A SMASH-hit Stateside and sure to do excellent business this side of the Atlantic, Pixar's Monsters, Inc. comes screaming to the multiplexes on a tidal wave of commercial endorsements and a plethora of merchandise and game tie-ins. This is the Hollywood machine on overdrive.

Is the hype justified? To be honest, I don't believe that this level of hype is ever justified and I for one think the movie suffered simply because of the pre-release over exposure.

Is it any good? Oh yes, this is eye candy of the highest order. And guess what... even the script is OK in a predictable sort of way.

The premise is simple. Monsters are sent from the parallel city of Monstropolis to scare children as they sleep.

Gaining access to the kids' rooms via closet door portals they then harvest the children's screams as a source of power.

Trouble is that kids aren't so easy to scare nowadays and things are getting near to crisis point. When a little girl is accidentally brought back to Monstropolis by number one monster Sully (John Goodman) she triggers off a state of emergency that threatens to tip the delicate balance between the two worlds.

Pixar have really pushed the boat out on this one. The monsters are simply amazing -- it must have taken years to think up so many different characters. Maybe they are a little too cute to be credibly scary but, then again, they are supposed to be more scared of children than vice versa so it works.

The voice talent is fantastic with John Goodman once more demonstrating his larger that life screen presence even when doing voice-over work.

Billy Crystal suits his on-screen persona (a large marrowfat pea with a single eye) down to the ground, while Steve Buscemi adds another slimeball gem to his CV.

Also to be heard are Jennifer Tilly, James Coburn and Frank Oz, which probably makes this the most star-studded kids movie without real actors ever!

There are plenty of nods and winks for the older members of the audience while the sheer imagination at work is enough to keep the little ones riveted.

It really is such a shame that they don't seem to be able to make decent kids films featuring real people any more. But until they do keep up the good work Pixar.