November 8th, 2021 
Michael Lyons 
“Since the very first bedtime, all around the world, children have known that once their mothers and fathers tuck them in and shut off the light, that there are monsters hiding in their closets, waiting to emerge. But what they don’t know is: it’s nothing personal, it’s just their job.” – From the original teaser trailer for Monsters, Inc.
From that brief voice-over comes the plot of one of Disney and Pixar’s biggest (monstrous?) hits, Monsters, Inc., which debuted twenty years ago this month. It’s only fitting that the studio who had created a believable and successful world for both toys and insects would do the same for the childhood myth: that monsters live in their closet.
However, just as the artists at Pixar did with Toy Story and A Bug’s Life, the world of Monsters, Inc. is given an efficient, believable, and yet, fantastical spin. The monsters in the film scare children in their careers and work for a large company called Monsters, inc., in the city of Monstropolis.
Monsters, Inc. was born in the mid-’90s at a brainstorming lunch with Pixar’s many creative talents. It was Pete Docter, (the film’s director), who first surfaced the idea of a “behind-the-scenes” story about monsters in kids’ closets.
At the film’s pitch meeting, long-time Disney story artist and animation legend Joe Grant attended and suggested the title, Monsters, Inc. (a play on the classic noir film, Murder, Inc.).
Monsters, Inc., would tell a much nicer tale, however, centering on two monsters, James “Sully” Sullivan (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal, who had turned down the offer to voice Buzz Lightyear and jumped at this chance).
Sully is the top “scarer” at Monsters, inc., a company that employs monsters to sneak into children’s closets each night to scare them. It’s the childrens’ screams that power Monstropolous, where all the monsters live.
One of the children, the adorable Boo, sneaks into Monstropolous. Mike and Sully find her and keep her hidden from the others, as children are considered “toxic.” The two monsters must then try to get Boo back to her room and the human world.
Through this, Mike and Sully learn that by making children laugh, instead of scream, more power is generated for Monstropolous.
In addition to Goodman and Crystal, Monsters, Inc. included Steve Buscemi, perfect as the reptilian villain, Randall, the deep timbre of James Coburn, as Mr. Waternoose, the CEO of Monsters, inc., Jennifer Tilly, as Celia Mae, the receptionist, and Mike’s girlfriend, Bob Peterson as Roz, the quietly obsessive quality control manager, Pixar stalwart John Ratzenberger as the Yeti and Frank Oz (very familiar with monsters after years with The Muppets) as Fungus, Randall’s sidekick.
The cast comes together in a film from a time that could be called “The Golden Age of Pixar,” and one that shows just how deft that studio’s storytelling touch can be.
By placing the monsters in a seemingly “everyday” world, complete with very simple, human names and working for a sizeable factory-like corporation, the creators of Monsters, inc. make the proceedings very relatable.
Additionally, there’s a strong bond between Boo, Sully, and Mike that makes the conclusion all that more emotional. It’s also, at times, hysterical, particularly a pantomime scene in which Sully believes that Boo has gotten caught up in the machinery of the factory, which has shades of Chuck Jones’ masterful Warner Bros. short Feed the Kitty (1952).
From a technical standpoint, Monsters, Inc. was another leap forward, particularly in rendering Sully’s blue fur, which took a tremendous amount of “test and adjust” for the technicians.
It’s also a dynamic, race-against-time film with one of Pixar’s most cleverly choreographed action sequences as part of its conclusion. In it, Mike, Sully, and Boo ride a giant conveyor belt of kids’ bedroom closet doors hanging high above the factory floor (how it’s still not a theme park attraction two decades later is a head-scratcher).
Released on November 2, 2001, Monsters, Inc. was, well, a monster hit for Disney and Pixar, eventually grossing over $500 million at the worldwide box office. The film received a nomination in the first year that the Academy Awards introduced the Best Animated Feature Oscar (it lost to DreamWorks’ Shrek). The film also received a nomination for Best Original Song, “If I Didn’t Have You,” by Pixar regular Randy Newman.
Monsters, Inc., and the film’s characters would continue to remain popular through the years, so much so that twelve years after its debut, Disney and Pixar released the prequel, Monsters University (2013), which looked at how Mike and Sully first met in college.
This year, Disney+ debuted Monsters at Work, a series that centers on the experiences of a new employee at the Monsters, Inc. factory.
It’s all a testament to the legacy of the original film. Through all of its whimsy, Monsters, Inc., like all of Pixar’s best, dares to share a relatable message: consider the power of joy and laughter.
Twenty years later, still a relevant thought from those great monsters who “Scare because they care.”
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