 However , the film was not without its detractors . Richard Roeper gave the film a C + , saying " This is a safe , predictable , edge @-@ free , nearly bland effort from a studio that rarely hedges its bets . " Stephen Whitty of Newark Star @-@ Ledger gave the film two @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half stars out of four and said " The artwork is accomplished , and intricate . The G @-@ rating is genuine , without any gross @-@ out gags . And there 's none of the usual winks to the adults with tired , pop @-@ culture references . " Manohla Dargis of The New York Times gave the film two @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half stars out of five and wrote " Both the originality and stirring emotional complexity of Monsters , Inc . , with its exquisitely painful and touching parallels with the human world , are missing . " Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film two @-@ and @-@ a @-@ half stars out of four , and said " This is not a bad movie , and to small children it will be a very good one , but it 's closer to average than one would wish from the company that gave us Up , WALL @-@ E , The Incredibles , and the Toy Story series . " Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald gave the film two stars out of five and wrote that it " feels half @-@ hearted and lazy , like they weren 't even trying . At least show a little effort , guys . " 
