October 28, 2001 (El Capitan Theatre)
November 2, 2001 (United States)
Monsters, Inc. (also known as Monsters, Incorporated) is a 2001 American animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Mary Gibbs, and Jennifer Tilly, the film was directed by Pete Docter (in his feature directorial debut), co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson. The film centers on two monsters, the hairy James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (Goodman) and his one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski (Crystal), who are employed at the titular energy-producing factory Monsters, Inc., which generates power by scaring human children. However, the monster world believes that the children are toxic, and when a little human girl, Boo (Gibbs), sneaks into the factory, she must be returned home before it is too late.
Docter began developing the film in 1996, and wrote the story with Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon and Ralph Eggleston, following the idea conceived in a lunch in 1994 attended during the near completion of Toy Story (1995). Stanton wrote the screenplay with Gerson. The characters went through many incarnations over the film's five-year production process. The technical team and animators found new ways to simulate fur and cloth realistically for the film. Randy Newman, who composed the music for Pixar's three prior films, returned to compose the score for its fourth.
Monsters, Inc. premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on October 28, 2001, and was released in theaters in the United States on November 2. Upon its release, it received critical acclaim and was a commercial success, grossing over $528 million worldwide to become the third highest-grossing film of 2001. The film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "If I Didn't Have You" and was nominated for the first Best Animated Feature, but lost to DreamWorks' Shrek, and was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Sound Editing. Monsters, Inc. saw a 3D re-release in theaters on December 19, 2012. A prequel titled Monsters University, which was directed by Dan Scanlon, was released on June 21, 2013. A television series titled Monsters at Work premiered on Disney+ on July 7, 2021.
Storyline[]
In a world inhabited by monsters, the city of Monstropolis harnesses the screams of human children for energy. At the Monsters, Incorporated factory, skilled monsters employed as "scarers" venture into the human world to scare children and harvest their screams, through doors that activate portals to children's bedroom closets. The work is considered dangerous, as human children are believed to be toxic and capable of killing a monster through physical contact. Energy production is declining because children are becoming less easily scared, and the company's CEO, Henry J. Waternoose III, is determined to prevent the company's collapse.
One evening after work, top-ranking scarer James P. "Sulley" Sullivan discovers that an active door has been left in the station of his rival, Randall Boggs. He inspects the door and accidentally lets a young human girl into the factory. Frightened, Sulley unsuccessfully attempts to return the girl, who escapes into Monstropolis, interrupting Sulley's best friend and assistant Mike Wazowski on a date at a sushirestaurant. Chaos erupts when other monsters see the girl; Sulley and Mike escape with her before the Child Detection Agency (CDA) arrives and quarantines the restaurant. Forced to keep the girl hidden in their apartment for the night, Sulley soon realizes that the girl is not toxic and her laughter is able to generate more energy than screams.
At work the next day, Sulley and Mike disguise the girl as a monster. While Mike seeks out her door, Sulley grows attached to her and nicknames her "Boo". Randall, waiting in ambush for the girl, captures Mike by accident and reveals his plan to kidnap children and harvest their screams using his new invention, the Scream Extractor. Sulley rescues Mike, and they set out to inform Waternoose of Randall's plan. Finding Waternoose in a scare simulation room, Sulley demonstrates scare methods to new employees at his insistence, and a frightened Boo shows herself. Waternoose, who reveals that he is working with Randall, kidnaps Boo and uses a door to exile Mike and Sulley to the Himalayas.
Sulley finds a way back to the monster world, but Mike refuses to go with him. Entering the factory alone, Sulley saves Boo from the Scream Extractor, but Randall tries to kill him. Mike returns to reconcile with Sulley and exposes Randall, who pursues the trio into a door storage vault. He eventually catches up to them, but Boo attacks him, enabling Sulley and Mike to hurl Randall through a door, which they then destroy, leaving Randall permanently trapped in the human world.
When Mike and Sulley locate Boo's door, Waternoose, accompanied by the CDA, brings it down to the scare floor to arrest Mike and Sulley. Mike distracts the CDA while Sulley and Boo escape, leading Waternoose into the scare simulation room. Waternoose reveals his conspiracy with Randall to kidnap as many children as necessary to keep the company afloat. Mike records the conversation, exposing him to the CDA, and Waternoose is arrested. Undercover CDA director Roz allows Sulley to send Boo home, but her door has to be demolished. Sulley sadly says goodbye to Boo before her door is ripped up in a Door Shredder.
Afterwards, Sulley retools the company's power generation method to harvest children's laughter instead of screams, as laughter is ten times more powerful. With the energy crisis solved, the factory is now focused on making children laugh to collect energy; Mike becomes the company's top comedian, and Sulley is named the new CEO. Some time later, Mike surprises Sulley with Boo's rebuilt door. Sulley enters the door and reunites with Boo.
Also See[]
- Monsters, Inc. (2001) (TV Spots)
- Mike's New Car (2002) (Shorts)
- Mike's Monstrous Adventure (2002) (Video Game)
- Monsters University (2013)
- Monsters University: Party Central (2014)
- Monsters at Work
- Monsters, Inc.: Bowling for Screams
Movie Trailer[]
Sound Effects Used[]
Image Gallery[]
Audio Samples[]
(The Jurassic Park, T-Rex - Exclamation Roar as heard in the movie.)