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Monsters at Work
Genre
Based onCharacters created
by Pixar Animation Studios
Developed byBobs Gannaway
Voices of
Theme music composerRandy Newman
ComposerDominic Lewis
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
  • Bobs Gannaway (season 1)
  • Kevin Deters (season 2)[1]
Producers
  • Sean Lurie
  • Ferrell Barron
EditorDan Molina
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companyDisney Television Animation
Original release
NetworkDisney+
ReleaseJuly 7, 2021 (2021-07-07) –
present

Monsters at Work is an American computer-animated television series that debuted on Disney+ on July 7, 2021, as part of the Monsters, Inc. media franchise.

A direct continuation of the original 2001 film, it features the voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprising their roles as Mike Wazowski and James P. "Sulley" Sullivan from the original film and the 2013 prequel Monsters University; several other voice actors from the films reprise their roles as guests. A second season was announced and is set for release in 2023.

Premise

Monsters at Work begins the day after Henry J. Waternoose III's arrest, with the Monsters, Incorporated factory making the transition to laugh power. Tylor Tuskmon, a recent Scare Major graduate from Monsters University, having previously received a letter of acceptance from Waternoose to be a scarer at the factory, is excited to work at the same company as his idol Sulley. However, Tylor is devastated to learn that the company is no longer in need of scarers, and he is reassigned to work as a mechanic on the Monsters Inc. Facilities Team (MIFT). Meanwhile, Mike and Sulley encounter the trials and tribulations of running the company.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of Monsters, Inc. characters

Main

  • Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski: The self-appointed Senior Co-President of Monsters, Incorporated, Chief Executive Vice-Deputy Administrative Director of Comedy Resources Management, and Sulley's best friend. He is also a top jokester and was Tylor's teacher in comedy during season one.
  • John Goodman as James P. "Sulley" Sullivan: The CEO of Monsters, Incorporated and Mike's best friend.
  • Ben Feldman as Tylor Tuskmon: A scare graduate from Monsters University who was reassigned to the Monsters, Incorporated Facilities Team. During season one he took part-time classes to be a jokester.
  • Mindy Kaling as Val Little: Tylor's acquaintance from Monsters University who shared a class with him during their freshman year before she dropped out. She is an enthusiastic mechanic. As season one progresses, she and Tylor become friends.
  • Henry Winkler as Fritz: The friendly and scatterbrained one-eyed Tapir-nosed boss of the facilities team.
  • Lucas Neff as:
    • Duncan P. Anderson: A cunning, self-centered winged four-eyed plumber who is obsessed with getting Fritz's job, and has a one-sided rivalry with Tylor.
    • A human father in "The Damaged Room"
    • Richard, a small winged monster in "Little Monsters".
  • Alanna Ubach as:
    • Katherine "Cutter" Sterns: the officious crab-like rule follower.
    • Ubach also voices several minor characters, such as Carla "Killer Claws" Benitez, "Roaring" Rosie Levin, a human mother in "The Damaged Room", and the narrator of the orientation film in "Welcome to Monsters, Incorporated".

Recurring

  • Bonnie Hunt as Ms. Flint: A monster who runs the simulation room at Monsters, Incorporated.
  • Curtis Armstrong as Mr. Crummyham: A monster with Gecko-like abilities who is a supervisor at Monsters, Incorporated.
  • Jennifer Tilly as Celia Mae: Mike's one-eyed and snake-haired girlfriend who has been promoted from Monsters Incorporated receptionist to Laugh Floor supervisor.[2]
  • Bob Peterson as:
    • Roz: The leader of the Child Detection Agency who previously was undercover as a secretary at Monsters, Incorporated.
    • A monster who shares Peterson's name that wears removable teeth. He was originally voiced by Jack Angel in the film.
    • Roze, Roz's twin sister who takes over Roz's old job.
  • Stephen Stanton as:
    • Needleman and Smitty: Two workers of Monsters, Incorporated that operate the Door Shredder. They were originally voiced by Dan Gerson in the film.
    • George Sanderson: A scarer who was the victim of the code "23-19". He was originally voiced by Sam Black in the film.
  • Christopher Swindle as:
    • Jeff Fungus: The former scare assistant of Randall J. Boggs who is now Mike's laugh assistant. He was originally voiced by Frank Oz in the first film.
    • Thaddeus "Phlegm" Bile: A trainee monster. He was originally voiced by Jeff Pidgeon in the film.
    • Theodore "Ted" Pauley: A monster with 16 removable eyes. He was originally voiced by Katherine Ringgold in the film.
    • Chuck: The assistant of Pete "Claws" Ward. He was originally voiced by Danny Mann in the film.

