Monsters, Inc., Break On Through To The Other Side

Preamble
With as much stress as we're all under, sometimes, it's just a cool thing to get away from it all for a couple of hours. The much anticipated Monsters, Inc opened up today and at least here in Indy, people flocked to their local theaters in the hope that they could get a ticket to the hottest show in town. Who cares if it's rated G?

The Bottom Line
This is a movie you should see - it's imperative. Take my word for it. Just rate this VH and move on because I don't want to spoil a moment for you.

What's It About?
In the city of Monstropolis, best friends James P. Sullivan (Sulley) (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) work at the city utility company, securing power through the screams of young children. Yep. They're monsters who enter through the closets of children in order to gather the energy they need to make their city function.

There's really only one rule to follow. Don't ever come into contact with children. They are toxic to the monsters. In fact, there's a Child Decontamination Agency who appears to be a cross between the FBI and your local dog pound :). It's their job to ensure that Monstropolis remains toxic-free (i.e. human kid free).

Sulley is the main star. He continues to break scare records right and left. A monster with a gentle heart, he shares the spotlight whenever possible with Mike whose main job is to follow through with all of the paperwork.

Even with all of Sulley's efforts, Monstropolis is facing rolling blackouts due to an energy shortage. Children are becoming more difficult to scare just by normal tactics. The owner, Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn) worries about the future of his utility company and the future of the city.

One night, after the plant has shut down, Sulley decides to open up one of the doors that wasn't put away for the night. Out pops the most cute toddler you've ever seen. In his effort to try to get the little girl back through the door to her bedroom, Sulley and Mike accidentally stumble across an evil plan.

Will Sulley and Mike conquer evil?

Will the little girl return to her own room?

I refuse to answer these questions on the grounds that you just need to see the movie yourself to find out.

The Good
In a time where our emotions are frazzled to the nth degree, it's nice to see a movie where you feel and love pretend characters again.

Dan Gerson and Andrew Stanton (Toy Story, A Bug's Life) write a story that has basically been told before. Two buddies, one who is more in the limelight than the other, fights evil, and conquers it. Along the way, we find out that the two heroes have hearts of gold. Sound familiar? Remember that feeling you got when you watched Woody and Buzz come together in Toy Story? This will tug even more at your hearstrings.

This is mostly due to the adorable toddler (refered to as Boo), voiced by newcomer Mary Gibbs. The way she is animated, along with her facial expressions, and her lack of dialog, she steals the show from the two main monsters, Sulley and Mike.

But don't get me wrong. My love for Boo was only slightly bigger than the love I had for the team of Sulley and Mike.

I really like Billy Crystal and John Goodman. I was a faithful Soap watcher and I still enjoy Roseanne in reruns. Together, these two rank up there with the greatest buddy combinations around. My short list would be Tim Allen and Tom Hanks, Danny Glover and Mel Gibson and of course, JC and Justin. Really, did you think I could write a review without mentioning them somewhere???

Parents, you may be concerned about the subject matter with those who are under 6. We all know how the little ones use that excuse of "monsters under their bed or in their closet" to get out of sleeping in their room. One of the best things about this movie is the message that it delivers about fear. I won't spoil it for you but let me tell you that as a grown adult, it hit home with me.

And can we end this with an ode to Pixar? In a time where Disney seems to struggle with what the American audience craves, Pixar continues to deliver something that creatively and emotionally, satisfies our needs. So much so that I don't know of any new Disney release that will be able to top this one.

The Bad
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The End
If you're not doing anything exciting this weekend, I highly suggest that you grab your children - young and old - and catch this flik.