Prelude:
Imagination-the greatest gift to mankind.Taking us to the realm of eternity we otherwise cannot achieve;helping us escape the harsh realities of life into the serene bliss; imagination is what has brought us humans to this stage.
How affably Shakespeare has put the obvious about imagination into words in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''--
the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt:
he then goes on to pen--
The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And, as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
Take a Beethoven or a Helen Keller;A Stievie wonder or an Oprah Winfrey and our own J.K.Rowling.
Blessed are they!!
Sorry,I have intended to write a review on this movie ''Monster's inc.'' and am instead winding out an essay an imagination. That's what this movie did to me.
Actually I had decided to post reviews related only to books and life on mouthshut.com. ''Absolutely no fantasy!'' I had thought. But, this one of a kind movie has forced me out of this abstinence.
I am resorting to plagiarism to describe this master-piece. My vocabulary and imagination aren't enough!! After all, the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment and for a good purpose.And I am not even a writer.
The substance:
The focus of Monsters, Inc. is a made-up world of monsters, Monstropolis, which is powered by the screams of little children.
Every night, the monsters venture into our world (through magical closet doors) and collect screams, with a running competition as to who collects the most. The scream leader is Sully- an eight-foot-tall, 800- pound purple and blue monster(voiced by John Goodman), who's actually a good- hearted sort, and in second place, vying in a venal way for first, is Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), who's evil even by monster standards.Assisting Sullivan is the green spherical one eyed monster Googly bear Mike. He is Sully's scare coach and house mate.
Monsters of all shapes and sizes work on the Scare Floor, going through the closet doors of children all over the world and collecting their screams to
fuel the city, which is facing an energy crisis.
The only thing that monsters fear is physical contact with children, who are considered highly toxic and deadly.When Sully accidentally lets a little girl into his world, he must battle both his own fears and his Scare Floor nemesis Randall to get Boo (as Sully calls the child) back home.
It seems that Randall has a terrifying scheme to end the energy crisis, and Boo is central to the plan.
The art:
Pixar, the animation company that brought us 'Toy Story' and 'A Bug's Life', is determined to out-Shrek movie goers with its take on the world of scary creatures, Monsters, Inc.
Monsters, Inc. is easily the most enjoyable family movie. It will leave a smile lingering on your face and a good feeling in your heart long after you have left the theatre.
*The film contains some great animated sequences, including a chase scene involving thousands of doors. The gadgets and workings in the power factory are imaginative and inspiring.
It's novel story line combined with quality animation and voices make it a must-see on the big screen.
I had always wondered why Monster's Inc was awarded the Oscar above Shrek. Now that I have watched it, I know!
*Right from the get-go, Monsters, Inc. is a tremendous joyride. Visually it is much brighter and much more detailed than either Toy Story or Shrek, and the story has such universality, charm and humour that it's irresistible.
*The movie is also full of clever details,like the ''grossery'' selling ''spineapple'', the deodorant scents of ''low tide,'' wet dog'' or ''smelly garbage,'' and the traffic signals of ''stalk'' and ''don't stalk.''
*The characters are wonderfully imagined, from Mike's girlfriend Celia (voice of Jennifer Tilly) and her hair of snakes, to the crab-like CEO Henry Waternoose (voice of James Coburn).
There's also a hilarious ''cameo'' by the Abominable Snowman (voice of John Ratzenberger) that you won't soon forget.
*The monsters' fear of catching something from small children is only exceeded by the CDA (Child Detection Agency), a band of government commandos who work in environmental suits and seem eager to detain or purge anyone who has been ''contaminated''.This piece of creativity is even better!!
*The vocal casting of John Goodman and Billy Crystal are a perfect combination. The textures and detail in the sets are amazing. Even the monsters are huggable. The human character animation of the lovable Boo is astounding, miles beyond ''Toy Story''.How I wished I were in that world with Sully, Mike and Boo.
The emotion is sooo perfectly portrayed that I couldn't help them welling up inside me!!
Culmination:
I have forced all my friends at Pilani to watch this with me and believe me--even the guys who we thought were the kind of 'Lord Farquaad' in 'Shrek' came out with their true selves. I have bought the original DVD of this Michaelangelic movie immediately and have copied this into every system in my hostel.
Taking a journey into this fantastic world gets better and better each time. I have seen ''Monsters Inc.'' at least ten to fifteen times and notice something new each time.
Those unfortunate creatures who haven't yet created an opportunity to watch this Shakespearean equivalent, fasten ur seat belts, put on ur helmets and get going!!
