They Scare Because They Care: Film #141 – Monsters, Inc. (2001)

For years, Monsters, Inc. vied with Toy Story 2 for the title of my favorite Pixar film. (Eventually both were surpassed by Cars.) Watching it again, I was instantly reminded why that was the case. An engaging, original story with great characters and performances, it has everything you could want from any film, not just one that is animated. No matter that most of the characters are monsters, they have real personality and the acting from the stellar cast (John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Tilly, James Coburn, etc.) makes them just as valid as live actors. Another great score (and song) by Randy Newman finally rewarded him with an Oscar after fifteen previous nominations. (”I don’t want your pity!” he joked when accepting the award.) Robbed of the “Best Animated Feature” Oscar by the flashier, lowbrow Shrek. A solid effort from Pixar at a time when they seemed like they could make them without any effort at all and still one that stands up to any output from any animation studio (including Pixar) today.

Original review

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