This film is full of all manner of good stuff. Intrigue, good guys, bad guys, cuteness, love, and of course, humor.  And it executes them all quite well.  This is not just an experiment in computer animation.  It's a well-done heartfelt plot populated with wonderful new creatures and plenty of human emotion.  And it works.  Billy Crystal and John Goodman are successful as the two main voices.  There are jokes on kid-level and jokes slightly above. Everything is beautiful.  The friendships are real and the characters' problems seem important.  What more could you ask for?

      Well, if you figure it out, send a letter, because it's hard to tell.  But there is something that keeps Monsters, Inc. from being completely satisfying.  It's impressive in so many ways and quite enjoyable.  But it seems as if just one more notch could have been ticked.  Films are taking a risk when they raise themselves to include real emotions -- it's a lot to live up to, especially for animated characters.  Perhaps, in the five years that Pixar worked on this film, it overworked the product a bit.  The green Mike's famous line from the commercials -- "Blame it on the little guy, with the one eye!" -- doesn't appear in the film's final version.  Perhaps there was too much cutting.  Perhaps for good reason.  Perhaps not.  See it anyway, you'll like it.  And your kids will cheer.

     -- Liz ( 3 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

      Pappy ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      I’m not a big fan of either John Goodman or Billy Crystal.  The animation in Monsters, Inc. is not groundbreaking.  The story is almost non-existent.  Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the film.  Maybe I was just in a good mood, but I found the film to be a pleasant and amusing escape.  Yes, seeing the bio-hazard suits so prominent in the film brought me back now and then to the real life terror of poisonous mail, but I was able to quickly fall back under the spell of the interesting creatures in Monstropolis.  Fun for all ages.

      Patsy ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      Yeah!  Finally, a movie focused towards children that is actually for children and is good, clean, fun.  This is a movie you can take your kids to and not worry about gross jokes and sexual innuendo-- unlike the recent sludge-fest film, "Shrek".  Anyway, the story was pretty good, there were plenty of laughs but it wasn't all that magical.  My favorite part was actually the short film that played before the movie even started-- that was totally funny and that alone was worth the price of admission!

      Matt ( 2 out of 4 pops )

      If your kids are begging you to take them to see this movie, then...well...it won't be a drag.  It could be a lot worse.  But I was pretty disappointed.  I enjoyed Pixar's earlier efforts (i.e.:  "Toy Story" and the sequel), but I just couldn't get into this often lame, kid-oriented comedy that's a waste of a noble premise (the title of the city alone, Monstropolis, was very innovative).  I admit, my main motivations for seeing this were Billy Crystal (who does the main voice) and John Goodman (a very underrated talent, in my mind), but even their one-liners were pretty lame.  The kids will probably scream over "Monsters," while the adults might snore a bit.  

      Billy Ray ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      I don't think Pixar has the ability to make a bad movie.  "Toy Story" was excellent, "Toy Story 2" was better, "Bug's Life" was good, and "Monsters, Inc." is their best show yet.  Billy Crystal and John Goodman have the perfect sarcastic monster voices and the animation is extraordinary, though not quite as impressive as "Shrek".  Anyway, the plot is well developed, the humor is also at an adult level, and I can't wait for the next Pixar flick.  I can't believe I waited so long to see this one.