Other cast members include Bobs Gannaway as Otis, the new Monsters, Incorporated receptionist, and Roto, Duncan's pet,[2] Gabriel Iglesias as Gary Gibbs, Mike Wazowski's arch-nemesis who appears in "The Big Wazowskis" and "Bad Hair Day",[3] and Dee Bradley Baker as Winchester: the non-verbal member of the Monsters, Incorporated Facilities Team, nicknamed "Banana Bread".[4]

Alfred Molina reprises his role as Professor Derek Knight from Monsters University (2013) in "Welcome to Monsters, Incorporated". John Ratzenberger reprises his role as the Abominable Snowman from the original film and Monsters University in "Adorable Returns" and "Little Monsters". Ratzenberger also voices Tylor's father Bernard who appears in "Adorable Returns".[5]

Aisha Tyler guest stars in "Meet Mift" as Tylor's mother Millie and John Michael Higgins guest stars as Argus Blinks in "The Cover Up". Bob Uecker guest stars in "The Damaged Room" as a monster parody of himself named Bob Yucker.[6] Gannaway's daughter Hadley guest stars in "Little Monsters" as Ms. Flint's daughter Thalia.[7] In addition, Devin Bright, Cooper Friedman, Lucian Perez, and Isabella Abiera voice monster children in "Little Monsters".

Additional monster voices include Carlos Alazraqui, Ferrell Barron, Hiromi Dames, Michaela Dietz, and Dave Wittenberg.

Episodes

No.Title [8]Directed byWritten byOriginal release date [8]Disney Channel air date [8]Prod.
code [8]
1"Welcome to Monsters, Incorporated"Kaitlyn RitterBobs GannawayJuly 7, 2021 (2021-07-07)January 6, 2023101
Monsters University scare graduate Tylor Tuskmon receives a letter of acceptance from Henry J. Waternoose III to be a scarer at Monsters, Incorporated. However, Tylor arrives at the factory the day after Waternoose's arrest by the CDA for his plot to kidnap human children.[a] The Board of Directors put Sulley and Mike in charge of the factory and give Roz's old position to her twin sister Roze. Under Sulley and Mike's new management, the company is revamped and needs jokesters instead of scarers. Having studied for a discontinued job, Tylor is transferred to MIFT (Monsters, Incorporated Facilities Team) as a maintenance worker, a position he dislikes and is eager to leave. He runs away from his new co-workers, bluffs his way onto the Laugh Floor and attempts to make a child laugh. Because of his lack of experience, his attempt backfires and results in a major accident. Nevertheless, Sulley believes in him and Tylor reluctantly accepts his position in the facilities crew while Mike decides to teach a comedy class to show scarers how to be funny.
2"Meet Mift"Shane ZalvinBart JennettJuly 7, 2021 (2021-07-07)January 6, 2023102

MIFT puts Tylor through an initiation ceremony, but his lack of enthusiasm and skill make his future with them seem uncertain. Meanwhile, Mike is struggling to keep up with his positions as both a jokester and a comedy teacher, and the energy crisis begins affecting Monsters, Incorporated. While Mike is making a child laugh, an outage causes the door to deactivate, trapping Mike in the human world. However, Mike is saved after Tylor helps the MIFT crew repair the door station. While celebrating Tylor's first successful repair job, the members of MIFT learn Winchester's actual name (having previously nicknamed him Banana Bread) when he resigns to be a jokester after impressing Ms. Flint.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike sings a song concerning the possible dangers of comedy.
3"The Damaged Room"Shane ZalvinBobs Gannaway and Evan Gore & Heather Lombard
Based on a Premise by: Travis Braun		July 14, 2021 (2021-07-14)January 14, 2023103

