Monsters, Inc. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Monsters, Inc.
Directed by	Peter Docter Lee Unkrich David Silverman
Produced by	Darla Anderson John Lasseter
Written by	Story: Jill Culton Peter Docter Ralph Eggleston Jeff Pidgeon Screenplay: Andrew Stanton Daniel Gerson Additional Screenplay: Robert L. Baird Rhett Reese Jonathan Roberts
Starring	John Goodman Billy Crystal Steve Buscemi James Coburn Jennifer Tilly
Music by	Randy Newman
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures Pixar
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date(s)	November 2, 2001
Running time	94 min.
Language	English
Budget	$115 million
Money made	Domestic: $255,873,250 Worldwide: $525,366,597

Monsters, Inc. is a fun computer-animated movie from 2001. It's a buddy comedy film made by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The movie features the voices of famous actors like John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, and Jennifer Tilly.

Pete Docter directed the film, which was his first time directing a movie. John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton were executive producers. The story is about two monsters, James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and his best friend Mike Wazowski. They work at a factory called Monsters, Inc. This factory creates energy by scaring human children.

In the monster world, everyone believes that human children are dangerous and toxic. But when a little girl accidentally enters the factory, Sulley and Mike have to find a way to get her home. They must do this before anyone else finds out.

Pete Docter started working on the movie in 1996. He wrote the story with Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon, and Ralph Eggleston. Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson wrote the movie's script. The characters changed a lot during the five years it took to make the film. The animators found new ways to make fur and cloth look very real. Randy Newman, who wrote music for other Pixar films, created the music for Monsters, Inc. too.

When Monsters, Inc. came out on November 2, 2001, critics loved it. It was also a huge success at the box office, earning over $577 million worldwide. It became the third highest-grossing film of 2001. The movie was re-released in 3D in theaters on December 19, 2012. A prequel movie, Monsters University, came out on June 21, 2013. It was directed by Dan Scanlon.

Plot Summary

The monster city of Monstropolis gets its power from the screams of human children. At the Monsters, Inc. factory, skilled monsters called "scarers" go into the human world. They use special doors that open portals to children's bedroom closets. Their job is to scare kids and collect their screams. This work is thought to be very risky because monsters believe human children are toxic.

However, there's a problem: children are getting harder to scare. This means less energy is being produced. Henry J. Waternoose, the boss of Monsters, Inc., is desperate to find a solution.

James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and his partner, Mike Wazowski, are the best scarers at the factory. But their main rival, Randall Boggs, is almost as good. One day, Sulley finds that Randall has left a door open on the scare floor. A small human girl has walked into the factory! Sulley tries to send her back, but Randall sends the door away. Sulley hides the girl and takes her out of the factory.

Sulley accidentally interrupts Mike's date with his girlfriend, Celia, at a sushi restaurant. When the child is discovered, everything turns into chaos. Sulley and Mike manage to escape with the child before the Child Detection Agency (CDA) arrives. They soon learn that the girl isn't toxic at all. Sulley starts to care for her and names her "Boo." Mike, however, just wants to get rid of her.

The two friends sneak Boo back into the factory. They dress her up like a baby monster to try and send her home. But Randall finds Boo and tries to kidnap her. He accidentally kidnaps Mike instead. Randall ties Mike to a big machine called "The Scream Extractor." He plans to use it to force screams from kidnapped human children. He thinks this will solve the monster world's energy problems.

Before Randall can use the machine on Mike, Sulley stops him. Sulley tells Waternoose what Randall is doing. But Waternoose is secretly working with Randall! He sends Mike and Sulley away to the Himalayas. There, they meet the Abominable Snowman. He tells them about a nearby village. Sulley realizes he can use this to get back to the factory. Sulley decides to return, but Mike refuses to go with him.

Meanwhile, Randall is about to use the Scream Extractor on Boo. Suddenly, Sulley arrives and saves her, destroying the machine. Randall and Sulley fight. Mike returns and helps Sulley defeat Randall. The two friends make up, grab Boo, and run away.

Randall chases them into the door vault. A wild chase begins among millions of doors moving on rails. Boo's laughter makes all the doors open at once, letting monsters go freely between their world and the human world. Randall tries to hurt Sulley, but Boo bravely attacks Randall. This lets Sulley catch him. Sulley and Mike then trap Randall in the human world. There, two people at a trailer park mistake him for an alligator and hit him with a shovel.

