Review of “Monsters Inc.” (2001)

A gray office building with several windows and a blue sky in the background

The film begins with the sounds of a child and parents saying, “Good night” to each other – only for it to be a simulator. The monster performing the scare fails due to leaving the door open. Henry Waternoose, a high authority staff member, considers James Sullivan (or Sully) to find a solution for the issue.

The next scene cuts to where Sully is sleeping and Mike has him wake up. Then they walk to work, which is, of course, Monsters Incorporated. 

Mike greets his love interest, Celia, but Roz, a super-stern monster, states that Mike did not hand in his paperwork. The scarers perform their jobs through doors that lead to childrens’ bedrooms.

Not long after, Sully goes to pick up Mike’s paperwork… but sees a door. A little girl, presumably a toddler who can’t really talk, shows interest in Sully, who fears her.

While Mike is on a date with Celia for her birthday, Sully comes in and explains what he saw. When the small girl ends up in the restaurant, panic erupts. Mike and Sully escape with the child and hide her in their apartment, where she discovers some items that excite her.

From that point, Sully forms a bond with her (and chooses to call her Boo), takes her to work in a monster costume, and claims that she is his cousin’s sister’s daughter. Yet, he could’ve simply just said that she was his niece. But what matters more is that so much needs to be done to prevent the company from shutting down.

November 2021 was my first time watching “Monsters Inc.” after many years since I became tired of it. However, I picked up on new details and understood the story better.

Some of my favorite parts include when Mike yells, “Put that thing back where it came from, or so help me!”, but claims that he is “rehearsing for the company play” with that phrase he’d just said. There is actually a special feature where the musical with that sentence is performed.

Other moments I liked include the bond Sully and Boo share, the humor, and the plot twists, both happy and sad. I also found it humorous when Mike and Sully go through different doors and end up in a tropical beach, Japan, and France. 

Boo does develop some speech, and I also loved the scene where she ends up with little kid monsters, says that her name is Mike Wazowski, and all the other monster children said the same word numerous times.

I also felt sorry for the monster, George, who had a sock on his back, which was an emergency called, “2319.” I felt worse for him when he was shaved shortly after and had his stuff in his locker that Sully has attempted to flush down the toilet.

On the bright side, his fur has grown back in the special feature of the company musical.

One thing I found bizarre, though, is that monsters practice unsanitary habits, such as playing jump rope (or should I say, “tongue rope”) with someone’s long tongue, eating garbage, and using foul-smelling odorant. That was something that displeased me.

Overall, though, I enjoyed this film, just as much as I enjoyed, “Monsters’ University”. I rate “Monsters Inc.” 5 out of 5 stars.

Published by Sunayna Prasad

I enjoy writing stories, creating artwork, watching movies and TV shows, cooking, and traveling. These are the topics of my posts. I also publish books, where you can learn about them on my website, www.sunaynaprasadbooks.com. Be sure to copy and paste the link and subscribe to my newsletter on the email list button on the homepage.

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