Phlegm damages a wall in a baby girl's bedroom, forcing MIFT to enter and quickly fix it. The child needs to be removed during the repair, so Mike decides to look after her and ends up naming her Snore, due to her snoring. Sulley reveals he got tickets to a baseball game and Mike takes Snore with them to see it. Val tries to remind Tylor of their time together at Monsters University, but he does not recall spending time with her. They manage to fix the wall, but get trapped when the door is accidentally deactivated. Val admits to Tylor that her time at Monsters University was special to her because he was the only one who spoke to her. Cutter gets them out of the room and Mike brings Snore back and sings her a lullaby to put her back to sleep. As they leave, Tylor gains a greater appreciation for Val and reveals that he recalls speaking to her at Monsters University.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike teaches his class how to use a whoopee cushion and accidentally sets it off.
4"The Big Wazowskis"Kaitlyn RitterBobs GannawayJuly 21, 2021 (2021-07-21)January 14, 2023104

At Monsters, Incorporated's annual bowling tournament, Mike gets into a heated bet against his charismatic rival/doppelganger Gary. Taking the opportunity to impress Mike, Tylor offers to assemble MIFT into a bowling team to compete on Mike's behalf. An ecstatic Fritz appoints Tylor the team captain, but Tylor is dismayed when he realizes that he is the only one who can play well. Competing as "The Big Wazowskis", MIFT fumble their way to the top of the tournament by a series of accidents. Duncan secretly meets with Tylor to replace MIFT in the final match with a more skilled team, and in return, Tylor signs a contract promising Duncan that he will not seek Fritz's job. Tylor then misleads MIFT into thinking the match has been cancelled. On the day of the match, MIFT confronts Tylor over his lie. Duncan's team abandons Tylor for his selfishness, but Tylor takes responsibility and leads MIFT by turning their lack of skill into brilliant plays, to Duncan's dismay. However, the match ends up being a tie, forcing Mike and Gary to share the grand prize of a dinner for two at Harryhausen's, much to Mike's annoyance.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike attempts to teach the class about how to deal with hecklers, only to be constantly heckled by Gary.

Note: This episode is dedicated to story artist, Robert Gibbs (father of Mary Gibbs, who voiced Boo in Monsters, Inc.) who died in 2020.
5"The Cover Up"Shane ZalvinRicky Roxburgh and Bobs GannawayJuly 28, 2021 (2021-07-28)January 21, 2023105

When Fritz takes a vacation to the human world, he spins a wheel to decide who will be temporary supervisor in his absence. The wheel lands on Val, but Duncan guilts Val into allowing him to be temporary supervisor. Duncan abuses the position with outrageous demands, particularly of Tylor. When Tylor engages in a prank to get even, however, Duncan retaliates and the pair accidentally cause a citywide blackout. MIFT reluctantly agrees to cover up the incident, but things get tense when an inspector from the Monstropolis Energy Regulatory Commission arrives and discovers the truth. When he confronts the team and threatens Duncan with banishment, he is accidentally knocked unconscious by a canister and Duncan and Tylor throw him through Fritz's vacation door. Two weeks later, Fritz and the inspector emerge and the inspector, having enjoyed his impromptu vacation, decides to let everyone off with a warning. As it all happened on Duncan's watch, Mike and Sulley confront him over his fireable offenses, but are convinced by Fritz to let it slide when both Tylor and Duncan take responsibility for the accident.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike tries to explain the concept of knock-knock jokes but two monsters fail to understand and Mike, visibly stressed, is carried out on a stretcher.
6"The Vending Machine"Kaitlyn RitterMichelle Spitz and Bobs GannawayAugust 4, 2021 (2021-08-04)January 21, 2023106

