The ritual
of putting children to bed has been something that parents
and adults have had to deal with since the start of time.
Who can ever forget the requests for a glass of water, a nightlight,
or a story that children have issued for ages. In a way it
is almost a ritual as once the checklist has been completed,
then the children can go to sleep safe and sound.
Ah, but
what of the old nemesis of children, the fabled monster under
the bed or in the closet. The fear of the unknown where shadows
take on sinister forms and play on the minds of young children
is a powerful tool. Normally, a quick check of the closet,
bed, and the use of a nightlight take care of this problem,
and as the years pass, the notion of monsters in the closet
fades in a young persons mind.
For a
notion to remain after so many centuries and for it to cross
so many cultural barriers there must be some basis to this
legend. Sure some of it can be blamed on fear of the unknown
and an overactive imagination fueled by television and video
games, but there must be something more.
Thankfully, the creative team behind such classics as "Toy
Story" "Toy Story 2" and "A Bugs Life"
are up to the task and in the new film "Monsters Inc."
viewers get a look into that secret world where things go
bump in the night.
According to the folks at Pixar, it seems that monsters have
been coming from children's closets for ages and will continue
to do so as their very survival depends on it. In the world
of the monsters, it is necessary to harness the screams of
children in order to power their cities. Since children are
becoming harder and harder to scare in modern times, the monsters
are faced with a severe power crisis.
The monsters
main source of energy is Monsters Inc. A factory that creates
power from children's screams. Transporting monsters through
a doorway in the factory that lets them enter our world through
a child's closet and return to their world in no time at all.
The top scarer at Monsters Inc is James P Sullivan or Sulley(
John Goodman), as he is known. Sulley that despite his 8ft
height and his blue and purple fur is a gentle giant that
takes pride in his work as the top scarer at the company.
Sulley's best friend and roommate is a small, one eyed, green
ball of a monster named Mike Wazowski Billy Crystal, a loyal
and devoted friend, who assists Sulley by bringing him new
doors and processing the tanks of screams that he collects.
Mike is also very proud of Sulley's scare record and his ongoing
relationship with Celia(Jennifer Tilly).
Despite
the urgent need for power and the concerns that are uttered
by the head of the factory, Waternoose, (James Coburn), and
the sneaky dealings of the #2 scarer Randall (Steve Buscemi)
things could not be better for Mike and Sulley.
Things
take a turn for the unexpected when a little girl the two
call "Boo" arrives through the doorway. This is
a huge crisis for the monsters as they believe children to
be toxic and their touch deadly. A special decontamination
unit is always on hand to eliminate any trace of a child's
presence be it a sock, toy, or crayon, and cleanse any monster
affected by contact.
What follows is a funny serious of events where Mike and Sulley
attempt to hide Boo and get her home all the while dealing
with the politics at work, their social life, and the scheming
Randall as their world has been tuned upside down by the little
girl they are quickly becoming fond of.
The animation
of the film is top notch as the computer-generated images
bring the characters to life and show a wide range of emotions
from their facial features and body language. The voice acting
is top notch and the laughs are genuine. The story moved along
at a brisk pace as was funny without being forced. I would
highly suggest this film to anyone and lets hope that we get
to take a return trip to the land of Mike and Sulley in the
not do distant future.
4.5 stars
out of 5
Gareth Von Kallenbach
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