Monsters, Inc. (franchise)
Monsters, Inc. | |
---|---|
Created by | Peter Docter |
Owner | Disney Enterprises, Inc. |
Films and television | |
Film(s) |
|
Short film(s) |
|
Animated series | Monsters at Work (2021) |
Games | |
Video game(s) |
|
Audio | |
Original music | Monsters, Inc. Scream Factory Favorites (2002) |
Miscellaneous | |
Theme park attraction(s) |
|
Monsters, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Monsters, or called without the abbreviation, Monsters, Incorporated) is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the 2001 film of the same name, produced by Pixar and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The original film was followed by a prequel film Monsters University, released in 2013.[1]
The franchise takes place in a fictional universe where monsters are the primary citizens of society and harness the energy of human children to power their cities. The company known as Monsters Incorporated accomplishes this by patenting doors which lead to their world.
Feature films[]
Monsters, Inc. (2001)[]
Monsters, Inc. introduces the monster world, where Monstropolis is powered by the screams of human children as monsters enter the human world at night. When a little girl called "Boo" accidentally enters the monster world, friends James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski must find a way to hide her from the authorities and return her to her own world and, in the process, learn that not everything they have been led to believe about humans is true.
The film was released on November 2, 2001 in the United States, surpassing Toy Story 2 and peaked as the second highest-grossing animated film of all time, behind 1994's The Lion King at the time.[2] It was one of the first animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature but lost to Shrek.
Monsters University (2013)[]
A prequel to the first film, Monsters University tells Sulley and Mike's backstory. The future friends meet at college and initially start off as enemies, but end up on the same team in the university's "Scare Games", where they and their team of misfits must beat the odds and win the competition, or be expelled from school. As the team struggles, the two learn to work together, and slowly become best friends.
The film was released on June 21, 2013 in the United States.
Television series[]
Monsters at Work is a television series spin-off of Monsters, Inc. produced by Disney Television Animation for Disney+. It was announced in a Disney press release on November 9, 2017 as part of a list of in development series for The Walt Disney Company's then-upcoming streaming service.[3] On April 9, 2019, it was revealed that the show would be titled Monsters at Work and premiere in spring 2021.[4] Seven of the original cast would return, including John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles as Sulley and Mike, respectively.[5] On February 24, 2021, it was announced that it would be released on July 2,[6] followed by a delay to July 7.[7]
The series begins the day after Monsters, Incorporated has made the switch to laugh power and follows a young eager mechanic, Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman), who hopes to be promoted to the Laugh Floor alongside Mike and Sulley.[8]
Short films[]
Mike's New Car (2002)[]
Party Central (2013)[]
Party Central is a six-minute[9] short animated film, featuring characters from Monsters University. It premiered on August 9, 2013, at the D23 Expo. The short was set to be released theatrically with The Good Dinosaur in 2014,[10] before the film was pushed back to 2015. Instead, it was theatrically released on March 21, 2014, with Muppets Most Wanted.[9] The short was written and directed by Kelsey Mann, story supervisor on Monsters University.[9] The cast consists of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Peter Sohn, Julia Sweeney, Charlie Day, Nathan Fillion, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Bobby Moynihan, and Joel Murray.[11]
In the short, the Oozma Kappa fraternity organizes a party, but no one shows up. To solve the problem, they use door stations to steal visitors from the biggest party going on at another fraternity.[10]
Reception[]
Box office performance[]
The film series has grossed a total of $1,306,110,769, making the Monsters, Inc. franchise the ninth highest-grossing animated film franchise.
Monsters, Inc. ranked No. 1 at the box office its opening weekend, grossing $62,577,067 in North America alone. The film had a small drop-off of 27.2% over its second weekend, earning another $45,551,028. In its third weekend, the film experienced a larger decline of 50.1%, placing itself in the second position just after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. In its fourth weekend, however, there was an increase of 5.9%. Making $24,055,001 that weekend for a combined total of over $562 million. It is the seventh biggest (in US$) fourth weekend ever for a film.[12][13]
Monsters University has earned $268,227,670 in North America, and $475,066,843 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $743,294,513.[14] The film earned $136.9 million on its opening weekend worldwide. For unknown reasons, Disney declined to provide a budget for the film, although BoxOffice.com cites a budget of a total of $270 million.[15] Entertainment Weekly speculated that it was higher than that of Brave ($185 million), mostly due to high cost of John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles.[16] Shockya, a subsidiary website of CraveOnline, estimated the budget to be $200 million, on par with Toy Story 3 and Cars 2.[17]
Film | Release date | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Budget | Ref(s) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America |
All time worldwide | ||||
Monsters, Inc. | November 2, 2001 | $289,916,256 | $272,900,000 | $562,816,256 | #74 | #126 | $115,000,000 | [18] |
Monsters University | June 21, 2013 | $268,492,764 | $475,066,843 | $743,559,607 | #82 | #74 | $200,000,000 | [14] |
Total | $558,143,926 | $747,966,843 | $1,306,110,769 | $315,000,000 |
Critical and public response[]
Media | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
---|---|---|---|
Monsters, Inc. | 96% (197 reviews)[19] | 79 (35 reviews)[20] | A+[21] |
Monsters University | 80% (203 reviews)[22] | 65 (41 reviews)[23] | A[21] |
Monsters at Work (Season 1) | 65% (26 reviews)[24] | 55 (9 reviews)[25] | N/A |
Cast and characters[]
This is a list of characters from the 2001 film, Monsters, Inc. and its 2013 prequel, Monsters University.
