You must be aware of CG 'toon outfit Pixar's winning formula by now. Start with a sharp script, rope in some grade-A voice talent (in this case, John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi and James Coburn) and then develop some luscious, groundbreaking visuals to animate the story. Although its Toy Story-style wisecrackery is tempered by some Bug's Life-ish cutesiness, Monsters, Inc is an unnaturally entertaining romp, succeeding mainly thanks to one-eyed funball Mike (Crystal) and blue fuzzbeast Sulley's (Goodman) sparky buddy banter.

DVD Extras:

Yer typical Disney feature-stacker, which links all its goodies with some ace menus (the theme? Closet doors, of course). The first main branch contains all the usual Making Of material (sketches, original concepts, voice-talent interviews, CGI effect problem solving), but presents it as a tour of Pixar studios, with director Pete Docter and grand fromage John Lasseter as guides. But be warned: if you're easily irritated by loud shirts, scooters and unnecessary chimps, this may grate.The second branch involves the fun stuff, with kiddie read-alongs, look-and-click games, out-takes (most strained, some amusing), a couple of brilliant shorts and even an `orienteering' guide to scream-extracting company, Monsters, Inc. There's the inevitable overlap, especially with the filmmakers' commentary, but the flaws are too few to prevent this being yet another Pixar five-star package.