Tylor accidentally damages Vendy, the MIFT vending machine. At the same time, profits and morale are down at the company and Fritz is asked to fire one of the members of the team due to budget cuts, leaving Tylor worried about being fired due to his lack of repair skill. When Mike hears of the situation, he decides to improve company morale by making several outlandish and expensive upgrades to the facility, starting with a brand new vending machine for MIFT. However, an argument between Duncan and Tylor leads to the new machine being damaged and Duncan's attempts to repair it causes it to severely malfunction. When the machine attacks Duncan, Tylor destroys it to save him. A stressed Fritz announces that, rather than firing one of his team, he will retire. Though it turns out that Mike's ideas to boost morale have worked, increasing productivity and profits and Fritz stays on. The next day, Tylor surprises the team by revealing that he has repaired the original Vendy.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike instructs the class to dress-up as clowns. However, one monster comes across as scarier in clown makeup.
7"Adorable Returns"Shane ZalvinBobs Gannaway and Ethan SandlerAugust 11, 2021 (2021-08-11)January 28, 2023107

Tylor gets a chance to become an official jokester when Mike summons his comedy class to the Laugh Floor to help generate power during a heatwave. However, Tylor must first help fix the door rails. In his haste, he accidentally gets caught in one and ends up through a banishment door to the Himalayas where he meets Adorable, the Yeti who helped Mike and Sulley to return to the monster world. Val brings Tylor back, but they accidentally bring Adorable along who reminisces on his past at Monsters, Incorporated. Everyone is afraid of him due to rumors over why he was banished. Val decides to find out why Adorable was banished while Tylor opens up to him about how he wants to be a jokester. After convincing him go back through the door, Val informs Tylor that Adorable was banished after he discovered a letter from Waternoose in regards to plans for his scream extractor. Tylor gives up his chance to be a jokester so that he can bring Adorable back to Monstropolis where Mike and Sulley formally un-banish him and make him the official Monsters, Incorporated snow cone vendor.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike tries to explain the use of a sting, but gets interrupted by his assistant, who then stalls when Mike is hit with a boxing glove.
8"Little Monsters"Shane ZalvinRicky Roxburgh and Bobs GannawayAugust 18, 2021 (2021-08-18)January 28, 2023108

After several failed jokester auditions, Ms. Flint tells Tylor that he is not funny and will not be offered any more auditions. However, Tylor sees an opportunity to redeem himself during Monsters, Incorporated's annual 'Mini Monsters Day' when he attempts to impress Ms. Flint's daughter Thalia with his jokes. He briefly gets along with her when MIFT rescues a baby monster from the door shafts. Though she later tells him that he is not funny. While complaining to Val about Ms. Flint, Thalia overhears and says that she will go tell her mother. While chasing after Thalia, Tylor crashes into a coffee cart and inadvertently ends up making others laugh. He admits to Thalia that he wanted to make her laugh in the hope of becoming a jokester. His honesty earns him her respect and she tells MIFT that she enjoyed her day with them and that they are the unsung heroes of Monsters, Incorporated, including Tylor. Later, she tells her mother that she found Tylor funny.

Mike's Comedy Class: With the help of Sulley, Mike explains the concept of a comedy duo, and thinks himself as the straight man while demonstrating why he is actually the goofball of the pair.
9"Bad Hair Day"Kaitlyn RitterMichelle Spitz and Bobs GannawayAugust 25, 2021 (2021-08-25)February 4, 2023109

Due to his previous failed auditions, Tylor believes that he will never become a jokester and decides to instead focus on being a perfect MIFT member. The other MIFT members are celebrating the anniversary of former employee David who was sucked into a shredder shaft and killed, aside from a lock of hair that they keep in a jar to honor him. To prove himself, Tylor offers to do tasks for the other MIFT members while they are out of the office. However, things go wrong when Duncan's pet Roto eats David's hair. Tylor eventually goes to the shredder shaft to find more of David's hair, and accidentally turns the shredder on. He manages to stop the shredder, but gets knocked out and dreams that he meets David. When he awakens, Tylor returns to the office and ends up admitting what happened. The others commend Tylor for his honesty and assure him that he is a good MIFT member, and it is revealed that they have a bag of David's hair to replace it.