Character | Main films | Short films | Television series | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monsters, Inc. | Monsters University | Mike's New Car | Party Central | Monsters at Work | |
James P. "Sulley" Sullivan | John Goodman | ||||
Michael "Mike" Wazowski | Billy Crystal | Billy Crystal | Billy Crystal | ||
Noah Johnston (young) | |||||
Boo | Mary Gibbs | ||||
Randall "Randy" Boggs | Steve Buscemi | ||||
Henry J. Waternoose III | James Coburn | Photograph | Photograph | ||
Celia Mae | Jennifer Tilly | Jennifer Tilly | |||
Roz | Bob Peterson | Bob Peterson | |||
Jeff Fungus | Frank Oz | Christopher Swindle | |||
Smitty | Daniel Gerson | Stephen Stanton | |||
Needleman | |||||
Jerry Slugworth | Steve Susskind | Silent cameo | |||
Abominable Snowman | John Ratzenberger | John Ratzenberger | |||
Mrs. Flint | Bonnie Hunt | Photograph | Bonnie Hunt | ||
Thaddeus "Phlegm" Bile | Jeff Pidgeon | Christopher Swindle | |||
George Sanderson | Sam Black | Silent role | Silent cameo | Stephen Stanton | |
Charlie | Philip Proctor | Silent cameo | Christopher Swindle | ||
Peter "Claws" Ward | Joe Ranft | Silent cameo | |||
Dean Abigail Hardscrabble | Helen Mirren | ||||
Professor Derek Knight | Alfred Molina | Alfred Molina | |||
Scott "Squishy" Squibbles | Peter Sohn | Peter Sohn | |||
Don Carlton | Joel Murray | Joel Murray | |||
Terry Perry | Dave Foley | Dave Foley | |||
Terri Perry | Sean P. Hayes | Sean P. Hayes | |||
Art | Charlie Day | Charlie Day | |||
Sherri Squibbles | Julia Sweeney | Julia Sweeney | |||
Johnny J. Worthington III | Nathan Fillion | Nathan Fillion | |||
Chet Alexander | Bobby Moynihan | Bobby Moynihan | |||
Carrie Williams | Beth Behrs | Unspecified voice actress | |||
Brock Pearson | Tyler Labine | ||||
Claire Wheeler | Aubrey Plaza | ||||
Mrs. Karen Graves | Bonnie Hunt | ||||
"Frightening" Frank McCay | John Krasinski | ||||
Rosie Levin | Colleen Villard | Alanna Ubach | |||
Referee | Bill Hader | ||||
Slug | |||||
Carla "Killer Claws" Benitez | Silent cameo | Alanna Ubach | |||
Tylor Tuskmon | Ben Feldman | ||||
Fritz | Henry Winkler | ||||
Val Little | Mindy Kaling | ||||
Duncan P. Anderson | Lucas Neff | ||||
Katherine "Cutter" Sterns | Alanna Ubach | ||||
Roze | Bob Peterson | ||||
Roto | Bobs Gannaway | ||||
Winchester "Banana Bread" | Dee Bradley Baker | ||||
Gary Gibbs | Gabriel Iglesias | ||||
Otis | Bobs Gannaway | ||||
Millie Tuskmon | Aisha Tyler | ||||
Bernard Tuskmon | John Ratzenberger | ||||
Mr. Crummyham | Curtis Armstrong | ||||
Thaila | Hadley Gannaway | ||||
Bob Yucker | Bob Uecker | ||||
Argus Blinks | John Michael Higgins |
- Note: A grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
Crew[]
Film | Director(s) | Producer(s) | Executive Producer(s) | Writers | Composer | Editor(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monsters, Inc. | Pete Docter co-directed by: Lee Unkrich and David Silverman |
Darla K. Anderson | John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton | Original Story by: Pete Docter, Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon and Ralph Eggleston Screenplay by: Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson |
Randy Newman | Robert Grahamjones & Jim Stewart |
Monsters University | Dan Scanlon | Kori Rae | John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich | Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird and Dan Scanlon | Greg Snyder |
Video games[]
- Monsters, Inc. Scream Team (PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2)
- Monsters, Inc. Scream Arena (GameCube)
- Monsters, Inc. (Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2)
- Monsters, Inc. Run (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad)
- Catch Archie (iOS, Android)
- Disney Infinity (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS)
- Kingdom Hearts III (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch)
Theme park attractions[]
- Monsters, Inc. Ride & Go Seek at Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort.
