LogFAQs > #968254805

Added those earlier, thanks for nominating, Gavs!

Tonight, I decided to go with something light. Because... it just works to follow up the heavy crime stuff.

Monsters Inc. (2001)
Directed by: Pete Docter
Written by: Pete Docter, Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon, Ralph Eggleston, Andrew Stanton, Daniel Gerson
Starring: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Mary Gibbs, Jen Tilly
Previous status: Saw ages ago

Please note that this first paragraph was written before watching, to recap what I recalled going in; I will do this for any movie marked as having been seen before. (I may be mistaken on some of those and my memories are actually from the trailers, jsyk)
Honestly, I could not tell you the last time I watched this movie. In fact, I don't remember many of the intricate details, just the basics: Monsters waltz into kids' rooms to scare them not out of malice but to protect their own insecurities - they themselves are afraid of the kids (can't recall why). And they suddenly have an unwelcome visitor, a 4 y/o who recognizes this that they refer to as "Boo" since that's what she says. All hell breaks loose but they must face their fears. Sulley and Mike Wazowski are the protagonists (I can't help but say "Mike Wazowski" like Boo does); I remember the smarmy Randall Boggs and the purple woman, but... the details are very, very few and far between, same goes for the relationships. I do remember Mike doing stand-up for a kid at the end, but not much else. Time for some nostalgia. Watching now...

Okay, back.

Yeah, I got several things wrong, and didn't remember some big details. Boo's even younger than I remembered - I remembered her being a bit larger than that, like at the sushi bar. I didn't recall her referring to Sulley as "Kitty." I did not recall at all that the screams and laughter powered Monstropolis. I really only remembered Celia for her design - nothing more, and I may have gotten some details between her role and that of Roz confused. It really has been ages since I saw this! My memory is usually better, but a refresher is always nice. I should do that more often for the movies I like. And get rid of the ones I don't.

One thing that's really great about this is the sheer amount of story they tell in an hour and a half. Like, there wasn't ANY wasted second in this movie. No dumb "watch X walk down a hallway" at an unnecessary time. No cameras panning out to show unnecessary scenery that doesn't even add atmosphere. All of the things like that were necessary for world-building or showing action and building tension. It was very tightly written and produced, and the story makes a lot of sense for it too.

Randall was even slimier than I had recalled - I'd just remembered him being smarmy, not to what lengths he went to. He was certainly an interesting villain - Steve Buscemi being an ass is certainly a carryover from Reservoir Dogs. That said, this time he got a comeuppance, and it was most certainly an amusing death. Changing colors uncontrollably when Boo conquered her fear to smother him and then being thrown into a door to some redneck's trailer where he's subsequently bludgeoned by a shovel until he's donezo.... yeah, that was great.

I honestly am not sure if I liked Waternoose being the Big Bad - it's too normal to have the CEO character be the villain and the Boggs be the henchman, and this was no exception. Boggs did all the dirty work to a point that Waternoose even questioned it - and then suddenly Waternoose was bad again, and got set up hardcore, arrested, and deposed. It felt like there was a huge inconsistency in his character with how he went from questioning his own henchman's ethics to threatening to kidnap a thousand children in a very short amount of time. At least he admitted that he knew that kids weren't really toxic creatures and was just doing that to fuel scares. I don't know if he knew that laughter worked just the same, but produces more power since it lasts for longer. There was also the nice twist of Roz being an undercover agent trying to find the truth. Did not remember that, either, OR the scene at the end with the door being restored (which I should have), probably two years later when Boo was y/o.

Was nice for the easter egg in Boo's room of the Jessie doll and clown fish - easy to spot, sure, but blatant crossovers with other Pixar properties (the latter being the movie after this one, which was certainly already in the works). The amount of detail and craftsmanship here was great, but I still am a little confused about that (spoiler) I mentioned above. That's... a minor issue, honestly. For what this movie is, it's damn good, and even better than I remembered. I'll give it a 5/5.

@MetalmindStats @hylianknight3 You are both allowed another nomination! (yes I also tag people so they know I watched what they wanted me to watch)

The next one may or may not be tomorrow - it depends on how badly the first quarter goes. I already expect it will be very ugly in Columbus since TOSU has our number.