If you’ve got kids who believe there are creatures lurking in their wardrobes, this could be the best (or worst?) movie to show them. For Monsters, Inc, the terrific computer-animated adventure from Pixar now re-released in 3D, proves that monsters really do come into children’s rooms through their closets to scare them (oh dear), but also shows they’re actually nice cuddly creatures (hurrah!) when they’re not ‘working’.
It’s the tale of big blue beast-like monster Sulley (Goodman), who is the best at scaring children (in the monster world, you see, they get their energy from human children’s screams), and his planet-shaped sidekick Mike (Crystal). One night, Sulley accidentally allows a cute kid to follow him back home through her wardrobe door to Monstropolis, causing chaos (monsters are afraid of human children, you see).
Packed with laughs (Crystal, especially, is a hoot), well-known voices to amuse adults (James Coburn, Steve Buscemi) and stunning animation – Sulley’s fur looks as if you could reach out and ruffle it, perhaps because it features over two million computer-drawn hairs – it’s a real treat for grown-ups and kids. And if your little one grows attached to the cute monsters, make sure she watches till the end of the credits, where it helpfully assures us that no monsters were harmed in the making of the film.
Is Monsters Inc suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
Little ones may be scared by slithery Randall.
The scene in which Sulley accidentally roars at Boo may scare the under-6s.
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