow throughout the film is strangely beautiful. Mike is much more of a wise-cracker and somewhat neurotic, which actually makes him a great contrast to Sulley. He does provide a lot of laughs and the friendship with Sulley feels very genuine. In fact both John Goodman and Billy Crystal deserve praise for giving such excellent performances.
It's also impressive how well Boo is handled. Usually very young children can be annoying or plain boring, but she is the right balance of curious and gentle whilst still having enough funny moments. The fact that she speaks in a muddled sort of baby talk is another positive and actually makes her more endearing. Most notable is her relationship with Sulley, as it is build up just perfectly and their final moments together are incredibly touching. That emotional core between is a real strong point of the film. The films comedic moments are very well done too. Mike relies much more on his witticisms and anxious behaviour to get laughs which works surprisingly well, while the other monsters ineptitude when it comes to scaring also provides a great number of amusing moments.
With that said one of the films few weaknesses are its villains. They're not bad, just a little one-dimensional and underdeveloped. Randall is a typically snide and aggressive rival, we don't learn anything about him and he doesn't really do much but try to hunt down Boo. He either needed to be funnier or more threatening to leave an impression. Waternoose also turns out to be involved in the plot despite his initial loyalty to Sulley, his conflict does make sense yet he is also a little underused. Despite that he does have a good design and James Coburn does a good job vocal. That said their actions do lead to a spectacular climax. It basically has Sulley and Mike frantically searching for Boo's door in what is effectively a gigantic room of doors. It's fun, it's exciting, it's tense, it is exactly the type of big climax you'd want the film to have.
The animation is excellent once again. The fact that its set in a world of monsters allows for some really interesting and colourful designs, the majority of monsters look unique and are memorable as a result of that. Just looking at Sulley, the amount of detail put in with all his hairs is so impressive. We don't see too much of the monster world, but the factory is an interesting setting and still permits plenty of creativity. The side characters are a bit hit-and- miss, although the Abominable Snowman (Pixar regular John Ratzenberger) gets some really good lines and the cranky receptionist Roz is enjoyable. Randy Newman's score has an effective light, jazzy feel to it and it is brilliant. Not only does it suit the tone of the film, but it also adds a nice energy to the more action packed scenes and provides some wonderfully emotive melodies.
So on the whole Monsters, Inc. is another big success for Pixar. I think that it works so because it gets the key areas right. The premise is interesting, the two leads are a great pairing, the main conflict is gripping and there is a strong emotional centre to the film that makes it even stronger. It is easy to care about these characters and want to see them succeed. I do think the villains are a bit weak and maybe the conspiracy is a little unneeded, but neither does too much damage to the overall product and that is because its central focus is so good. Added to that the animation, score and comedy all work fantastically to the best effect. It's a film that is funny, moving and engaging in all the right ways.