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor[]
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor is a interactive animated comedy club show attraction based on the Monsters, Inc. franchise in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.[26]
It opened on April 2, 2007, replacing the Circle-Vision attraction The Timekeeper. The characters from the 2001 and 2013 Disney/Pixar animated films Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University that appear in the attraction are Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and Roz (Bob Peterson). By November 2006, the attraction as Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor Comedy Club was going through a testing phase with expect regular operation in January 2007.[26] The attraction was nominated for the 6th Annual VES Awards - Outstanding Visual Effects in a Special Venue Project in 2008, but lost to Dinosaurs - Giants of Patagonia.[27]
On October 27, 2020, since Walt Disney World reopened, after being temporarily closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, Walt Disney World announced that all recent entertainment shows are laid off, such as Citizens of Hollywood at Disney's Hollywood Studios, due to a dispute between the Actors' Equity Association and Walt Disney World. This included the cast doing live voice for Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor.[28]
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue![]
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! is a dark ride attraction in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is based on the 2001 Disney/Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc. It opened on January 22, 2006.[29] The audio animatronic of Roz is the only figure in the ride that is fully animated, complete with a moving mouth and interactivity. The attraction replaced the short-lived Superstar Limo dark ride.[30]
References[]
- ^ Graser, Marc (April 22, 2010). "Disney drawing 'Monsters Inc.' sequel". Variety. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ^ Price, p. 201
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia (November 9, 2017). "New 'Star Wars' Trilogy in Works With Rian Johnson, TV Series Also Coming to Disney Streaming Service". Variety. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
- ^ @tranloan (February 26, 2020). "Stephen Anderson confirms that a 10 episode season of Monsters At Work will tentatively premiere on Disney+ in the spring of 2021. Kelly Marie Tran will loan her voice to the show as Val Little. (Source: @podWAM)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 9, 2019). "'Monsters At Work': Billy Crystal & John Goodman To Reprise 'Monsters, Inc.' Voice Roles On Disney+ Animated Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ^ "'Zenimation' Renewed For Season 2 By Disney+; 'Monsters At Work' Gets Premiere Date; First-Look Images". uk.news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
- ^ "Breaking News From Monstropolis: Disney+ Original Series 'Monsters at Work' Gets New Premiere Date of Wednesday, July 7". Business Wire. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
- ^ Paz, Maggie (June 10, 2021). "Monsters at Work Trailer Previews Pixar's New Disney+ Series". comingsoon.net. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c Rottenberg, Josh (January 7, 2014). "Disney to showcase new Pixar short 'Party Central' in front of 'Muppets Most Wanted' - EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Fischer, Russ (August 9, 2013). "'Monsters University' Short Film 'Party Central' Revealed". /Film. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
- ^ "Just Released: First Look at Party Central Short". Disney Insider. January 7, 2014. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ "Monsters, Inc. – Weekend Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- ^ "Top Weekends: 2nd – 12th — Weekend Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- ^ a b "Monsters University (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- ^ "Monsters University (G)". Box Office. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ "Box Office report: 'Monsters University' scares up $82 million, 'World War Z' shatters expectations". Entertainment Weekly. June 23, 2013. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
- ^ Belcastro, Joe. "Box Office Report: Monsters University schools The Heat and White House Down". Shockya. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ^ "Monsters, Inc". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ^ "Monsters, Inc". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Monsters, Inc". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ a b "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ "Monsters University". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Monsters University". Metacritic. Archived from the original on July 18, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Monsters at Work: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "Monsters at Work: Season 1". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ a b Boyd, Christopher; Powers, Scott (November 20, 2006). "Monsters, Inc. comedy act gives material a test". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ "6th Annual VES Awards". www.visualeffectssociety.com. March 24, 2015. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ Dufresne, Alessa (October 28, 2020). "Full List of All Recent Disney World Entertainment Layoffs". Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ Krosnick, Brian (June 9, 2012). "Monsters, Inc. Mike and Sulley to the Rescue". Theme Park Tourist. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ Eades, Mark (December 14, 2015). "Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monsters, Inc.. |
- Monsters, Inc.
- Pixar franchises
- Film series introduced in 2001
- Recurring events established in 2001
- Animated film series
- Computer-animated films
- Film franchises
- Children's film series