Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Genre: Animated Comedy
Format Viewed: DVD
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
In honor of our weekend trip to Walt Disney World to preview the latest attraction at the Magic Kingdom, the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor, it seemed only fitting that beforehand we do a little research to refamiliarize ourselves with the movie itself.
Unfortunately, I somehow managed to fall asleep less than five minutes into the movie and remained out like a light even through the scariest of scary parts, but the show must go on and frankly, I think I’ve seen this one enough times to talk about it this week despite having slept through the actual viewing!
That’s right – I’m that good.
Anyways, those chronologically inclined may recall that Monsters, Inc. was Pixar’s fourth joint venture with Disney, packed between Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo, and at the time this particular flick was regarded as featuring some of the most detailed CGI of all time. Of course, Pixar later trumped itself with the human graphics in The Incredibles, but it’s still quite the challenge to hold a candle to some of the imagery that came out of this movie – case in point being Sulley’s fur. The impeccable detail in each and every fiber of hair is just, well, incredible, and it truly speaks volumes about the value of quality that Pixar has and continues to put into each and every one of its films. You don’t see this kind of detail in Shrek, that’s for sure…
Nonetheless, despite some of the best graphics of its time, what really sells this movie, and frankly all of Pixar’s movies, is just how well the story and the characters mesh together to grab the audience and pull us into their world. And really, this is the same area where Disney’s own animated segment (before they bought Pixar and merged the two) has fallen short over the past five or six years – their flicks either had an intriguing story, but insufficient characters (Atlantis, Treasure Planet), or they boasted rich characters, but nothing for them to do for 90 minutes (The Emperor’s New Groove, Lilo & Stitch). Monsters, Inc. was successful because it created some rich and yet completely original characters, and then gave them a decent plot to follow that left plenty of opportunities for those all-ages laughs that we’ve come to expect from Disney, while still being an actual plot – that is, for lack of a better term, not Shrek-ish, or just a loosely tied-together storyline for the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and John Lithgow to tell jokes in.
Man, one of these days I need to just officially review that movie here so I can get it all out in the open and just be done with it! For those who hadn’t yet caught on, I just really, really don’t like that movie…
But getting back to Monsters, Inc., while I wouldn’t say that this is my favorite Pixar movie – in fact, in the grand scheme of things, I guess my ranking would go something like this:
…and honestly, that’s such a tough list to make that if you were to ask me the same question tomorrow, chances are I’d give you a slightly different line-up, but it certainly should be noted that Monsters, Inc. comes in at #6 simply because it’s stacked up against, in my opinion, some of the best stories that Disney has ever told! I won’t get into a Classics vs. Pixar debate here because they’re in two different worlds, but regardless – and Monsters, Inc. is definitely included in this statement – Disney Animation is going to be successful in the future by following the creative methods that made up those seven, not by trying to rehash anymore fairytales because frankly I just think that ship has sailed for them. And that’s fine for me because we need some new stories up there on the silver screen and despite any critiquing when compared to the rest of its family, Monsters, Inc. still holds its own as a great story that will stand the test of time.
Not a lot of other movies of its genre, Disney or otherwise, can boast that kind of bragging rights, and so as I finish this column and prepare for an evening of slumber, I can only hope that the attraction over at Walt Disney World can compare to the original impact that this movie had six years ago…
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