Skip to main content

Dome Pondering Movie Review: Monsters Inc. (2001)

What is it about? 

In a city where monsters generate power through scaring human children in theirs but not coming in contact with them, Sully and Mike must deal with the situation when one child enters their world. 

Who is in it? 

John Goodman - James P. "Sully" Sullivan

Billy Crystal - Mike Wazowski

Favorite Scene: 

After word gets out that a child has breached Monstrapolis for the first time ever, the entire city is up in a craze. The television report with "witnesses" and "monsters" giving their take on the development and the Child Detection Agency search for the human is especially entertaining.

Favorite Quote:

Randall: Wazowski! Where is the kid, you little one-eyed cretin?
Mike: Okay, first of all, it's "creetin". If you're gonna threaten me, do it properly. Second of all, you're nuts if you think kidnapping ME is gonna help YOU cheat your way to the top.
Randall: [chuckles evilly] You still think this is about that stupid scare record?
Mike: Well... I did. Right up until you... chuckled... like that... And now I'm thinking I should just get out of here. 

Review:

Took me awhile to getting around to watching Monsters Inc. (Thirteen years!), but boy am I glad I did. Like most Pixar films, Monsters Inc exhibits a very, very creative plot with animated characters that are unique, interesting, and just quirky enough to be memorable and highly enganging.

The idea of monsters and humans and the irony in the plot that the Monsters were afraid of the little baby girl were nice touches. Also, you just have to love the creativity behind all of the Monsters in the film, especially those of main characters Sully and Mike Wazowski, who is truly entertaining. 

All in all, it isn't anything you haven't seen from a previous Pixar film, and it isn't greater than that. Par for the course, which is just simple, honest, fun entertainment. 

Grade: 2.5/5

Recently Read

Would You Rather: Questions 121-130

This edition of "Would You Rather" is credited to the NBA Would You Rather NBA Account on Instagram ( See Here ). Adding to the fun, this edition (and possibly future ones) are all NBA basketball questions.  121. Who would you rather have on your favorite NBA team - Giannis Antetokounpo or James Harden?  Seeing how I'm a lifelong suffering Knicks fan, the thought of any of these guys in blue and orange is hard to believe. With that said, I'm taking the Greek Freak for this reason - I enjoy watching him play a bit more. Nothing against Harden who is amazing as well, but at times, the ball sticks and that isn't always fun. Plus, I feel like we haven't yet seen a finished Giannis. 122. Would you rather have Giannis Antetokounpo with no driving ability or James Harden with no Three-Point shooting ability?  This is definitely a weird and unique one, but I'll take Harden. Giannis without his strength doesn't offer much. However, if Harden's d...

Sunday Sundown Rundown - 6/7/26

The Sunday Sundown Rundown (formerly in the format of "3 Up and 3 Down") is where I share thoughts on three topics that piqued my interest, along with my favorite photo from the week. Artificial Intelligence in K-12 This week, I had the opportunity to talk to two dads who work in K-12 education. One is a teacher, and the other is a tech engineer who provides the digital infrastructure for a school district. What I came away with was that artificial intelligence was being slowly integrated into teachers' everyday lives, with some restrictions. However, the tech engineer gave me real insight (with real-time laptop evidence) of some of the tools being built to automate everything from bus schedules and communications to medical visits and disciplinary processes.  All of that to say, just when you think you understand the power of A.I., there are so many levels to it all .  So many... Sports Media Space With the recent run of my New York Knicks (you can see my comments after ...

Knicks Postseason 2026, NBA Finals vs. San Antonio Spurs

Part of me is in disbelief that we are here...the other part is raging and ready to go. Four more wins! Let's. GO! So much of this NBA Finals feels poetic, historical, and dream-worthy, for so many reasons, to so many different parties. This includes the NBA office. I'm sure they are loving this matchup for their biggest stage.  While defeating the Spurs does exercise some demons from 1999, I'm not sure I care about that at all. As noted from my thoughts in the Eastern Conference Finals, at this point, just win. Review Thoughts from Round 1 Review Thoughts from Round 2 Review Thoughts from Eastern Conference Finals Just. Win.  I don't care who the opponent is. The narrative that comes with it, or how we do it.  Just. Win. The NBA Cup win seems like whiteboard material for them, yet a serving example for us to match up with them. Again, it doesn't matter. Both teams are completely different beasts since November, through growth and experience.  This all comes down to...