3 Things You Can Learn from… Monsters, Inc.
2001’s Monsters, Inc. is a very special movie to me. In addition to being one of the earliest movies I can recall seeing in theaters, it’s also the movie that made me fall in love with animation.
Actually, I should credit the DVD’s bonus features for that. I’d watch those programs over and over again, always astonished at the amount of work it took to create the vivid world that our favorite blue and green monsters live in. Learning about the animation process, from storyboarding to final product, was an eye-opening experience for seven-year-old Darrell, and revisiting those features in preparation for this article was still fascinating decades later. Though CGI (computer-generated imagery) has become so commonplace that we don’t even think about it anymore, it’s important to remember that there was a time when movies like Monsters, Inc. still felt revolutionary. Pixar’s fourth feature film managed to push the animation industry forward (again!) while still telling a funny, heartfelt, and truly unique story (again, again!).
So what are 3 Things You Can Learn from… Monsters, Inc.?
Details:
- Released in 2001
- Directed by Pete Docter; Co-directed by David Silverman and Lee Unkrich
- Screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Daniel Gerson; Original Story by Pete Docter, Jill Culton, Jeff Pidgeon, and Ralph Eggleston
Thing #1: If you’re writing a story, expect it to change.
“Writing is rewriting,” as the old saying goes, and that’s certainly true for screenwriting. Any movie you can think of has likely gone through major story changes, even if the core concept remained the same. That’s just the nature of crafting a story; you have to try concepts and see what works, abandoning ideas that don’t contribute to your narrative goals. Monsters. Inc. is no different, as the story went through numerous changes, the most significant being Sulley’s status in the monster world.
In early versions of the story, Sulley was actually the worst scarer at Monsters, Incorporated, a loveable loser for the audience to pity, to a certain degree. But it also meant that the audience was expected to root for a character who not only scares children for a living, but longs to be better at it. You can probably see the issue. Monsters, Inc. was always intended to be a family movie, so having a protagonist with a grim goal like that could have been alienating. Eventually, Sulley was changed to be the best scarer at the company. He was also written as a pretty humble character, making him more likable.
That’s not to say the original idea for Sulley wouldn’t have worked. In fact, if you watch the original story treatment (which you can find on the Blu-ray bonus features or at this link), you’ll probably agree that the prototype version of Sulley makes for an interesting character. But the writers knew the story could be better, so they did what was necessary to improve it. Based on the critical and commercial success of the final film, I’d say the rewrites were worth it.
Thing #2: Design your world around your characters.
One of my favorite things about fantastical settings is how those worlds are designed for their inhabitants. Without artists and production designers developing unique looks for every prop and set piece onscreen, these places would feel boring and lifeless. For example, we can all agree that the alien worlds of Star Wars wouldn’t be as compelling if Luke Skywalker was driving a Camry to the cantina.
Since there aren’t monsters (that we know of) roaming the streets of the real world, the creative minds behind Monsters, Inc. had to dream up what housing, transportation, and food might look like in a world shared by creatures of vastly different sizes and body types. Here are a few examples:
- Vehicles, doors, and even toilet paper dispensers (but not the toilets themselves, ironically) have varying sizes to account for different kinds of monsters.
- There are horn shapes on the doorways and window frames of the apartment buildings. Since many monsters in the movie have horns, it makes sense that that would be a common aesthetic feature in this world.
- There’s a hole for Sulley’s tail in the back of his chair.
- Roz’s phone and tape dispenser have sharp teeth incorporated in their designs.
Some of those examples only make blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameos, but they all add credibility to the world, making Monstropolis feel like a place that these monsters actually live in.
Thing #3: Not every character needs to be well-developed.
Character development is often more important than plot. Even the most unique and revolutionary concept is nothing without the people at the heart of the story. Sure, we’ve seen the story of Seven Samurai retold in The Magnificent Seven, A Bug’s Life, and even an episode of The Mandalorian, but seeing those particular characters in that particular plot is what keeps us interested.
That being said, not every character needs to be the most well-rounded hero ever put to screen. Indeed, Monsters, Inc. has a notably one-dimensional character in its female lead, Boo.
I hadn’t actually noticed Boo’s lack of depth until I rewatched the original story treatment, which has an older, more verbal version of the character. I realized that, in the final film, we don’t actually know anything about Boo. We don’t know about her family, or where she comes from, or even her real name. She’s pretty much a walking, baby-talking MacGuffin. If her character was replaced with some sort of object that Mike and Sulley had to return to the human world, the stakes and story would basically be the same. But since she’s an adorable toddler who’s completely unafraid of the monsters around her (besides Randall), she brings something to the story that a simple object can’t: an emotional connection for the audience. Her and Sulley’s relationship is the most important one in the film. Without it, the audience doesn’t really have anything to care about. So Boo manages to be the glue holding the story together, despite her lack of character development.
Also, she’s like, three-years-old. She hasn’t exactly had time to grow into her own person yet.
What do you think of Monsters, Inc.? Did you watch the bonus features over and over again? Did you also have the blue VHS tape? Let me know in the comments!
