'Monster Inc.', a real treat with lots of heart
Joko E.H. Anwar, Contributor, Jakarta
There is little reason to doubt that Disney will continue to deliver enjoyable animation features well into the future, yielding success at the box office and praise from the critics.
Other giant studios like DreamWorks SKG do try to develop their animation division, on the other hand, but their films are still hit-and-miss.
Some think that recent non-Disney entries are either too violent, too sophisticated for kids (Antz) or, despite great animation, are simply lacking the characters people can relate to (Road to El Dorado).
Disney's animations, not surprisingly, continue to hit the bull's-eye.
The studio's computer-generated animation is more impressive lately compared to the traditionally-drawn ones.
Its latest hand-drawn (and slightly computer-animated) entry, Atlantis: The Lost Continent, was well-received by the moviegoing public by Disney standards, though it failed to create a big splash as a commercial success.
The film was gained notoriety for accusations that it was a rip-off of a Japanese animated film.
Meanwhile, the studio's computer-animated entries, produced by Pixar Animation Studios, continue to score big.
After the huge success of the Toy Story sequels and A Bug's Life, the animation studio once more created a very enjoyable film in Monster Inc.
It is amazing that no matter how high someone's expectation for this film, (like I did before I saw it), the film's incredible animation is still likely to blow their minds away.
The story is interesting without being too complicated for younger audiences to comprehend.
What makes Monster Inc. a real treat is that the film has more heart than recent animated features -- Disney or non-Disney.
The movie will make you laugh, but it might also make you cry since it's also very touching.
There is, according to the storyline, a world which we humans do not know exists. It is a place inhabited by grotesque-looking creatures simply called monsters who live and behave just like we do.
Somehow they find a way to enter our world by creating doors enabling them to come out of a human's closet to scare little kids. The monsters are professionals since they need the sounds of the children's screams, which they collect in special tubes, to generate electricity for their city.
While humans, especially little kids, are afraid of these monsters, the monsters, ironically, are scared of the kids, too. That's because, according to their authority, there is nothing more toxic and poisonous than a human child. Even a single touch by a kid can kill any of them instantly.
A little girl accidentally enters the monsters' world, creating chaos at the other side. The incident changes their life forever.
Monster Inc. is arguably the best Disney's film in years since it succeeds to make the audiences really care about the characters.
The actors who lend their talented voices to the effort, include John Goodman and Billy Crystal. They do a very good job in bringing their characters into live.
The usual eye-popping visual effects courtesy of Pixar Animation still looks fresh as if invented yesterday. It is also excellent in giving every character great mimicry, like of the top scarer monster James P. Sullivan and the little girl.
The film also offers a good amount of adventure while sure to entertain young audiences while touching older audience -- not only because it brings out the inner child in us like most Disney film do.
It's just that we don't have to unleash the little child inside us to connect with the film. It just does.
Monster Inc., ***1/2 out of four stars; Animation/Adventure/Comedy, 92 minutes; Voices by John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buschemi, Jennifer Tilly, James Coburn, Bonnie Hunt; Directed by Peter Docter, David Silverman; A Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney Pictures Presentation