Monsters Incorporated is a vital company in a world of strange and diverse monsters that provides energy for their society via the scaring of children in the human world. However it’s widely believed that children themselves are toxic and thus the monsters who scare are all the more frightened of the kids they depend upon. The plot follows a pair of employees, Sully and Mike who become burdened with a child who’s escaped into their world. But as Sully learns the truth about children and bonds with the girl he names Boo, they uncover a larger conspiracy within the company.
The first twenty minutes or so of this movie is more or less dedicated to setting up the rules of this world, and while it initially gets off to a rough start with Waternoose’s exposition about the importance of screams as power to a new recruit who should know all this, it’s actually done in a largely fluent and entertaining way that also introduces the characters and their personalities. And this is a very interesting world, despite in a number of places merely looking like a parallel to our own. The attitude towards and fear of human children is set up through the Child Detection Agency (in a really funny sequence where they exterminate a sock), and the nature of the monsters’ job is portrayed with a lot of character. It’s not long after this set-up that the story kicks in. Overall the plot is good, if a little clichéd. There are moments when the situation is taken seriously, but also moments where it goes the sitcom route in terms of the characters’ overcompensating behaviour -most notably Sully and Mike’s comically large stroll along the scare floor after stressing the need to act normal. The plot point about Sully being suspicious of Randall and therefore concerned for Boo’s safety doesn’t entirely make sense, as he has no prior indication Randall was doing anything other than just collecting extra screams after hours. Also surely Boo’s not special to his evil plan, any other child would suffice. And why Randall’s really into this plan when it’s surely a threat to his job security is anyone’s guess. But Sully’s gradual bonding with Boo does work given the time he has to spend with her after he’s exhausted his fear and concluded children really aren’t toxic.
John Goodman is very believable at this, and though Monsters Inc. is kind of a buddy-movie, Sully’s more in focus, and it’s nice to have a movie led by John Goodman that’s actually good. His comedic skillset comes in handy here, but the heart of the character is still intact. This is a guy who’s job requires him to be tough and intimidating, but is really charming and good-natured. His chemistry with Billy Crystal is great too, and these are a pair who can almost rival Woody and Buzz. Obviously with Crystal voicing Mike, he gets a series of sharp deliveries and is generally the funniest character (Crystal really wanted to make up for turning down the role of Buzz in Toy Story). Sure, some of Mike’s wisecracking and his obsession with the scare record can get pedantic, but his confidence and neuroses lead to a lot of great comedy. Sully and Mike make for a good team and good foils, even if their brief relationship breakdown isn’t handled very well (Mike abandons him in the Himalayas then somehow shows up minutes later at Monsters Inc. anyway). Their nemesis Randall is voiced by Goodman’s fellow Coen Brothers alumni Steve Buscemi, and he’s a treat as always playing the sliminess of this camouflaging purple reptile with terrific vigour. As for Boo, she’s an okay enough portrayal of a little girl her age, and animated well, though her voice can sometimes be a little too grating. However a few of her line deliveries are pretty spot on. Jennifer Tilly is perfectly fine as Celia. Bob Peterson is a complete scene-stealer as floor administrator Roz, with a raspy voice and hardened attitude, proving that despite being an animator he could have a career as a voice actor easily. Frank Oz voices Randall’s henchman Fungus, and John Ratzenberger of course gets some good laughs for his minimal screen-time as the Abominable Snowman. I also like the voices of those two post-pubescent janitors, and George and Charlie’s unfortunate relationship is pretty great. But most of them are exceeded by an awesome James Coburn as CEO Waternoose. Waternoose is certainly interesting as far as Pixar villains go, for being a corporate figure determined to stay in business even if it means taking inhumane actions going forward. So like a number of real-life magnates. His motives are even further augmented by the fact there’s an energy crisis and the foreshadowing in his talk about how children don’t scare easily anymore (a true statement perhaps). But he’s also likeable in the first half, a testament to Coburn’s strength of performance. His defeat is handled well too, being tricked into incriminating himself, rather than being killed or just temporarily dealt with like Randall (he may be in a trailer for now but all Randall has to do is find another door to get back, which eventually he will). Waternoose’s defeat is also unique in that is has a negative impact on the heroes. As Mike concedes, they saved Boo, but also likely put hundreds of monsters out of work, at least for a time. Because of all this, Waternoose might be my favourite Pixar villain so far.
