In theaters

MONSTERS, INC., directed by Peter Docter, written by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson. 92 minutes. Rated G.

In March, when the Academy Awards presents its first-ever award for Best Animation, the people at Disney and Pixar Animation Studios will likely be hoping beyond hope that their movie “Monsters, Inc.” has what it takes to kick the living Shrek out of Dreamworks’ “Shrek.”

And who can blame them? The Disney-bashing Dreamworks initiated last May with the release of “Shrek” continued Friday when the studio released the movie on video and DVD. They did so just as “Monsters, Inc.” was hitting theaters, thus effectively stealing at least part of Disney’s thunder.

More troubling for Disney and its Oscar prospects is that “Shrek” has become the 13th most successful movie of all time. If nothing else, Academy voters love a box-office hit, which might tilt their votes in favor of “Shrek” when it comes time to cast their ballots.

Regardless of who wins the award – Hironobu Sakaguchi’s “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” is also a contender – one thing is clear: “Shrek” wouldn’t have been possible without the pioneering work Disney and Pixar undertook in 1995’s groundbreaking “Toy Story.”

In their new film, the studios score again, delivering a movie aimed squarely at children, which shimmers with color, refinement, wit and style.

Directed by Peter Docter from a script by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson, “Monsters, Inc.” is a delight, a smart, funny wonder that immediately had the audience at my screening giggling.

The film tells the story of two happy-go-lucky monsters – the bearish James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (voice of John Goodman) and his goofy, one-eyed sidekick, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) – who work for a monster named Waternoose (James Coburn) at Monsters, Inc., a company that turns the shrieks of small children into energy for the city of Monstropolis.

Scaring kids is all in a day’s work for these two, but when Sulley accidentally allows a precocious 2-year-old girl named Boo (Mary Gibbs) through one of the factory’s many automated doors – all of which are magically connected to a child’s bedroom closet – the event ignites a panic. Humans, you see, are something monsters fear; if touched, a child can allegedly cause contamination. But as this film’s rich, clever story unfolds and it becomes clear that Mike’s and Sulley’s fears about children are unfounded, they eventually come to terms with what many children face every day: Most fears are based on unreasonable assumptions steeped in misinformation, not fact.

Unlike “Shrek,” whose darker script was rooted in cynicism, “Monsters, Inc.” sees the world with childlike naivete; the two movies couldn’t be more different in tone. It mirrors “Shrek” in that its midpoint dawdles, but its animation is superior, proving that in the computer-animated world, waiting only a few months for a new chip or a new piece of software can make all the difference in scaring up a better-looking film.

And that, come March, is what might give Disney the last laugh.

Grade: A-

On video and DVD

LEGALLY BLONDE, directed by Robert Luketic. Written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz. 96 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Robert Luketic’s “Legally Blonde” is the closest thing to teen camp since Christina Aguilera first tie-dyed her hair, opened her mouth and ruined pop music. The difference? “Legally Blonde” means to be a joke.

The film stars Reese Witherspoon as Elle Wood, a high-spirited, fashion-forward sorority starlet with pink on the brain, Prada on the hips.

When her boyfriend, the wealthy East Coast snob Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), dumps her before leaving California for Harvard Law School (“I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn”), Elle shakes off the doldrums with a manicure, a pedicure, a good cry and a box of chocolates.

Recharged, she becomes a blond little ball of paprika determined to win back her man – which, in this case, means gaining admission into Harvard herself and showing Warner why she’s Jackie enough for him.

Naturally, since Elle’s fluffy pink mules and Malibu Barbie chic are in sharp contrast to Harvard’s more conservative climate, complications ensue as Elle tries to find herself in the annals of law.

With Selma Blair as Elle’s impossibly well-bred rival and Jennifer Coolidge in a fun turn as the manicurist who doubles as Elle’s counselor, “Legally Blonde” is every bit as thin as it sounds and it builds to a predictable ending, but it works because of Witherspoon, a gifted comedian who nails the movie with a performance that’s among her best.

Grade: B+

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.