Monsters Inc. is a fairly old childrens film and my favourite for about three reasons. Firstly, it was the first ever film I ever saw at the cinema which is a big thing. The film came out in October 2001 which was when I was 5 years old.
Secondly, I know the film word for word. If you ever watch this film with me, you will see me mimic pretty much every word that comes out of every characters mouth. Lastly, it is an amazing film with amazing animation skills. An example of this is the blizzard scene, where it is snowing heavily in the Himalayas. Sulley and Mike have been thrown out of the city and into the Himalayas for keeping Boo in the city. Mike and Sulley get into a huge argument and the wind is blowing Sulley's fur. The strands are so fine and you can see every single one blowing in the breeze.
The plot of this story is very clever. A city of monsters with no humans called Monstropolis, centers around Monsters Inc., the city's power company. In the world behind our closet doors, monsters like Mike Wazowski and James P.Sullivan (Sulley) work hard for their income. The lovable, tough, large, furry blue behemoth-like giant monster named Sulley and his Cyclops wisecracking best friend who is also a short, green monster with one large eye, Mike discover what happens when the real world interacts with theirs in the form of a three-year-old baby girl dubbed "Boo", who accidentally sneaks into the monster world with Sulley late one night. Despite Sulley's efforts, Boo follows Sulley out of the scare floor and makes her way into the changing rooms. Sulley finds her and puts her in a sports bag. At the time it is Celia's(Mike's girlfriend) birthday and they are in a sushi bar celebrating. Sulley joins them and this is where Boo is made public when she escapes the bag. This part of the film is a further use of personifying the monsters by giving them human qualities such as owning cars, telephone and going to restaurants to celebrate occasions. After Boo is made public a vital part of the plot is discovered when Mike and Sulley find out that children's laughter is more powerful than screams.
It is now up to Sulley and Mike to send Boo back in her door before anybody finds out that she is still with them, especially Sulley's main rival and villain of the film ,chameleon-like Randall, (voiced by Steve Buscemi) who Boo is very afraid of because he possesses the ability to change the color of his skin, or Mike and Sulley's boss Mr. Waternoose the chairman and CEO of Monsters, Inc. There are so many good ideas within this film which are clever and inventive, such as how Sulley and Mike disguise Boo, when she has to be taken back to Monsters Inc. to get her back through her door. Sully and Mike disguise Boo in a monster costume and sneak her into work. There are also parts of the film when children can learn about the world like when Randall chases Mike and Sulley through the company's roller-coaster-like door-moving system which is the part of the film where the amazing animation skills are used incredibly again. When the energy in Boo's laughter activates the doors in storage, the chase passes in and out of the human world, going to different continents. This gives young children the opportunity to ask parents (etc.) where famous landmarks in the film are, such as the Eiffel Tower and Mount Fuji. Finally, Sully and Boo defeat Randall by throwing him through the door of a trailer-park trailer, where a woman beats Randall with a shovel which is certainly comical to children. Mike then destroys the door to make sure Randall never comes back and this makes you feel happy and relieved to know he's gone for good.
Just as Sully and Mike attempt to return Boo to her home, Waternoose and the CDA (Child Detection Agency) call her door to the scare floor, ready to arrest them which creates suspense as you think they are in trouble. But, it is averted when Mike leads the agents away by fleeing with Boo's monster costume and Sulley escapes with Boo and the door. When Waternoose follows Sully and Boo, Sulley attempts to set up and activate the door. However Waternoose follows them through the door and says something that turns the tables around. Little does he know that he is caught on tape as Sulley lead them to actually wind up in the adjacent Monsters, Inc. training room, which is equipped with a video monitoring system. Waternoose is arrested and Sulley then become CEO of Monster's Inc. with a big idea which was formed earlier on in the film. This idea teaches children not to judge people on there first appearances because although they may seem scary, not everything is what it seems and they may make you laugh. Meanwhile, Mike collects and reassembles the pieces of Boo's shredded door. When Sully puts his memento piece in its place, the door is activated again, and when he peeks into Boo's room, she greets him with the simple nickname of "Kitty" which is what she calls him when they first meet. This make you feel happy and full of joy as the duo are reunited again.
The idea of ordinary Joes punching in at a terror factory is a clever one, and it's deftly developed to incorporate petty rivalries, corporate corruption, and romance between co-workers. But it's the monsters themselves that really astound: a gruesome gallery of slimy, tentacled, bulbous beasts who manage to be completely grotesque yet instantly likable (apart from Randall that is). My favourite character in the whole film is Mike, mostly because of his jokes, singing, and facial expressions to things that Sulley says to him about Boo. This film is full of effects such as Focus, Angles, Lighting and Mise-En-Scene which is recongnised throughout. For example, Mise-En-Scene is in the children's bedrooms as a typical children's room, e.g. toys, colorful walls and the painted flowers on Boo's door. This is so the audience can relate. There is also an aspect of humour as the monster trips over the toys on the floor, making the film entertaining for children and the scene less scary and more comical. Diagetic and non-Diagetic sound are both used, for example when the scene tenses up, creepy music is faded into the scene to make the audience aware that the monsters are going to attempt to scare. Close-ups and long-shots are both used throughout too. This film is good because it is an inventive idea for a film and makes the audience experience many emotions throughout such as sadness, joy and sympathy. The only negative thing about Monsters Inc.is the small amount of negative press it received in the form of two lawsuits against the filmmakers, filed by Lori Madrid and Stanley Mouse respectively, that were ultimately dismissed. The film proved to be a major box office success from its release, generating over $525,366,597 worldwide.
If you haven't seen this film before, I'd highly recommend you watch it, because I and the rest of my friends and family think highly of it. You won't be disappointed.
