Hidden Chimera

Image credit: Monsters, Inc: © Pixar/Disney

'MONSTERS' SMASH Mike and Sulley, trying to protect Monstropolis from a toxic kid, are on a roll

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Monsters, Inc.

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The long-awaited ''Monsters, Inc.'' is finally out of the closet -- and has scared up $62.6 million on opening weekend, a record for an animated film. Pixar and Disney labored for more than four years to craft the tale of two amiable beasties, Mike and Sulley (voiced by Billy Crystal and John Goodman), who find an errant human child (every monster's worst nightmare) wandering around Monstropolis. With all that time to digitally sharpen every claw and buff every fang, the filmmakers managed to slip in some hard-to-spot visual gags and in-jokes. (Remember those bits from ''A Bug's Life'' in ''Toy Story 2''?) Let's dive under the studios' bed for a pixel-perfect look at ''Inc.'''s winks.

SNOWMAN IS AN ISLAND Pixar drew some inspiration for Yeti (voiced by John Ratzenberger) from the Abominable Snowman of ''Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,'' the classic 1964 Claymation TV special. ''We were definitely influenced by that, although it wasn't a direct copy,'' says ''Monsters'' exec producer Andrew Stanton. ''[He] scared me a lot as a kid.''

WHAT, NO TATO SKINS? The vending machine at Monsters, Inc. contains goodies like Raccoon; Sinew Chews; Sugar, Salt & Fat; Bag O' Calories; and Polyvinyl Chloride.

QUICK CUT In Pete's Barber Shop -- named for director Pete Docter -- the services posted in the window include flea dip, mange management, scale polish, and claw wax.