Randy Newman scores anew with Monsters, Inc.

Lucky Randy Newman. He can now count on a lot of affectionate boost from children for a long, long time. The dependable genius is once more the musical storyteller of an animated flick that kids from all over the world are set to add to their list of must-watch over and over again favorites. This is Monsters, Inc., which turns the tables on all those fearsome creatures we imagine hiding under the bed or behind the closet.

Monsters, Inc. comes from Pixar, the same computer-animated production house that came up with A Bug’s Life and those two memorable Toy Story films. This time around the tale is about Monstropolis, a parallel universe where creatures who look like what we consider monsters live like we do. The only difference is they derive their source of energy not from the sun or water but from the screams of frightened children. The more screams they get, the better it is for Monstropolis but woe to them should children stop being scared of monsters.

Truth to tell though, monsters are very, very afraid of humans whom they believe to be toxic beings and they are thrown in turmoil when a little girl named Boo accidentally enters Monstropolis. In a situation that echoes ET, two monsters, the hairy Sully and the wisecracking eyeball Mike try to keep Boo from being taken by the authorities and eventually help her return to her world.

Monsters, Inc. is lots and lots of fun. Just like Pixar’s earlier outings, the characters and action are wonderfully realized in a manner I never thought possible with computers. And as expected, Newman’s music is alternately sprightly and poignant. There is only one song, If I Didn’t Have You, the best friends anthem performed by Billy Crystal, the voice of Mike and John Goodman, who is the lovable Sully. After the success of the score of Toy Story one and two, I should think they should have decided to put more songs in this one. But no matter, the sweet light-hearted touch to Newman’s music remains.

Newman was nominated for Best Song, You’ve Got a Friend in Me and the Best Score for Toy Story at the Academy Awards. Other score nominations include A Bug’s Life, Avalon, The Natural, Pleasantville, Maverick and James and the Giant Peach. His other Oscar nominated songs are When She Loved Me, from Toy Story 2, That’ll Do from Babe: Pig in the City, One More Hour from Ragtime, I Love to See You Smile from Parenthood and Make Up Your Mind from The Paper.

Despite these though, plus several Grammys and many hit songs, Newman still has to win the Oscar for his music. If I Didn’t Have You from Monsters, Inc. already looks like a shoo-in at the Academy Awards and maybe or should I say hopefully, he will finally get that statuette this time.

Ten years of Madonna

Stocking Stuffer: For the Madonna fan in your Christmas list or for any keen observer of pop music trends, here are ten years of Madonna chronicled in the compilation release, Greatest Hits, Volume 2. The album covers her hit output from 1991 to 2001, which as any Madonna follower surely knows is a period that includes most of her best work.

Gone is the Material Girl of The Immaculate Collection. Although she is still as daring and as innovative as ever, there is no mistaking anymore that the Madonna of the past decade had turned into a serious artist and produced some of the best sounds of the decade.

Get a load of the superb GHV2 line-up. Deeper and Deeper, Erotica, Human Nature, Secret, Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, Bedtime Story, The Power of Goodbye, Beautiful Stranger, Frozen, Take a Bow, Ray of Light, Don’t Tell Me, What It Feels Like for a Girl, Drowned World/Substitute for Love and Music.

GHV2 comes with more than 600 photos of Madonna. There are really 600 pictures or more in the cover. They are only postage-sized or even smaller but they do show Madonna’s look evolved during the past 10 years and makes you wonder what the 2001 to 2011 collection will look like.

The release of GHV2 coincides with her receipt of the Diamond Award from the Record Industry Association of America for her The Immaculate Collection. This album is made up of Madonna hits from 1982 to 1991. Among these are Holiday, Like a Virgin, Vogue, Like a Prayer and Justify My Love.