‘Monsters Inc.’ Gets A Silent Film For Its 20th Anniversary

Although the two protagonists from ‘Monsters Inc.’, Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan, have still had their share of the limelight on the new Disney+ show ‘Monsters At Work‘, it will be shocking for many Pixar fans to learn that the two characters’ original movie first came out 20 years ago! To celebrate, Pixar has released a short silent black-and-white film starring the comedic duo, and the result is a very entertaining combination of Steamboat Willie animation and that signature ‘Monsters Inc.’ humor. Check out the video in Pixar‘s Tweet, shown below!

It’s scarin’ time!
Grab your popcorn and watch Mike and Sulley fill up those scream canisters in this classic silent film style.🍿🎥 🎞️ #MonstersInc20th pic.twitter.com/pU3MarDu1C

— Pixar (@Pixar) November 9, 2021

The short film is basically an exact summary of the original ‘Monsters Inc’ movie, but here it’s been called a Pixar Remix Cartoon. Instead of Cinemascope (which is a type of camera lens that’s very well-known in the movie industry), the movie was supposedly produced with “Scare-o-scope”. Viewers can watch as Mike (voiced by comedian Billy Crystal normally) and Sulley (normally voiced by Jon Goodman) carry out their typical Scaring duties (with Sulley being the Scarer and Mike assisting him) until a child name Boo accidentally escapes into the Monsters Inc building. While Mike and Sulley try to hide her from the villainous Randall and Waternoose, subtitles are used (featuring deliberately old-fashioned slang like “whippersnapper”) instead of dialogue and physical comedy is a big focus (which is very much in keeping with old silent films like those of Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin). Even the villains, Randall and Mr. Waternoose, use vintage sayings like “listen here, see”!

This short Pixar Remix Cartoon clearly illustrates the bond that Sulley is developing with Boo (who calls him Kitty) before the movie’s climax begins and viewers watch as the heroes and Randall engage in a hijinks-filled chase. When the short film ends with the same finale as the original Pixar movie, Monstropolis is running on laugh power instead of scream power and we see Sulley reuniting with Boo. Are you a fan of the original movie, and have you been watching the new series ‘Monsters at Work’?