November (Web-only) 2001

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Pixar, the studio that set a new standard for family entertainment with the spectacular and successful Toy Story franchise and A Bug's Life, have another #1 hit: Monsters, Inc. Monsters got a huge marketing push, guaranteeing it would open impressively. But is this Pixar product good enough maintain the studio's impeccable reputation?

Monsters tells the story of two beasties in Monstropolis, Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman). Sulley is the city's top "Scarer," meaning he steps through portal doors and into childrens' bedrooms to scare the living daylights out of them at night. Mike stands guard, collects each child's screams in a vial, and adds them to Monstropolis's power supply. You see, the city is fueled by fear. But when a little toddler crosses over from our world into the monsters' fear factory, panic breaks out. Children, the monsters believe, are toxic. Sulley and Mike, fearing for their jobs, get busy trying to return the girl to her bedroom before they lose their jobs, and before a nasty, centipede-like monster named Randall kidnaps her for his own purposes. Things get complicated when the little gibberish-talking kid (they call her "Boo) gets to Sulley's heart, which is as big, soft, and fuzzy as he is. Sending Boo back might not be so easy after all.

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Steven Issac (Focus on the Family) promises, "The adorable Boo will win over every parents' heart the moment they meet her. And nowhere to be seen are the fiends of sexual content, profane language and substance abuse."

Others take the time to consider the quality of the craftsmanship and storytelling. Michael Elliott (Christian Critic) says the movie "is driven and driven well by its story and the characters which tell it."

Ted Baehr and ...