Sulley and Mike take Boo and her door to the training room. They trick Waternoose into admitting his plan with Randall. Mike secretly records their whole conversation for the CDA. The CDA arrests Waternoose. It turns out that Roz, the scare floor secretary, is actually the leader of the CDA! Roz thanks Sulley and Mike for their help. She tells them to send Boo home and then has Boo's door destroyed. This is to make sure no one can contact her again.

With the factory temporarily closed, Sulley becomes the new CEO of Monsters, Inc. Under his leadership, they solve the energy crisis. Instead of screams, they start collecting children's laughter. Laughter is found to be ten times more powerful! Mike later shows Sulley that he has rebuilt Boo's door. It just needs one last piece, which Sulley kept as a souvenir. Sulley puts the piece in, enters the door, and happily reunites with Boo.

Characters and Voice Actors

• John Goodman voices James P. "Sulley" Sullivan. Sulley is a big, furry blue monster with horns and purple spots. Even though he's great at scaring, he's actually a very kind monster. He has been the "Best Scarer" at Monsters, Inc. for a long time.
• Billy Crystal voices Michael "Mike" Wazowski. Mike is a short, round green monster with one big eye and thin arms and legs. He helps Sulley on the scare floor, and they are close friends and roommates. Mike is usually organized, but he can get worried easily, and his ego sometimes causes trouble. He dates Celia Mae, who calls him "Googly-Bear."
• Mary Gibbs voices Boo. Boo is a two-year-old human girl. She isn't afraid of any monster except Randall. She thinks Sulley is a big cat and calls him "Kitty." The book based on the movie says Boo's real name is Mary Gibbs, just like her voice actress.
• Steve Buscemi voices Randall Boggs. Randall is a purple, eight-legged lizard monster. He can change his skin color to blend in with his surroundings, like a chameleon. He is a mean and boastful character who tries to be better than Sulley and Mike at collecting screams.
• James Coburn voices Henry J. Waternoose III. He is a crab-like monster with many legs. He is the CEO of Monsters, Inc., a job that has been in his family for three generations. He acts like a mentor to Sulley and believes in him as a scarer.
• Jennifer Tilly voices Celia Mae. Celia is a monster with one eye and tentacle-like legs, like a gorgon. She works as the receptionist at Monsters, Inc. and is Mike's girlfriend.
• Bob Peterson voices Roz. Roz is a slug-like monster with a rough voice. She manages Scare Floor F, where Sulley, Mike, and Randall work. At the end of the movie, we learn that Roz is "Agent Number 1" of the CDA. She had been working undercover at Monsters, Inc. for two and a half years.
• John Ratzenberger voices Yeti (also known as The Abominable Snowman). He is a furry white monster who was sent away to the Himalayas. This character was inspired by the Abominable Snowman from the 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
• Frank Oz voices Jeff Fungus. Fungus is Randall's red-skinned, three-eyed assistant who is often stressed.
• Dan Gerson voices Smitty and Needleman. These are two silly monsters with cracking voices. They work as janitors and operate the Door Shredder when needed.
• Steve Susskind voices Jerry Slugworth. Jerry is a red monster with seven fingers. He manages Scare Floor F and is a good friend of Waternoose.
• Bonnie Hunt voices Ms. Flint. She is a female monster who trains new monsters how to scare children.
• Jeff Pidgeon voices Thaddeus "Phlegm" Bile. He is a trainee scarer for Monsters, Inc.
• Samuel Lord Black voices George Sanderson. George is a chubby, orange-furred monster with one horn. A funny part of the movie is when George accidentally touches human things, like socks. This causes a "23–19" incident, and the CDA shaves him bald. He is good friends with Pete "Claws" Ward.
• Phil Proctor voices Charlie. Charlie is George's assistant with sea-green skin and tentacle-like limbs. He is friends with George, Mike, and Sulley, but he quickly calls the CDA on his scarer if needed.
• Joe Ranft voices Pete "Claws" Ward. He is a blue monster with very sharp claws and bad breath.

Images for kids

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  When production began in earnest on Monsters, Inc. in 2000, Pixar relocated to a larger building in Emeryville, California.

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  The "door vault" scene is one of the film's most elaborate sets.

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  A drawing of a character for Stanley Mouse's "Excuse My Dust", a film that he had tried to sell to Hollywood in 1998

See also

In Spanish: Monsters, Inc. para niños