Monsters Inc.

Disney Studios has been really taking some shots as of late. Their cartoon studios have been releasing some of the worst films in the studios illustrious history, and people were beggining to look at other studios (Dreamworks's "Shrek") for their cartoon needs. Luckily, Disney has the kick ass Pixar in their back pocket to once again pull their horrid company's head out of the water. Has Pixar struck gold once again with their 4th Disney film?

Set in Monstropolis, the film follows the hilarious misadventures of James P. Sullivan and his best friend, roommate, and co-worker, Mike Wazowski. Both work at Monsters, Inc., the largest scream processing factory in the monster world, where Sulley is the top kid Scarer and Mike is his enthusiastic Scare Assistant. The main power source in the monster world is the collected screams of human children. At Monsters, Inc., an elite team of Scarers is responsible for gathering those precious natural resources. Complicating matters is the fact that monsters believe human children to be toxic and direct contact with them is forbidden. When a little girl (named Boo) accidentally follows Sulley back into his world, he finds his career in jeopardy and his life in utter chaos. Assisted by Mike, he schemes to rectify his mistake but the trio becomes caught up in a series of complications and unexpected intrigue beyond their wildest dreams.

Visually, this film is in an entirely different atmosphere from anything I've seen before. The single hairs on Sulley's fur move seperately from each other as if they were their own single entity. The young girl 'Boo' is one of the best models of a computer generate human I've ever seen. Kudos to Pixar for improving on the Toy Story children. The vocal talent in this film is top notch. John Goodman and Billy Crystal seem very comfortable with their characters, but Steve Buscemi's villian definately exites me the most. The three of them do something most cartoons fail in, and thats compeltely get me to forget the actors that those voices belong to..but think of them as the voice of the character.

The first 1/2 of this film is just incredible. Showing the inner workings and lives of the workers at Monster's Inc. is simply amazing. It made the movie much more interesting, and made me care about what these monsters were trying to do by scaring little children. It gave them merit, and does something most cartoons today fail in. Give us a backstory. The problem is, once they give us the backstory, and we are tied to these characters. They give us an emotional rollercoaster of a movie that is felt well by adults...but kids will completely loose all of its merit. Kids today are a lot more cruel hearted than earlier generations, and the plot twists and family story is falling upon their deaf ears. For grown ups like myself, its a very touching little tale.

Monster's Inc. leans on the emotional envelope a little too much, but still manages to tie it all in for one of the best films of the entire year. Just when you think Disney's as good as done...Pixar comes and gives them a little CPR.

Rating: 1/2 out of four.

-Now that you've read something, he's written. Wouldn't you like to find out more about Vigilante? Here you go.