Imagine a world where individuals are pressured to meet quotas in their factory jobs and contend with energy crises, and biological hazards prompt faceless government officials to drop suddenly from helicopters overhead to neutralize the threat. Perhaps not as fantastical as we might expect from a movie about monsters, but given the title, Monsters Inc., it’s not that surprising that the monster world isn’t too much of a departure from the human world. Instead of really inventing another world inhabited by monsters, Disney and Pixar mostly just re-use our world, with a few little twists, where even monsters are expected to work 9-5 and complete a little paperwork.
Monsters Inc. explains the monster-in-the-closet phenomenon to kids by telling them that monsters scare them “because it’s their job.” The scream processing plant in Monstropolis, Monsters Inc. produces energy by tapping the screams of human children, collected through closet door portals leading into the human world. Although it’s a creative way to play with and perhaps help alleviate one of children’s most common fears, the idea that even monsters are subject to the same necessities and pressures as humans is depressing, while giving audiences something to relate to.
Being a Disney film, the monsters are purposefully designed not to be scary. Our hero, and the perpetual employee of the month, is Sulley (John Goodman), who looks a lot like one of the larger Muppet monsters. His sidekick Wazowski (Billy Crystal) bears an unfortunate resemblance to a plain green M&M. When a stray human child is accidentally let into Monstropolis through the factory, Sulley predictably becomes the one to take care of her, protect her, and try to get her home unharmed. The relationship he develops with the little girl, Boo, is touching. In the end, Monsters Inc. delivers and will please all audiences. The characters and their world come to life with non-stop energy, action, and comedy. The animation is indisputably amazing. We’re even treated to something of a roller coaster ride that, frankly, made me want to cover my eyes. Monsters Inc. doesn’t break a lot of boundaries in terms of plot and characters. But it does display a wonderful sense of playfulness, fun, and imagination. For instance, we find out that monsters are actually afraid of kids because they think that touching them poses a threat of biological contamination. And a hilarious Monsters Inc. commercial spoof pokes some fun at company propaganda. Because it was made with multiple audiences in mind, Monsters Inc. is fairly sophisticated and is filled with crowd-pleasing action and clever jokes and twists. Monstropolis may be a semi-familiar world, but when it clashes with the human world, it certainly is a lot of fun.
