The stunning success of the Walt Disney/Pixar animation feature "Monsters Inc.", which had a weekend opening almost double the previous box office record set by "Shrek", has been cited in the press as yet another example of "cocooning". One Google source gives this definition of "cocooning": The need to protect oneself from the harsh, unpredictable realities of the outside world. Is "cocooning" something which is only happening in North America post-September 11th, or is it something that is being experienced in Britain and elsewhere as well. No doubt, airline travel has been affected everywhere, but has the impact sunk deeper down into the values of the average family (as appears to be the case in North America)?