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"Monsters, Inc."
(Reviewed October 16, 2001)
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Incredible computer animation (as always from Pixar/Disney) and imaginative character designs are the best things about this movie. Billy Crystal is the worst thing about it. Crystal's loud, annoying, Catskills-comic schtick just goes on and on, nearly sinking the very slight story. Since "Aladdin," way too many Disney movies have featured the same sort of unfunny motormouth Robin Williams clone. Give it a rest, guys.
As for the disappointingly weak story: An amazingly cute little girl ends up in a world made up of the monsters that kids supposedly worry about just before they fall asleep. John Goodman is the big blue furry one, and does a good job of making him likeable. The action includes a really remarkable journey inside the workings of the "Monsters, Inc." factory on a series of fast-moving conveyors (similar to "Toy Story 2"'s scene inside the airport baggage-handling area, except with the adrenaline ramped up about a hundred notches). But the central premise here is so flimsy that the movie kind of falls apart. Do the writers really think that all children everywhere scream their little heads off on a regular basis because they are afraid of monsters that lurk in their bedroom closets? Weak.
Still, "Monsters, Inc." is worth the price of admission just to see the eye-popping things that computer animation can do these days. Plus you will fall in love with "Babblin' Boo!"
Back Row Grade: C
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