5. Monster’s Inc. (written by Matt Kelly)

Release Date: 2001

Voice Talents: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, John Ratzenberger

Director: Pete Doctor, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich

First Time I Saw It: I believe this was the first movie where the pitch stated to be “It’s a Pixar movie. You can’t not see it.” So I’m sure I went opening weekend, although I don’t specifically remember the experience. I do remember leaving with the thought “That end bit would make an excellent roller coaster.” which apparently does exist in California Adventure. Good on you, Disney.

Its Impact on the Pixar Brand: Monster’s Inc was Pixar’s most abstract story at the time. Toy Story, while groundbreaking, relied on characters based on existing toys with an existing visual language. Similarly, A Bug’s Life was designed under the assumption that we all knew what ants and insects looked like. The similarities were extremely evident considering the fact that Dreamworks’ Antz was released in the same year and while A Bug’s Life was more colorful, they had basically the same look.

Monster’s Inc was the first instance in which Pixar was forced to imagine a completely new world. They had to answer questions like “What do Monster’s look like?” “How is their world different than ours?” “What mechanisms do they use to perform the job of scaring?” The answer to these questions was a truly diverse cast of colorful monsters, a fully realized system of hanging doorway portals, and a world where octopus’ ran the Sushi restaurant and a HAZMAT team could drop in at any moment for a quick decontamination. This kind of expertise in world building would prove a crucial skill for future films like Cars and the new Inside Out.

Why I Love It: Monster’s Inc. is a lot of things. It is heartwarming, which is a trait most Pixar films share. It is really funny, mostly thanks to the Billy Crystal shtick that works remarkably well in this instance. Above almost all else, Monsters Inc stands out as beautifully designed. Each individual monster is incredibly unique. There is an excellent mix between characters covered in fur, scales, and whatever Roz is. It has an incredible amount of rewatchability. Also no, I haven’t seen the prequel.

Best Moment: That’s a tough one to nail down. Like most Pixar movies, the ending is spectacular. That’s great. Also like most Pixar movies, it features a bit where one of the main characters thinks another main character has been killed. Not as big of a fan of those. It does contain the wonderful reveal of a secret villain right at the end of the second act. Audiences really enjoy those and considering secret villains show up in plenty of other Pixar movies before and after Monsters Inc., Pixar clearly understands how to make a complex children’s movie.

I have to say the most endearing moment in Monster’s Inc. comes very early in the film. Mike and Sully are anxiously awaiting the release of a commercial designed to bring the film audience up to speed on the basic premise of “scaring = energy”. Sully gets a solo and Mike gets excited for him, patiently awaiting his big moment. Finally the group shot comes in and Mike and Sully are both front and center but wouldn’t you know it, Mike is completely covered by the Monster’s Inc. logo. Mike looks shocked. “I can’t believe it.” Sully begins to comfort him. “Awww Mike…” but then Mike cuts Sully off with a celebratory “I WAS ON TV!” Awesome.

https://youtu.be/kZKZxpwBPG0

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