Friday, June 21, 2013

Monsters, Inc.

In Monstropolis, creatures of all shapes and sizes dwell in a city powered by screams and the top scream earner/mega-celebrity is James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) always accompanied by his faithful companion, the wisecracking Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal). While the screams fuel the city, its inhabitants are deathly afraid of human contact, and when a rambunctious little girl enters their realm, it places Sully and Mike in jeopardy, causing a chain reaction that uncovers a deep rooted conspiracy in the Monster City. Pixar's third feature outing is an amiable, imaginative film which doesn't play as well it's second time through (I'm finding that about a lot of the films I've revisited lately) and is more geared towards kids than adults. The voicework from Goodman and Crystal is excellent and while much of the foreground animation is creative, I noticed that the background elements appeared cheap and rough-hewn.

During its theatrical release, it was accompanied by the Oscar winning short For the Birds, posted below