Monsters, Inc. (2001)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Pete Docter
David Silverman (co-director)

Writers:

Pete Docter (story) &
Jill Culton (story) ...

Release Date:

2 November 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Monsters, Inc. : We Scare Because We Care

Plot:

Monsters generate their city's power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley finds his world disrupted.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Scream | Friend | Door | Best Friend

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 31 nominations

Cast

John Goodman	...	James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (voice)
Billy Crystal	...	Mike Wazowski (voice)
Mary Gibbs	...	Boo / Mary (voice)
Steve Buscemi	...	Randall Boggs (voice)
James Coburn	...	Henry J. Waternoose (voice)
Jennifer Tilly	...	Celia (voice)
Bob Peterson	...	Roz (voice)
John Ratzenberger	...	The Abominable Snowman (voice)
Frank Oz	...	Fungus (voice)
Daniel Gerson	...	Needleman / Smitty (voice)
Steve Susskind	...	Floor Manager (voice)
Bonnie Hunt	...	Flint (voice)
Jeff Pidgeon	...	Bile (voice)
Samuel Lord Black	...	George Sanderson (voice) (as Sam Black)
Jack Angel	...	Additional Voice (voice)

Also Known As:

Hidden City (USA) (working title)
Monsters, Incorporated (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:TV-G (Disney Channel) | USA:TV-PG (ABC) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:G | Japan:U | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:G | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:G | South Korea:All | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Taiwan:GP | UK:U | USA:G | Greece:K

Company:

Pixar Animation Studios

Trivia:

All of the digital displays in Monstropolis (Sulley's clock radio, scare station consoles, "Days Without An Accident" sign) are nixie tubes, a neon digital display technology from the 1960s.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the film, after Mike got his first customer, the one when he burped out the mic, Mr. Sullivan came to talk to Mike and the "Think Funny" banners were still there. But after Celia called Mike, the "Oh googly Bear" at the next shot, the banners were gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Flint: All right, Mr. Bile, is it?
Bile: Uh, my friends call me Phlem.
Flint: Uh-huh, Mr. Bile, can you tell me what you did wrong?
Bile: I fell down?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Vollidiot (2007)

Soundtrack:

If I Didn't Have You

`Monsters, Inc.' is the best animated feature this year and one of the greatest of all time.

You may admire the hair detail on Sully the Yeti's arm, but you will be amazed at the warmth of characterization in `Monsters, Inc.,' surpassing even the great `Shrek' earlier this year. Goodman and Crystal are a comedic team reminiscent of the zaniest Martin and Lewis days. Crystal's Borscht-belt routines brought smiles even to this jaded and admittedly tough-on-comedy critic. I thought Eddie Murphy's donkey in `Shrek' was smart and funny; Crystal's one-eyed monster is even better with its wry and annoying wit.

Cleaning the environment of child contamination is a hilarious conceit that turns around the usual fears children have of monsters in closets. It is also a chilling parallel to the challenge of removing anthrax from today's letters. Generally, the allegorical underpinnings of animation are natural for the medium, powerful like the images of the novel `Animal Farm' for political and sociological levels of meaning. For example, the endless-door motif in this film is an ingenious metaphor for the scary and glorious possibilities the present and future hold for kids.

Even before you see this feature, Pixar offers the short feature `For the Birds' -- a brilliant takeoff on Hitchcock's memorable film besides being a great commentary on diversity. The expressions around the animated eyes, as the little birds deal with the big bird interloper, are more expressive than those of most contemporary film actors, with the exception of Brando, Pacino, Depp, and Streep.

The short trailer for `Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones' may precede the showing as it did ours for an added delight.

`Monsters, Inc.' is the best animated feature this year and one of the greatest of all time.