MONSTERS, INC.

Who knew? A whole world exists beyond our ken, a place called Monstropolis populated by all manner of fanciful creatures. Some are furry, some are slimy, some have one eye, some have five. Most of ’em are pretty nice guys. Monsters, Inc. is in the business of collecting children’s screams, the energy from which powers the city. These people don’t scare the kids to be mean, they do it because it’s gotta be done. Moreover, they’re as scared of the kids as the kids are of them. So when a baby girl finds her way into their world, chaos and hilarity ensue.

Like A Bug’s Life and the Toy Storys, Peter Docter’s film hits just the right notes. John Goodman and Billy Crystal are custom-made for the characters they voice: Sulley, a genial blue-furred galoot, and Mike Wazowski, his manic monocular sidekick. And though in reality she’s only so many ones and zeroes, the giggly gibberish-speaking toddler is too cute to be believed. At this point, it doesn’t even need to be said that Pixar’s animation is stunning. Fantastic characters and whimsical interiors are rendered with precision, imagination, and beauty. Every piece of fur on Sulley’s body sways gently with the slightest breeze. A harum-scarum caper through the cavernous factory provides the sensation of riding a roller-coaster. Monstropolis is a heck of a place; any kid should be glad to slip into its world.

— Mike Miliard