Mike's New Car

As a little extra on 'Monsters, Inc' Disney and Pixar bring us 'Mike's New Car', a terrific animated short film that was nominated for an Oscar. If you liked 'Monsters, Inc.' I see no reason why you should not like this little film. One of the two main characters of 'Monsters, Inc.', Mike (voice by Billy Crystal), has bought a new car. The other main character, Sulley (John Goodman), joins him for a drive. Sort of.

This film is quite funny, especially the ending is hilarious. As with all Disney/Pixar films the animation is perfect. Especially Sulley seems almost like a real creature the way his hair and facial expressions are animated. If you like other films from Disney and Pixar Animation Studios you should not miss this one.

This is a funny short and if you like Monster's Inc. it is worth checking out. It feel much more like a deleted scene from the film than anything else. It has no life outside of its connection to the larger work. And it's the second feature that makes me downgrade it so much. This is the first short film made by Pixar connected to feature film made after the film. None of these works are particularly engaging and while Pixar has continued to make original shorts I wish they merely experimented in the short form. There's no great need for a short film with these characters.

Mike's New Car (2002)

*** (out of 4)

Fun Pixar short has Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) from MONSTER, INC. doing more damage. Mike gets a new car and decides to take Sulley for a drive but he doesn't know how all the controls work yet, which leads to a lot of trouble for the duo. I actually haven't seen the full length film that the characters are from but after seeing this I'm certainly going to try and make a stronger effort in getting it on. I thought the film showed a lot of imagination considering how little time they had to tell the story. The idea of various instruments going wrong could have made for a simple film but the nice imagination takes the idea and really runs with it. I loved the sequence where Mike gets sucked up in the engine and his only way out is by making a phone call to Sulley who's still sitting in the car. I was a little surprised to see that this was nominated for an Oscar but either way it's an enjoyable little film.

I enjoying watching Monsters, Inc. with Sulley and Mike, then seeing them in this short film. It is nice bonus to Monsters, Inc. that Pixar put Mike's New Car with buying or renting on VHS or DVD at your video store. Mike is funny when he and Sulley react to the new car. I like more films with the characters. I will not be surprised if the Mike and Sulley make a special appearance in Finding Nemo at the end of the film in the goofs.

This is a quick comment about new cars and all the buttons on them. The "message" being sometimes it was a lot better with a basic simple machines of the past.

"Mike" (Billy Crystal) has a new car he wants to show off to "Sully" so he invites him to take a ride. They never get to the ride because "Sully" (John Goodman) either hits a wrong button or does something to stall things, driving Mike nuts. Poor Mike takes a beating. The cartoon also is a comment on the sometimes-annoying noise the car will make if your seat belts aren't secured.

This animated short came with The "Monsters, Inc." DVD and is a fun four minutes. Mike and Sully, of course, were the stars of the feature film.

P.S. The car is very cool.