On the other side of that closet door lies a huge city filled with monsters of every color, stripe and claw. A one-eyed head bobs on pencil-thin legs (Mike). A giant purple and green fur-covered beast (Sulley) rattles the walls. A Raptor-style lizard (Randall) lurks and snarls. Cleverly enough, electricity for "Monstropolis" is generated by capturing and processing the screams of scared little children. So a great number of the monsters work for the power company—Monsters, Inc. They sneak through those closet doors, scaring not-quite-asleep little boys and girls. "We scare because we care," reads the slogan above the factory doors.

What no one knows in human-land is that the monsters are as scared of little kids as little kids are of monsters. The monsters have been taught since they were wee tikes that humans are toxic. So the second a child makes a move, the monsters retreat. Imagine the panic in Monstropolis, then, when a little girl (Boo) sneaks through her door and attaches herself to Sulley.

• positive elements: The bottom line here is simple. Children needn’t fear the dark. They needn’t stare wide-eyed and sleepless at their closet doors, anxiously waiting for what might emerge. Imagination is fun, but it shouldn’t make you scared. I should present this caution, though. Depending on how kids process fantasy cartoons, Monsters, Inc. will either cure them of fright forever or give their trembling brains more fearful fodder. The ultimate message is one of safety, kindness, love and friendship, but the path there is occasionally troubled by scary turns.

What else sends good vibrations? 1) Good oral hygiene. Even monsters brush their teeth ("good monsters don’t have plaque"). 2) Friendship. Mike and Sulley are great buds, and Sulley’s growing affection for Boo is sweet and touching. 3) Doing the right thing even if it’s costly. Sulley and Mike squabble, but end up doing the right thing. Along the way, they expose an evil plot that would harm children if it weren’t stopped. 4) Romance. Mike sees love in his future (the girl of his affections has one eye, too). His intentions are nothing short of noble and his actions always honorable.

• sexual content: None.

• violent content: Scary for a 4-year-old. Silly in the eyes of a tween. One scene in particular that will alarm some children has one monster battering down a door to attack Sulley and Mike. Additionally, a nightmarish machine built to "extract screams" is tried out in a couple of scenes. The monsters are prone to fighting each other from time to time. Sometimes for fun. Other times in the grip of an evil rage. Invisible when he chooses to be, Randall attacks Sulley. Sulley fights back. Randall slams Mike against a wall and twists his arms into a painful position. In turn, Mike slams a door on Randall, yelling, "I hope that hurt, lizard-boy." Sulley slides, tumbles and crashes down a snow-packed mountain. And the whole gang goes for a wild ride on fast-moving conveyer belts strung high in the air. Even Boo gets in on the action and beats Randall over the head with a toy baseball bat.

• crude or profane language: None. The worst thing that comes out of anyone’s mouth is "creep."

• drug and alcohol content: None.

• other negative elements: Pretending to be a stand-up comic, Mike swallows a microphone and burps ferociously. One monster is known as Mr. Bile ("my friends call me Phlegm"). Hiding from the bad monsters in a bathroom, Mike sticks his foot in the toilet and then walks out of the room dragging toilet paper behind him.

On a more psychological plane, Sulley goes though a few moments when he thinks Boo has been killed in a mammoth trash compactor. He faints from the shock. Moviegoers know she’s fine, but watching his anguish and contemplating the idea that she might have been brutalized in such a manner will sober more than a few moms and dads.