Mike's Comedy Class: Mike explains improvisation and asks for suggestions. However, he can only imitate round objects.
10"It's Laughter They're After"Kaitlyn RitterBart Jennett and Bobs GannawaySeptember 1, 2021 (2021-09-01)February 4, 2023110
Mike and Sulley are told by Roz that the Monstropolis Energy Regulatory Commission had found that Monsters, Incorporated is not generating enough power. Unless the factory can generate one million gigglewatts in one day, laugh power will be considered unreliable and the factory will be shut down, with power needs transferring to their business rival Fear Co. (which has retained the scaring method, much to Sulley's disgust). Since laughs provide ten times more power than screams, Tylor reasons that they need to make larger canisters. While Cutter works on a prototype, Tylor is summoned to Ms. Flint's office where she tells him that his humor comes from physical comedy. Mike then makes Tylor a jokester-in-training to help the factory generate enough power. As he begins on the Laugh Floor, MIFT arrives to cheer him on. The power deadline is almost not met, until Cutter brings in the larger prototype canister and attaches it to Mike's door. After Monsters, Incorporated is saved from shutting down, Tylor is transferred to the Laugh Floor as an official jokester. As he begins his first day with Val as his assistant, the Laugh Floor epilogue from Monsters, Inc. is seen.

Production

Development

During The Walt Disney Company's earnings call, in November 2017, CEO Bob Iger announced that a new series set in the universe of Monsters, Inc., was in development for their planned streaming service Disney+.[9] The series is produced by Disney Television Animation.[10][11] Longtime Disney Television producer Bobs Gannaway served as showrunner for the first season. He was asked to work on the series after development began, due to his experience on both TV animation and films, having directed the Cars spin-off Planes: Fire & Rescue.[2]

During the 2019 D23 Expo, Gannaway and producer Ferrell Barron revealed that employees from Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar were also involved in the production, to create a series that Barron described as "unique and special".[12] Monsters, Inc. filmmakers, including director and Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter, provided the team with both used and unused concept art from the film, with the unused concept art being recycled for the series.[12] Gannaway stated that the creative leaders at Pixar were, "very supportive of the show" and additionally stated, "they were also very much like 'Go out and create new characters and have fun.' So, it wasn't by any means any kind of policing situation. It was go have fun in the world with your new characters."[13]

In February 2020, Stephen J. Anderson revealed that he would serve as one of the directors on the series.[14] Anderson joined the series eight months before Disney Television Animation was temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, after being approached personally by Gannaway.[15] In early 2021, Billy Crystal revealed that production had slightly slowed down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that it should be released later that year.[16]

In September 2021, cast member Henry Winkler indicated that a second season is in development.[17] The second season was officially announced at Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2022, with Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers (the Prep & Landing shorts, Olaf's Frozen Adventure) replacing Gannaway and Anderson as showrunner and supervising director, respectively.[1]

Writing

According to Anderson, Pixar assisted the producers on the series by providing notes during its writing and early storyboarding process in order to "keep [them] on track as far as the legacy of the project".[15] He also said that the series would differ from the films by further exploring "different areas of Monsters, Inc.", and that the series would further explore the transition in the company from screams to laughs seen at the end of the first film.[15] Anderson also said that the series would feature an overarching story, but certain episodes would focus more on character development than the overall arc.[15]

The series expands the role of the female characters in the original film, with receptionist Celia Mae being promoted to Laugh Floor supervisor in order to "move a female character up into a leadership role", as well as featuring trainer Ms. Flint's reaction to the transition from scares to laughter.[2] The series also features a new character named Roze, who is Roz's twin sister, as the producers felt that, due to the latter being revealed as the head of the "Child Detection Agency" at the end of the first film, "she wouldn't be back outside the laugh floor".[2] In addition, Bob Peterson, story supervisor on Monsters, Inc., serves as a creative consultant for the series.[18][13]

According to Gannaway, it took the producers almost a year to conceive the series' premise.[2] He also compared Tylor's struggles with the transition with the current world status due to the COVID-19 pandemic, feeling that both the character and the audiences had "the universe [throw them] a curveball", which he felt made Tylor a more relatable character by having flaws the audience could connect with.[2] Gannaway also said he wanted the series to have "the sort of feel of a Pixar story" by making the audience care about Tylor and his personal journey.[2]

