Pixar takes a funny look at fear in “Monsters, Inc.”

Janelle Silverman - Entertainment Beat

The makers of the popular animated films “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life” have succeeded again in creating a great children’s movie, “Monsters, Inc.” The new film was released to theaters Nov. 2.

Directed by Peter Docter and David Silverman, the film features animated characters voiced by Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Jennifer Tilly. John Lasseter is the executive producer of the film, also having produced “Toy Story” in 1995.

The G-rated film made $63.5 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada in the first three days of opening, according to Excite Reuters online. According to Excite, this is a company record for Disney.

The film does not only attract children, but the adult community as well. The movie takes the childhood tales of monsters under the bed to a higher level. It gives children viewers a different perspective about the dangerous monsters that seem to creep in their rooms when the sun has gone down and their parents have turned off the lights. The movie is sure to change a child’s mind about how scary imaginary monsters really are.

The story is set in the city of Monstropolis, which is present behind the doors of children’s closets, where only monsters live and work. Power is generated throughout the city by the sound of children’s screams, which must be collected by the monsters that work all day, bursting out of children’s closets while they are asleep and catching their screams.

Children are toxic to the monsters; therefore, no children are allowed to come beyond the closet doors of their bedrooms. The movie comically portrays the monsters’ fear of children and sends the audience into periods of laughter and tears.

The movie takes the audience through all the human emotions in only 92 minutes. The film begins humorous, taking the audience through the life of the monsters in Monstropolis. As the movie continues, the audience is taken through tragedy, action, surprise and sadness.

There is the typical good guy and bad guy situation, and a hero, who, in the end, will save the day. However, the plot is not easily predictable, and the story keeps the audience on their toes the entire time with many surprises.

The voices of the characters are what make the movie so well appreciated by the audience. The booming voice of John Goodman adds to the effect of how scary monsters can be. Billy Crystal adds a comedic twist, his more sarcastic tone making his character loveable and hard to part with.

“It’s a very good time, if not quite a classic,” said MSNBC online.
The animation is like that of “Toy Story,” with the same artistic characteristics and odd-looking characters. Imagination is taken to its peak as the artists have formulated what the world of under-the-bed monsters must really look like.

The film begins with a Pixar short cartoon, just like “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” did. The short cartoon, which has nothing to do with the movie, gets the audience laughing and in the mood to see what Pixar has in store for them next.

It is a must see movie for all children or any adult who has ever had a fear of monsters in the dark.