Monsters Inc. is also worth talking about in its animation, easily being the most colourful Pixar movie when it was released despite centring on scary monsters. For that, the movie’s not actually that scary which may be a bit of a weakness. If your movie deals with monsters in the closet why not try and capture some horror. Toy Story is the more frightening film. But what it lacks in scares it makes up for in creativity. Yeah, some of the monsters are just akin to animals, Sully’s just an oddly coloured feline with fur and Randall’s an amalgam of a bunch of different lizards. But Mike and Celia have very interesting designs, Celia being largely based on Medusa, and Waternoose, who’s some kind of crab-spider hybrid, is cool. Roz has perhaps the funniest look, being some kind of mushed banana slug, a perfect compliment to her voice and personality. The animators must have had a lot of fun designing these creatures, and of course it provided plenty of marketing potential. The animation services the climax which is especially energetic and a lot of fun as Sully, Mike, and Boo evade Randall by going door jumping and travelling the world, which is really inventive and leads to a number of good jokes.
I’ve mentioned the hilarity of Roz, but various other comedic reactions are gold from both Mike and Sully. The running jokes with George, Mike’s obscured face, and Roz in the bloopers are great (thankfully this was the last Pixar movie to incorporate bloopers over the end credits). I love little nuggets like the hillbilly giving testimony on the news, or Celia’s snakes having individual neck braces, or the CDA operatives all being in bathroom stalls for no reason (and how useful are those bathrooms if clearly not every monster has compatible digestion?). That being said, some bits don’t work as well as I remember, like Mike’s impromptu musical number and a few pretty lame one-liners. Comedy plays a big part by the end of the movie with the shift from scream power to laugh power, and while it’s more than a little bit of a corny resolution, it is funny seeing Mike attempt stand-up in a kids’ bedroom. There are also jokes that aren’t meant to be much, but highly amuse me, such as the restaurant named Harryhausen’s and Randall threatening to put Fungus through a shredder possibly being a cheeky reference to Fargo. Also, every time Randall gets the upper hand over Sully it feels like as Donnie getting revenge for all the times Walter told him to “shut the fuck up.”
Monsters Inc. isn’t quite as good as I remember, but it’s still very enjoyable. With its likeable world, funny characters, and just the right amount of an adult edge, it works. It makes some very interesting decisions, and there’s a certain boldness I think in how it presents the audience with a semi-ambiguous ending (there’s also a distinct possibility based on an easter egg that Boo is really Emily from Toy Story 2). There are a few definitely noticeable plot holes, but it’s got a good heart and plenty of creativity. It was followed up with a fairly unnecessary prequel twelve years later detailing Mike and Sully’s meeting in college (though here Mike claims to have known Sully since the fourth grade). But we’ll get to that one later, because for now I want to enjoy these characters and this film.
For the Birds was one of my favourite Pixar shorts when I was younger. A bunch of bluebirds are hanging out on a telephone wire when a much taller heron-like thing which looks like the Aracuan bird from The Three Caballeros joins them to their annoyance. Prodding it off, the little birds peck at its toes so it falls off the wire, but because of its weight, the moment it does, they all go flying up into the air and lose their feathers. This is a very old cartoon slapstick kind of short which is probably why I preferred it as a kid. There’s a definite Tom and Jerry influence to it only with the roles reversed, and I like that. The visuals are funny, the expressions on the birds really good, and the sound effects are great. It’s not quite as good as Geri’s Game, but is certainly cute and entertaining. For the Birds again won the Oscar for Best Animated Short, which though I haven’t seen any of its competitors, I have to imagine at least one was more provocative or interesting. This one’s mostly simple, but in a good way. A classically inspired piece of comedy animation that’s a fitting contrast for the film that follows it.
Next Week: Finding Nemo (2003)
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