STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “Monsters, Inc.”

Don’t be afraid. The monster coming out of your closet is just doing his job. Actually, you should be afraid because that’s what the monster’s job is: making you afraid so much that you scream.

Thus is the world that is the city of Monstropolis.

Directed by Pete Doctor, screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Dan Gerson, and story by Doctor, Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon, and Ralph Eggleston, Monsters, Inc. is about duo/best friends/roommates James P. “Sulley” Sullivan and Mike Wazowski, two monsters who work at Monsters, Inc., a company that provides doors to various children’s rooms around a parallel world (our world).

Sulley’s job is to scare the children so much that they scream, which is collected by Mike, his spotter, using scare canisters. The screams that Monsters, Inc. collects are used to power Monstropolis.

The monsters believe that their job is dangerous because they believe that children are toxic to them, so when Sulley discover a little girl has appeared, the city panics.

Sulley and Mike try to avoid getting caught by the authorities so they can bring the little girl, whom Sulley names “Boo,” back home.

The concept alone is already interesting, making heavy creative use of the “monster in the closet” premise. It’s turned on its head when the story presents these monsters as basically “brave business people risking their lives for their city.

The story tells us that the city is in the middle of an energy crisis because not enough children are easily scared today as it was before. No fear means no screams, and no screams means no power for the city. One of the film’s subplots about discovering a replacement is very clever and a very wise lesson.

Both Sulley and Mike have character arcs, but Sulley has the heartwarming arc, initially wanting to be the number one scarer of Monsters, Inc., but by the end all he cares about is bringing Boo home, whom he has come to love like a father.

The emotional scenes between Sulley and Boo are pure Pixar, reminding us that animated non-human characters can still move you. The best scene, however, is the climax which… well, let’s just say they use the door concept to its fullest.

In between all of this is the conspiracy behind the scenes that is partly conceived by Sulley and Mike’s rival, Randall. Honestly, it’s the weakest part of the film, but it IS necessary because of the end result.

Early Pixar films are iconic, so I was very aware of the film when it first came out, but wasn’t able to see it until it came out on home video. I bring up the climax scene earlier because that’s the scene that stuck with me after all these years. As a teenager and adult, re-watching the film made me appreciate the emotional scenes even more, and making the film become my second favorite Pixar film.

Monsters, Inc. is a film that shows that the status quo does not guarantee success. In a world that’s always changing, there are other ways in achieving the goal. It’s also a film about the importance of learning about other people to discover that there is no reason to be afraid of them.

Open that door, and check it out.

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