Monsters Inc thoughts (possible spoilers)

[Calhoun07]

Who got to see this already? I went to it for it's first showing on it's first day of release (a rarity for me!). I was quite impressed. I think it was better than Bug's Life, but certainly not better than Toy Story 2. And the animation in this movie really shows the progress Pixar has made, where they animate things that would have been impossible to do in previous movies, such as all the animated hairs on John Goodman's character (sorry, I forgot the names of the characters for the moment) and a scene in a frozen wasteland with all kinds of snow.

The plot, for those not in the know, involves a factory in a world of monsters where the monsters are hired to go in to the kid world and collect screams. The screams of kids are what they use in this monster world for energy. Somehow, the screams of children are converted into energy and powers an entire city. But it's not easy getting those screams, because the children of today are harder to scare. Without giving away everything, I will just say that there is a little girl who is hard to scare that takes a fond liking to John Goodman's character, but in this monster world, everything from the kid world is seen as something about as bad as Anthrax, so this little girl must go, and monsters in contanimation suits swarm thru out the movie looking for this little girl. There is also an evil chameleon which plots to help eradicate this little girl too. Along the way, we get a satire of business and the corporate world. All in all, it's a great movie and it goes to show that Pixar isn't losing steam in the slightest.

And this is also another one where you have to look for hidden things in each scene. EVERYBODY in the theater picks up on a cameo from Jesse from Toy Story 2 in this one, but there are others worth looking for. I swear I even saw the WB logo on a record in the record collection in the apartment owned by John Goodman and Billy Crystal.

And just to comment, John and Billy do the best voices I've heard in a Pixar film, perhaps in any animated film. They are awesome together.

[Maxie Zeus]

It is very good, and worth more than one look. I liked it a lot more than "Shrek" (but then I really disliked that one). I would rank it about where calhoun did: Between the "Toy Story" films and "A Bug's Life." There are plot holes and some really predictable plot twists. But the dialogue, the performances, and the really cheeful designs are what you really want to pay attention to anyway.

A small complaint: Why does Randy Newman keep writing the same damn song over and over again?

Oh, and the trailers: Well, you'll have to suffer thru a Disney "Return to Neverland" trailer that is mercifully short. And the "Clones" trailer doesn't show anything that I found interesting or shocking. Mostly a lot of quick, offhand shots--no dialogue at all--that were totally devoid of context.

[Trent Lane]

Monsters Inc. was pretty good. The animation, as always, was awesome, and the voice acting was most likely the best in a long time for an animated film. Overall, a great movie and a really nice story too...

[Clayface]

I just got back from seeing this. My reaction? Eh.

Its not a bad movie, but not great either, IMO. Definitely not up there with Toy Story 1 or 2. As was mentioned, the plot is rather predictable. I could have lived with that if there was enough other aspects of the movie to keep me entertained along the way, but I found myself getting bored at points. The first hour of the movie is nothing more than "Three Men and a Baby" only with monsters - could have been shortened up a bit, or made more entertaining, IMO. But, the final half hour or so (once the action and such got going) was excellent an very entertaining. I'd certainly recommend this one to anyone interested in seeing it, but I'm not planning on picking it up when it comes out on DVD.

The biggest highlight for me? The Episode 2 trailer! Man, I wasn't that excited about that movie yet, but after seeing the trailer, I'm dying for it now! It look much darker than Episode 1, and with a lot more action. I can't wait!

[Nightflower]

Why didn't you like Shrek, Maxie?

[Clayface]

I have to say: I also didn't care for Shrek.

[TuffyCatt]

I thought Shrek was okay, very funny, but not as good as any of the Pixar movies. It seems to work too hard on being funny and gross and doesn't have that much heart. I'm a sappy person, so I like movies with heart.

I just got back from Monsters Inc. and loved it. Like everyone else has said, it was between Bug's Life and the Toy Story movies. The animation was amazing and I thought the story was really creative and entertaining. The voice acting was very good, gave the characters a lot of character.

The trailers were good too! (Expcept the Peter Pan one, I found myself cringing through that one) The Star Wars trailer got me really hyped, and there was also a very nice new Harry Potter trailer, which I'm really looking forward to. Anyways, I reccommend Monsters Inc. to anyone who has liked any of the other Pixar movies, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Calhoun07]

I think Shrek was a very well done movie. I'd put it near the top...but not quite up there with...Toy Story 2.

What did you all think of the trailer for Ice Age? Has potential, but the trailer didn't really sell me on it.

[Clayface]

Originally posted by calhoun07
What did you all think of the trailer for Ice Age? Has potential, but the trailer didn't really sell me on it.

I was more interested in Ice Age before i saw this trailer. This trailer really turned me off to it.

[Samhaine]

Originally posted by Clayface


I was more interested in Ice Age before i saw this trailer. This trailer really turned me off to it.

I'm in agreement with Clayface. I didn't know that [B]Ice Age[\B] was a CGI flick. However, I'm still gonna see it.

Wasn't it also originally supposed to be a serious film, not a comedy?

[The Mad Hatter]

Well, Ice Age was going to be a movie with a lot more subversive adult humor in it, but Fox made them "kiddify" it. Hope the success of Shrek makes them revert it a bit, if it's not too late.

Me, I really liked Monsters, Inc. As far as quality goes, I think it's just a small notch removed from the original Toy Story. I could forgive the light plot, since is great at creating gems out of throwaway sight gags. I was particularly charmed by the human child, even though I generally don't fall for cuteness. In fact, the very last scene brought a tear to my eye.

I liked Shrek myself... I thought it was on par, story wise, with A Bug's Life. But I'll give Pixar the edge overall, since I really didn't like their "realistic" style.

[Maxie Zeus]

I get really turned off by motivational lectures disguised as screenplays. As soon as Shrek started talking to the donkey I knew that (a) his basic problem is that he doesn't like himself; (b) he will hook up with the princess, who (c) will have her own self-image issues. The whole thing was just an exercise in psychotherapy, and it didn't help that all they did was jabber about it. During the last half of the story, during the journey back to the castle, I kept wanting to interrupt those endless speeches by yelling "I get it! I get it! Now get on with it!"

I also hate musical montages. It's the writer or director admitting "I can't write a scene that will connect things, so I'm just going to throw some gags out there to disguise my failure of imagination."

In fact, "Monsters Inc." (and even the "Toy Story" films) had its share of these things, but it didn't hit us over the head with them.