Monsters, Inc.

For some reason, I had never seen this Pixar movie when it came out.  The first time I watched it was a few years ago, when Jason and I first started dating.  Now I have to say that I think it is one of my favorite Pixar movies - and Pixar does some good stuff!  The only ones that might top it for me would probably be Toy Story and Finding Nemo.  Maybe Up.  Yeah, it's really hard to pick a best Pixar movie!

I love the unique concept behind this movie.  It's all about monsters just trying to make a living by scaring children.  Of course, most of these "monsters" turn out to be pretty nice guys, and we're rooting for them.  And it's hilarious.  I laughed so much at this movie.  Especially the part where someone walks in and asks what they're doing, and Mike makes up the excuse that they're rehearsing for a musical - and then at the end they actually show you the play performed!  Not only is it funny, there's lots of excitement and adventure.

The characters are great.  I love Mike Wazowski.  He's so funny, and there's just something so likable about him.  And how could you not love Sulley?  Though he's the "scariest" monster, he's clearly got a huge heart, as he basically adopts Boo and cares for her, even though she is a human child.  They are an awesome pair of characters.  I'm excited to hear that they are going to create a prequel called "Monsters University," which discusses how Mike and Sulley first met while at school, and initially didn't like each other.

I also really like the ending of this movie.  I won't spoil it if you haven't seen it, but I thought the discovery of how to fix the energy crisis was clever and original.

The Music
It wasn't all that memorable to me, but then again soundtracks usually are not.  On the other hand, I won't soon forget the "musical" played during the ending credits and performed by Mike!

The Villain
Randall is a jerk, but doesn't really come off as the most evil of villains.  A bad guy, definitely, but basically just a slime ball.  Though that machine that he builds seems pretty evil, especially when he's willing to use it on a little child.  I also don't like all the advantages he gets by being the type of monster that he is.  He can move around really easily since he can climb walls and stuff, but the worst part is that he can turn invisible.  It's hard to deal with a monster like that!

The WDW Connection
There is an attraction in the Magic Kingdom called the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, which is basically a comedy show that includes interaction with the audience.  The last time I was in Disney the show was in beta mode, and they were testing it out.  We got to go and watch it, and found it hilarious!  At that point in my life I had never even seen the movie, and I still loved it.  The person I was with filled me in on some of the background so I would understand the characters and all.

Becky's rating:  9.5 out of 10
Jason's rating:  9 out of 10