Monsters, Inc.-Monsters and Co. (2001)

Directed by: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich | 92 minutes | animation, comedy, family, fantasy | Original Voice Cast: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, Bob Peterson, John Ratzenberger, Frank Oz, Daniel Gerson, Steve Susskind, Bonnie Hunt, Jeff Pidgeon, Samuel Lord Black, Jack Angel

‘Monsters, Inc.’ proves that Disney and Pixar’s collaboration makes for great films but again. In the mid-90s, ‘Toy Story’, their first film, was released, the concept was still unprecedented in animation land. Never before had a film been made entirely on the computer. And what a success it was. “Monsters, Inc.” appeared at a time when computer animation was already cut cake, but nevertheless the film was – and is – just as (or even more) successful as its predecessor.

Will there be such a thing as Disney magic that turns almost any movie into an instant classic? (By the way, that doesn’t mean the sequels…) There’s certainly something magical about ‘Monsters, Inc.’, something that appeals to children, including the child that still lurks inside every adult! Disney has fully understood the concept of family film in this case, because unlike many competitors (think of ‘Shrek’), ‘Monsters, Inc.’ fun for everyone, including the very little ones.

Almost every child is afraid of monsters from time to time. Monsters in the closet or under the bed, and just when you want to go to sleep they come to scare you. With this in mind, the creators of ‘Monsters, Inc.’ set to work and made an endearing film in which it appears that the ‘scary’ monsters are even more afraid of children than the other way around. To power their city, the employees of Monsters, Inc. (aka Monsters and Co.) children’s screams, night after night. Sulley (John Goodman) stars in collecting children’s screams along with his best friend Mike (Billy Crystal). Mike also ensures that Sulley remains the best employee, but of course there are privateers on the coast. Randall (Steve Buscemi) does everything he can to defeat Sulley and literally nothing is too much for him.

Even though Monstropolis lives on electricity made by children, human children walking around their city is a no-no. After all, they are life-threatening, so extra care is taken to ensure that no ‘contamination’ takes place. When the human child Boo accidentally comes along with Sulley, all hell breaks loose, and Mike and Sulley do everything they can to hide her from the authorities so they don’t have to be “decontaminated.” Slowly but surely their fear disappears and they realize that Boo is not that dangerous after all and an unlikely friendship begins.

Sulley may be the big hero in Monstropolis, but he’s nowhere without his buddy Mike. Billy Crystal is very funny in the role as the one-eyed monster and also wonderful to watch – after all, the animations look insane as well. Steve Buscemi is almost always hilarious, and so is here – if animated – as Sulley’s main competitor Randall. Little Boo isn’t doing too badly either, even though Mary Gibbs was only two at the time and they had to chase her with the mic to record her voice.

“Monsters, Inc.” is a masterly monstrous modern fairy tale for young and old.