Animation wise, Pixar
was knocking out instant classic year after year in the early 2000s, and
“Monsters Inc.” stood tall among many gems. The fantastic story: All those shadowy
monsters we saw in our closets and under our beds as children are real, and
they live in monster city powered by the screams of bed-frightened youth. The
kicker: The monsters fear children. Kids are considered toxic, and woe the
hairy freak who gets a toddler’s sock stuck to his back.
The top “scarer” is James
“Sully” Sullivan, a massive blue-and-purple horned guy with the voice of John
Goodman and a sidekick/manager/BFF named Mike Wazowski that looks like a giant
eyeball with legs and arms, and the voice of Billy Crystal. (Just dig the
names: Right out of any Philly neighborhood from my childhood.) All is well for
these guys until Mike lets in a babbling toddler who mistakes our scary man for
a big kitty. Mayhem ensues, with smart genre spoofing and asides as Ray
Harryhausen’s name becomes that of the top spot to eat in town and medusa is, umm,
a hot lady at work. For Mike no less.
Every moment – especially John Ratzenburger
as an Abominable Snowman with self-esteem issues – is magic, and the film empowers
children to not cry but laugh at the
dark. How unfathomably cool is that? Besides “Incredibles,” Pixar has no better
action scene than a long fight between our heroes against a lizard-like color
shifter snidely voiced by Steve Buscemi among thousands of racing, shifting
closet doors, each leading to the “real” world.
“Inc.” pops and crackles
with glee, with Randy Newman’s jazz score tying the knot on the present. The
last scene kills.
The
sequel, “Monsters University,” is a prequel as we jump back in time to see
James and Mike meet during their freshman year of college. Are they pals? No.
Rivals. The gist of the story: Our heroes are at college to major in scaring
children to land jobs at the power company Monsters Inc. James is a natural,
coasting in on his family name, while Mike has mud in his eye, not the slightest
bit scary.
The duo find themselves on academic skids after destroying a prize
possession of the dean (Helen Mirren, turning on the intimidation to full blast
as a dragon-like scorpion). Along the way Mike and James join the Omega Kappa
(O.K.!) fraternity, a bottom drawer of geeks who live with one of their own
mothers. Will Mike and James and the team succeed against all odds? Yes! They
will. (Debate: Is cheating OK? Well…)
Pixar is coasting here, railing on
“Revenge of the Nerds” jokes and our own love for the first film. Oh, there are
laughs -- I dug the old lady librarian from Mordor – but the jazz pop of “Inc.”
is sophomoric.
Inc.: A University: B+
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