Supporting Victims: Alex Carver, Joel Fuernsinn, Brandy
Huneycutt, Chad Huneycutt, Erik Lystad, Sean Marston, J.D. Forinash, Katrina
Werpetinski, Candi Kurmasz, Zack Kurmasz
Other Drive-In Help: Kim Martin, Vernard Martin
Monsters, Inc. is a great movie and has the great quality and polish that
we've come to expect from Pixar films. In fact, it's everything that we've
stopped expecting from Disney movies. Never mind that Monsters, Inc. has been
marketed as a Disney film - we know where the real credit lies. Here's the
rundown.
1. A Very Interesting Story - Monsters, Inc. has a very original story that
borrows some ideas from other plots but packages it very cleanly. Without
giving too much away, Monsters, Inc. is a power company in Monsterland.
Everything is powered by, what else? The screams of little children. Expert
Scarers run in through trans-dimensional doorways to scare little kids. The
screams are collected by their assistants on the other side of the door. The
catch? Kids are deadly to monsters. One touch and it's all over. So Scarers
provide an important and dangerous service for the Monster community. There's
also the additional pressure of an energy crisis (kids don't scare the way they
used to) and that's where we begin. A good movie tells a good story for the sake
of the story - not to sell toys, themed beach towels, and patio furniture. The
Evil Mouse Conglomerate used to know this back in the good old days. Not that
Walt Disney himself was averse to overmarketing characters like Mickey Mouse but
he instinctively knew that people would only warm to the merchandise if they
enjoyed the shows that they represented. The story and characters always came
first.
2. Original Characters with Appeal and Charm - Billy Crystal and John Goodman
play Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan (Sulley), respectively. Mike and
Sulley are the best Monster team at Monsters, Inc. Sulley is very close to
breaking the all time Scream collection record at the company but is more
concerned with giving his all to help solve the energy crisis. Mike is more
interested in fame and recognition and impressing his girlfriend Ceilia
(Jennifer Tilly). And, of course, there's a slimy villain - the chameleon
monster Randall (Steve Buscemi) who wants to beat Sulley to the record first.
The rest of the wacky animated figures of the movie add visual humor, charm, and
a sympathetic presence to give the Monster world personality and depth. These
are characters that the audience can love (or hate) and relate to. Sure, they're
also marketable but it's because of intrinsic, not synthesized, charm.
3. Rapidly Paced Humor for Adults and Children - This movie is targeted for the
Family. There are the usual physical humor and sight gags that kids like. There
are also little digs at National Enquirer and the dating process that adults
will appreciate. There was some humor from the "real" world but it
made sense in the Monster world. None of the humor felt forced because it was of
context/genre. This is another Disneyism created by Robin Williams through his
Genie character in Aladdin. Robin
Williams could pull off his out of context anachronisms in the character of a
magical being like the Genie. Every other use of it that I've seen in a
Disney film has grated tremendously on my ability to immerse myself in that
world - with the possible exception of The Emperor's New Groove that was
consistently wacky from beginning to end, as was its world - "Squeak squeak
squeeek squeak Squeak!".
4. Advances in Animation Technology - There was a time where everyone followed
Disney and a time where the Disney company cared about pushing these edges. Walt
E. Disney was strongly interested in pushing the limits of technology forward to
tell a good story. His vision motivated developments such as the first animated
picture with sound, the multiplane camera, realistic cartoon figures, and new
techniques for depicting movement in animated characters. Disney, the
megacorporation, has settled for a minimal Disney look and feel because it
works. People will see a Disney-something because they're still the biggest
producer of "family-oriented" fare. Pixar, thankfully, continues to
push the edges of what animation can look like and every movie they produce is
more and more amazing because of that. There's a scene where Sulley, the big
blue furry monster is stuck in a snowstorm. Look at his hair. That's amazing
animation. For a scary second, I almost believed Sulley was a real live thing
playing Sulley in this movie. I'm sure many children left the movie wanting
their own Sulley as a real friend and are checking the backs of their own
closets as you read this. That's the power of good animation and good
storytelling. (As a humorous aside, you could identify us as a bunch of geeks
because coming out of the theater, were we saying, "Great movie. That was
really funny."? No! We were saying things like, "Great hair. I can't
believe the animation job on that. That must have taken days of rendering
time. It looked so real!")
Also missing from Monsters, Inc. that we now expect with regularity from Disney
include unnecessary color characters solely crafted to sell product, some silly
Broadway / showtune number that has made its way into every Disney film since
that formula worked in The Little Mermaid, and some stupid retuned movie song
transformed into a pop tune and resung by a major pop star as the credits roll
for the purposes of capturing a Best Song Oscar. To hammer the point home, we
saw the preview for Peter Pan II:
Return to Neverland just before the movie. The IMDb byline says, "In
London during World War II, this is the story of Wendy's daughter, Jane, who is
kidnapped by Captain Hook and Peter Pan must come to the rescue."
Does this sound like an original story with original characters? Everyone who
thinks this is just another blatant Disney marketing engine, raise your hands. I
predict one Broadway / Showtune number in the movie but will have to verify that
from secondhand sources.
We give Monsters, Inc. an 8 out of 10 on the Good Movie Scale and a 3 out of 10
on the Bad Movie Scale for some awkward dialogue moments and some overused,
possibly unavoidable, clichés. This movie, and the short cartoon before the
movie, is fun, cheerful, authentic family fare. As a minor complaint, there were
5 of us seated next to a 3 or 4 year old (I think) who spent the last 15 minutes
of the movie shouting "I want to go home! I don't want to be
here." For this reason, there's a good chance that the lot of us will be
trying to catch the Wednesday midnight showing of Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone when it comes out to avoid encounters with
rugrats who don't have a 2.5 hour attention span. I wish parents would show
better judgment when it comes to gauging the maturity of their children but can
almost understand their wanting to get out of the house, even at the expense of
the general public. Also, there are no humorous outtakes at the end of this one
so there's no need to stick around for the credits - unless you know or have
heard of Wayne Wooten.
Our Drive-In Totals:
0 Dead Bodies
0 Breasts
Great Hair
Wounded Hair
Monster Training Simulator
Energy Crisis
Spiky Fruit
Slow Motion Entry
Lemon Snow Cones
Puce Folder
The CDA
Scary Feet
Exiled Monsters
Mismatched Socks
Ducks in a row
1 Disneyland Ride Idea
1 Contact Lens
4 cans of Odorant
3 "219" episodes
1 obligatory Disney happy-ending
1 obligatory role reversal
1 Toy Story 2 cameo
1 decided unfunny stand-up routine
1 obscenely fast two-year old
Kung Fu
Bat Fu
Snow Cone Fu
Razor Fu
Disinfectant Fu
Door Fu
Boo Fu
Pipe Fu
Scream Fu
Jacks Fu
Trash Cube Fu
Sock Fu
Toy Fu
Giggle Fu
Big Sucking Device Fu
Glowing Disintegration Dome Fu
Chameleon Fu
Air-raid Fu
Eye fu
Good Movie Scale: 8 out of 10
Bad Movie Scale: 3 out of 10
