Technological marvel 'Monsters, Inc.? offers fun for all

"Monsters, Inc."

Directed by: Pete Docter

Starring: (The voices of) Billy Crys-tal, John Goodman, James Coburn, Steve Buscemi

Rated: G

Consider this: The computer I'm using to write this column (a meager Pentium 200) and the ones you probably have at home, in your office, in your briefcase, are unimaginably more powerful than the ones used on the Apollo moon missions.

Computer power has grown at an astonishing, exponential rate in a relatively short time and has affected every aspect of our lives not just important, scientific things like the space program, coffeemakers that turn themselves on in the morning or video poker machines, but in the arts, as well. Every hit record you've heard lately has been recorded, manipulated, edited and processed by a computer, and one can't even imagine a Hollywood film these days without some degree of digital (computer) effects.

Then there are those films that are nothing but digital effects.

Disney, in cooperation with Pixar, released "Toy Story" in 1995 and forever changed the world of animated feature films. Since then the (inevitable) "Toy Story 2," "Antz," "A Bug's Life," et al have delighted audiences, the companies that produced the films and theater owners on a regular basis.

Earlier this year, Dreamworks hit a pinnacle of the genre with "Shrek," a movie I enjoyed immensely, maybe even more than "Toy Story." Fighting back, in the lucrative fall season, Disney/Pixar presents "Monsters, Inc.," a film that takes advantage of the increased computer power available and goes beyond the depth and detail of "Toy Story."

It's not exaggerating to say "fighting back."

The struggle for dominance in this area is as brutal as anything Hollywood has seen. Dreamworks had contracted for its "Shrek" characters to be featured in the new THX logo trailers. Debut of the new trailers? November 2, the same day "Monsters, Inc." was to be released. Disney countered with an announcement that the first previews for the next "Star Wars" installment would be attached to "Monsters, Inc." THX pulled the "Shrek"/THX spots.

Dreamworks decided to release the special two-disc DVD of "Shrek" on Nov. 2. This is odd because all home video (as well as audio recordings) are typically released on Tuesdays.

The "virtual" wars are in full swing, without a doubt. Considering that there are 24 frames per second of film, and a typical frame of "Toy Story" took around six hours (some required up to 90) to "render," the final process of creating a frame of digital film rendering doesn't take into account the hours spent creating the elements being rendered there's obviously a lot of money at stake.

Considering that "Monsters, Inc." pulled in around $17.5 million in its first day of release, it's probably all worth it.

And while I'm still partial to "Shrek," this is a great film. Like all of the successful features in this genre, "Monsters, Inc." plays as well to adults as it does to kids. There are plenty of tongue-in-cheek references the name of the fancy restaurant is Harryhausen's, a nod to animation wizard Ray Harryhausen, who pioneered stop-frame animation back in the 1950s while the basic plot is simple enough for the younger set to grasp. Parents will also be happy to know there are no sexual innuendoes present nor anything overly violent.

The main characters are Sully (John Goodman) and Mike (Billy Crystal) a couple of hard-working fellas in the city of Monstropolis. The company Mon-sters, Inc. (motto, "We Scare Because We Care") is responsible for supplying power to all of Monstropolis. Monster power is derived from the screams of human children, and there's been a shortage lately because kids are getting harder to scare. One interesting twist is this: Human children are said to be extremely toxic to monsters, and if touched by a kid, a monster must go through a painful decontamination.

These monsters are good-hearted creatures and only emerge from closets to collect a scream or two for the power company. They'd never dream of harming a kid, and there's never a hint of that presented here, so even the youngest of youngsters should be OK watching.

Sully and Mike inadvertently let a young human into the monster world, and the film revolves around trying to get her back home, discovering a conspiracy and realizing there's a much better way to power the city.

It's a sweet film, and if you have kids you're probably already planning to go. But young and old alike will enjoy this technical marvel.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)