Gannaway was originally not going to include the characters of Smitty and Needleman out of respect for their voice actor, Dan Gerson, who died in 2016.[2][19] However, he eventually incorporated them into the series when he felt Gerson would want the characters to continue.[2] Gannaway paid an homage to Gerson by including a "Gerson Industries" logo in the trash cans the duo push.[2]

In order to get a sense of what it was like working in a factory, the production team visited two power plants and would interview the workers about their day. Gannaway stated, "You want to tether everything to truth. You can't make a movie about a power plant if you haven't walked one; otherwise you're just making stuff up."[20]

Casting and recording

John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprise their roles for the series alongside John Ratzenberger, Jennifer Tilly, and Bob Peterson, with the new cast including Ben Feldman, Kelly Marie Tran, Henry Winkler, Lucas Neff, Alanna Ubach, Stephen Stanton and Aisha Tyler.[21] In February 2020, director Stephen J. Anderson revealed that recording for the series had already begun.[14] In March 2021, Mindy Kaling[22] and Bonnie Hunt joined the cast, with Kaling replacing Tran as Val Little and Hunt reprising her role as Mrs. Flint from the original film. In an interview with The New York Times, it was confirmed that Boo, the human child that Sulley and Mike befriended in the original film, would not be making an appearance. Bobs Gannaway stated that he had discussions with Monsters, Inc. director Pete Docter, and they both agreed that they wanted to keep the relationship ambiguous, with Gannaway stating, "Everyone agreed that we wanted to leave it to the world to decide how that relationship continued."[23][24]

Animation and design

Animation for the series was produced by ICON Creative Studio, in Canada.[25] Animation work on the series began shortly before Disney Television Animation was closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing the producers to continue work remotely.[15] According to director Stephen J. Anderson, work on storyboards and layouts for the second and third episodes were done remotely during the pandemic.[15]

Music

British composer Dominic Lewis (who previously scored the 2017 reboot of DuckTales) was announced as the series composer. Lewis said the score was mainly inspired by Randy Newman's jazzy score from the first film. Lewis also performed the theme song, which is an a cappella rendition of Newman's opening credits music from the first film.[26] The soundtrack album was released digitally and on streaming on July 9, 2021.

Monsters at Work
Soundtrack album by
Dominic Lewis
ReleasedJuly 9, 2021 (2021-07-09)
Recorded2020–2021
GenreSoundtrack
Length37:26
LabelWalt Disney Records
ProducerDominic Lewis

Track listing

All tracks are written by Dominic Lewis, except where indicated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Monsters at Work Main Title - A Cappella"Randy Newman2:09
2."Comedy Can Be Dangerous" (Performed by Billy Crystal)Randy Rogel0:48
3."Don't Stop Now" 1:08
4."End of the Line" 1:21
5."Friends" 1:22
6."World on Fire" 2:12
7."I'm Not Gonna Sing You a Song" (Performed by Billy Crystal)Danny Jacob (m) & Bobs Gannaway (l)1:04
8."Scarer Cum Laude" 2:19
9."MIFTers MIFTers" 1:43
10."36 1/2 Hour Energy Drink" 1:13
11."Googly Bear Trapped" 3:48
12."I Know Bowlers" 1:06
13."Angel Hair" 2:06
14."Get Giggles" 4:36
15."The Doors" 3:12
16."Official Jokester" 4:08
17."Monsters at Work Main Title - Instrumental"Newman2:17
18."Monsters at Work Main Title - Toy Piano"Newman0:47
Total length:37:26

Marketing

A teaser trailer for the series was released on May 18, 2021.[27][28][29][30] The first trailer for the series was released on June 11, 2021.[31][32][33][34]

Release

Monsters at Work debuted on July 7, 2021, releasing weekly on Wednesdays,[35] and consists of 10 episodes.[36] It was previously set to release sometime in 2020,[37] but then changed to early 2021,[38] then to July 2, 2021,[39] then finally to its current date, with a two-episode premiere.[40] The series made its linear premiere on Disney Channel on January 6, 2023,[41] and on Disney XD on January 9, 2023.[8]

Reception

Audience viewership

According to Whip Media's viewership tracking app TV Time, Monsters at Work was the 3rd most anticipated new television series of July 2021.[42] According to Whip Media, Monsters at Work was the top rising show, based on the week-over-week growth in episodes watched for a specific program, during the week of July 11, 2022.[43]

