Monsters Inc.

Following on from Toy Story 2 , Pixar’s fourth computer-generated animated film is every bit as impressive and buzzy as its predecessors – and just as the Toy Story films were able to clean up by utilising the notion that toys can have their own secret lives, Monsters Inc – a movie based on the concept of monsters lurking in every bedroom closet – will find resonance with practically everyone who has ever been a kid.

The monsters incorporated of the title are an elite bunch of scary monsters who get into childrens’ rooms at night via the closet in order to collect their screams. This process is vital because the entire town of Monstroplis, where the monsters live, is powered by the screams of human kids. Unfortunately, with children becoming increasingly difficult to scare, Monstropolis is facing a major energy crisis. Meanwhile, hotshot scarer James P. ‘Sulley’ Sullivan (Goodman) works with his wisecracking assistant scarer Mike Waszoski (Crystal). One night, Sulley accidentally allows a little girl that he nicknames Boo to follow him home to Monstropolis. At first, he’s a mite disturbed, as the monsters have always believed that children are toxic. But soon, Sulley and Boo become friends. When Sulley tries to return Boo to her own world, however, they encounter Randall Boggs, a chameleon-type monster (Buscemi, in a masterful piece of casting) who has invented a terrible machine which extracts screams from children forcibly. Consequently, Boo finds herself kidnapped and Sulley finds himself embroiled in corruption that goes all the way to the top.

Given the quality of Pixar’s output to date, much was expected of Monsters Inc. – and happily, it doesn’t disappoint. With even more sophisticated CGI technology and a subject matter like monsters which allows for greater imaginative scope, it’s not surprising that the film is the most visually intricate and exhilarating of its kind to date. The humour, meanwhile, is double-coded in order to appeal to adults and children simultaneously, with much in the way of playful verbal sparring between Goodman and Crystal, who is considerably less irritating here than he can be in the flesh. Buscemi, as one might imagine, puts in a convincingly reptilian turn: no wonder the film has already grossed $200 million and counting in the US.

Certainly, between Monsters Inc. and Shrek, the race for this year’s inaugural Best Animated Feature Academy Award looks like it could be a lot more interesting than the battle for Best Film.