Although there are times when you take the tikes to a movie that you actually enjoy it as well.   Monster's Inc. is one of those films.

PREMISE

Sully, a large blue monster and his one-eyed assistant struggle to overcome their fear of children and develop new plans to scare kids for their employer, Monster Incorporated.   Animated.

MY TAKE ON THE MOVIE

Pixar, the animation company that brought us Toy Story, is determined to out-Shrek moviegoers with its take on the world of scary creatures, Monsters, Inc.

Like Shrek, Monsters, Inc. is essentially a kids movie with enough clever and mature material, not to mention charm, to entertain even the most jaded of adults.

John Goodman supplies the voice of James Sullivan, an eight-foot-tall, 800-pound purple and blue monster and the top Scarer at Monsters Incorporated. MI is the largest scream-processing plant in Monstropolis -- harnessing the screams of human children for energy.

Monsters of all shapes and sizes work on the Scare Floor, going through the closet doors of children all over the world and collecting their screams to fuel the city, which is facing an energy crisis.

Each Scarer works with a Scare Coach, and Sulley's (as he is known to his friends) is the spherical, one-eyed, lime-green Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal), who is also his best friend and roommate.

The only thing that monsters fear is physical contact with children, who are considered highly toxic and deadly. When Sully accidentally lets a little girl into his world, he must battle both his own fears and his Scare Floor nemesis Randall (voice of Steve Buscemi) to get Boo (as Sully calls the child) back home.

It seems that Randall has a terrifying scheme toend the energy crisis, and Boo is central to the plan.

Right from the get-go, Monsters, Inc. is a tremendous joyride. Visually it is much brighter and much more detailed than either Toy Story or Shrek, and the story has such universality, charm and humour it's irresistible. What adult doesn't recall the fear of things hiding in the dark, waiting to spring out from under the bed?

The movie is also full of clever details, like the "grossery" selling "spineapple", the deodorant scents of "low tide," wet dog" or "smelly garbage," and the traffic signals of "stalk" and "don't stalk."

The characters are wonderfully imagined, from Mike's girlfriend Celia (voice of Jennifer Tilly) and her hair of snakes, to the crab-like CEO Henry J. Waternoose (voice of James Coburn), who complains that the "window of opportunity to scare is shrinking."

There's also a hilarious "cameo" by the Abominable Snowman (voice of John Ratzenberger) that you won't soon forget.

Monsters, Inc. is easily the most enjoyable family movie since Shrek, and it will leave a smile lingering on your face and a good feeling in your heart long after you have left the theatre.

So go and see it with the kids, or just take the kid that's already inside you and see the movie.

Who knows it might be habit forming.   What's next "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?"