Monsters, Inc.

Question: At the end of the movie, Fungus is seen amongst the employees promoting doing fun stuff, but since he is seen assisting Randall, and generally helping him and Waternoose with the scream machine earlier on, shouldn't he have been banished (like Randall) or hauled off by the CDA (like Waternoose) when the whole plan came to the CDA's attention?

Answer: Fungus was an unwilling lackey, not a co-conspirator.

Phixius

Question: After Monsters, Inc. has switched over to "laugh power", the scare floor has a very different look. There's a board in the back with "JOKE OF THE DAY" written on it. Can anyone see the text of the joke?

Answer: The Doctor says to the patient, "What seems to be the problem?" The patient lifts his arm and says "It hurts when I do this." The Doctor says "don't do that."

Question: Why does Sully get surprised at the end of the movie when he sees Boo?

Answer: He's not as much surprised as he is pleased to see her. She's going to be a little older than when he last saw her because it took Mike so long to rebuild the door. So if he's surprised, it may be at how much she's grown in that time period.

MovieFan612

Question: When Mike took little Mikey away, when Boo cried the lights started to flicker, and when she laughed, the lights all shattered. How come when Sully was singing to Boo and Mike tripped on a lamp and she laughed, the lights weren't so overpowered?

Answer: There are a number of times when Boo laughs or giggles briefly that the power isn't affected. Presumably the laughter needs to reach a certain level to become useful. Just as they aren't able to make power by screaming themselves, there's something particular to both the screams and the laughter.

Question: Why does the electricity stop flickering when Mike trips on the lamp?

Trainman14

Chosen answer: The electricity was flickering was because Boo was crying. After Mike trips on the lamp, Boo stops crying and her attention is drawn to Mike, stopping the electricity from flickering.

Casual Person

Question: I have read somewhere that there might be a sequel to Monsters, Inc. to be released in 2013. Is there any truth to this rumor?

Answer: Yes, a number of reputable sources have reported that original director Pete Docter is working on developing a sequel. While a couple of sources suggest a 2012 release date, most point to a 2013 release being most likely.

Tailkinker

Question: In the beginning of the sushi restaurant scene, two monsters walk in and everyone yells, "Get a paper bag." What's that about?

Answer: In Japan, it's traditional for staff to say "irasshaimase" when customers enter a store or restaurant. This particular scene is a reference to that - while "irasshaimase" doesn't sound much like "get a paper bag", the cadence is not dissimilar, so it's quite plausible that the phrase has gradually mutated over the years through the mistakes of monsters who haven't been listening properly.

Tailkinker

Question: What is the Thousand-Eyed monster's name?

Answer: His name is Ted Paulie.

Brad

Question: Does anyone know if the monster world is daytime when the human world has nighttime? When the monsters are scaring Sulley says after getting a lot of scream "slumber party" which I assume means it is nighttime in the human world. But at the end of the movie when Sulley re-visits Boo there is sunlight on the door implying it is daytime. I'm confused.

Answer: At every moment it is night time somewhere in the world. The factory presumably operates on all three shifts, so they simply work on whichever timezone currently has citizens turning in for the night. Sully just visited Boo when it was daytime wherever she lives, we don't know what time of day it was in Monstropolis.

Phixius

Also, at the beginning of the scare floor sequence in the movie, the guy that counts down says, "East and Seaborne, we've got scarers combing out!" The "East and Seaborne" line evokes the idea that that's the time zone they are scaring in.

Question: While Mike, Sully, and Boo are riding the doors, Mike says something that sounds to me like "Great plan, get it saved." What is he actually saying?

Answer: According to the subtitles on my DVD, Mike says "What a plan - simple, yet insane."

Kathy Tjarks

Question: When the monster exits the door and says, "She got this close to me." you could hear rock music, but the kid was noted as being six years old. What kind of six-year kid would play rock music, especially in the middle of the night?

Answer: It's supposed to show how much the children are changing. They used to be sweet and innocent, and easily scared. Now they're a lot harder to scare, thanks to violent TV, rock music, video games etc... Plus it's not too big of a stretch to imagine a six year old kid playing rock music, and it doesn't have to be in the middle of the night. The practice run near the beginning of the film shows that the monsters can enter the room under a minute after the child is put to bed.

Gary O'Reilly

Question: Who started the rumor that children were toxic and harmful?

Answer: The movie doesn't say, but Waternoose's long history at the company implies that even if he isn't behind the story, he's been supporting it for a long time.

Question: Mike greets the slug-like janitor with the words, "Cheloubi, baby." Have you any idea who Cheloubi is or was ?

Answer: Cheloubi is the name of the slug like janitor.

Question: As in all Pixar films, in this one they have the main cast listed, then very far down in the credits they have additional character voices. I was very surprised to see the name Chris Rock under additional voices. Who does he play?

Answer: I think you've got things a bit confused. Chris Rock isn't listed under "Additional Voices" but under "Lighting Artists". I'm pretty sure that he is not THE Chris Rock.

Andreas[DK]

Question: What is the length of time in the monster world compared to the human world? Boo is gone overnight in the monster world, so would that mean the human world is longer since Boo's parents aren't worried about their missing child?

Answer: How do you know Boo's parents weren't worried about her? Most of the film takes place after Boo goes into the monster world and the one time when she goes back her room is empty, only meaning her parents weren't there when she returned. It's also impossible to tell whether the monster world's days are shorter or longer than the human world.

Lummie

Question: Is that Jennifer Tilly's voice at the very end when they are on the "laugh floor?" It sounds different.

Answer: Yes, that's her as Celia.

MovieFan612

Question: I saw Frank Oz's name listed in the credits, does anyone know who he does the voice of?

Answer: He voices Fungus, Randall's assistant.

Andreas[DK]

Monsters, Inc. mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Sulley places the menu on the table he puts it face down (logo first), then when he lifts up the table, to quickly get Boo, the menu is face up. (00:26:05)

T1969

More mistakes in Monsters, Inc.

Henry J. Waternoose: There's nothing more toxic or deadly than a human child. A single touch could kill you. Leave a door open, and one can walk right into this factory; right into the monster world.
Trainee: I won't go into a kid's room. You can't make me.
Henry J. Waternoose: You're going in there, because we need this. Our city is counting on you to collect those screams. Without scream, we have no power. Yes, it's dangerous work, and that's why I need you to be at your best. I need scarers who are confident, tenacious, tough, intimidating. I need scarers like... like... James P. Sullivan.

More quotes from Monsters, Inc.

Trivia: The voice behind Roz, the number 1 of the Child Detection Agency and the undercover secretary, is actually a man.

More trivia for Monsters, Inc.

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.