Critical reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 65% approval rating with an average score of 6.20/10 based on 26 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "If Monsters at Work doesn't quite capture the magic of the original film, it's charming and silly enough to entertain fans of all ages."[44] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 55 out of 100 based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[45]

Petrana Radulovic of Polygon praised the animation of the series, complimented its humor, and found the premise interesting, writing, "With a huge cast of characters and humor that waddles along the line between silliness and sharp societal commentary, Monsters at Work balances a whole lot."[46] Brian Lowry of CNN gave the show a positive review and said, "The show doesn't deliver belly laughs, but it nimbly slides into the Monsters [Inc.] timeline and cleverly builds on a particularly fertile Pixar concept."[47] Ashley Moulton of Common Sense Media rated the series 4 out of 5 stars, praised the depiction of positive messages, citing perseverance and acceptance, and complimented the presence of role models, saying, "Most characters model pro-social behaviors like friendliness and working hard."[48] Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone rated the show 3.5 out of 5 and stated, "Combine them with some well-executed slapstick set pieces that evoke the two movies without feeling like rehashes, and the early episodes set up the foundation for a solid all-ages comedy."[49] Ben Travers of Indiewire gave the show a 'B−' score and stated, "If you love original movies and were expecting a third, Monsters at Work might be a bit disappointing. But if you can still appreciate the world-building, [the] series might still hit its laugh quotas."[50] Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times gave the show 3 out of 4 and stated, "Monsters at Work isn't on the same level as the two feature films, but it's miles ahead of the likes of The Return of Jafar or Kronk's New Groove."[51]

Scott Bryan of BBC gave the show a negative review and stated, "As someone who loves the films, I wonder ... do we need more of it? The films are so well self-contained. This feels like an excess of something we don't really need."[52] Chris Vognar of San Francisco Chronicle rated the show 2 out of 4 and wrote, "This is a solid effort, even if it doesn't quite shimmer like your top-of-the-line Pixar favorites."[53] Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the show a negative review and stated, "Any hope that the Pixar charm would rub off on a Pixar show like Monsters at Work doesn't pay off in the first two episodes."[54] Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave the show 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "It feels like a long wait at times. The first two half-hour episodes (the only ones of the 10 that were available for review) are extraordinarily slow."[55] Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph gave the show 2 out of 5 and stated, "Bafflingly, it's a workplace comedy. Note to Disney: children don't go to work."[56]

Accolades

Year Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
2022 Children's and Family Emmy Awards Outstanding Casting for an Animated Program Aaron Drown, Colleen Nuño-O’Donnell, Julia Pleasants, David H. Wright III Nominated [57][58]
Outstanding Editing for an Animated Program Christopher Gee, Dan Molina, Jhoanne Reyes, Shawn Lemonnier Nominated
Individual Achievement in Animation Ron Tolentino Velasco, Character Designer Won

Notes

  1. ^ As depicted in Monsters, Inc. (2001).

References

  1. ^ a b Pedersen, Lise (June 15, 2022). "Disney Reveals Animated Series Slate at Annecy Festival (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Chappell, Caitlin (June 29, 2021). "Monsters at Work Boss Brings Changes to Monsters, Inc". thenewsmotion.com. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  3. ^ Disney+ [@disneyplus] (June 30, 2021). "Can you believe your eye? 👁 Mike Wazowski's arch nemesis Gary, voiced by Gabriel Iglesias (@fluffyguy), is coming to #MonstersAtWork! The Original Series starts streaming with a two-episode premiere July 7 on #DisneyPlus. #SummerOfDisneyPlus" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2021 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Betti, Tony (June 28, 2021). "TV Review: Going Back to Monstropolis with Monsters At Work". Laughing Place. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  5. ^ Clark, Caren (June 4, 2021). "Monsters At Work – release date, cast, plot and everything you need to know". whattowatch.com. Retrieved July 2, 2021. John Ratzenberger (Cheers) returns as Yeti and also voices Tylor's dad, Bernard.
  6. ^ "Bob Yucker Voice - Monsters at Work (TV Show)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
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