Heartwarming / Monsters, Inc.

Moments subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned.

"Go ahead. Go... grow up."

• Sulley opens the rebuilt door. "Boo?" "Kitty!" His joyous expression says it all.
  • Not only that, it was Mike, who started off as a bit of a selfish Jerkass, going through all the trouble (and splinters) to rebuild the door in the first place. Now that's friendship. What makes it even sweeter is his apology to Sulley about the time it took, how completely unnecessary it is — if Sulley's chart is any indication, it's only been a few months since they said goodbye to Boo.
    Mike: Sorry it took so long, pal. It was a lot of wood to go through.
  • The ending was such a moment of heartwarming, especially Sulley's final smile, that Pixar opted instead to do a prequel as opposed to a sequel, feeling they couldn't bring themselves to continue the story after that perfect moment.
  • Even more sweeter, Monsters at Work also reveals Mike did all this while transitioning the entire company into Laugh Power, working long hours just to supply the town with power and teaching people as well. He found the time to juggle all of this just to make Sulley happy in the end.
• Any of Sulley and Boo's scenes together, like when he helps her fall asleep by showing her that there's nothing scary in the closet.
  • The bathroom scene where he plays "hide-and-seek" with her. This and the example above both show Sulley forming a paternal bond with her.
  • When Sulley shows up to rescue Boo from the Scream Machine, Boo excitedly exclaims, "Kitty!" and after freeing her, Sulley apologizes for scaring her earlier, saying, "Sorry, Boo."
  • Despite how badly Sulley frightened her, when she's strapped into the scream extractor, she immediately calls out for "Kitty."
• Mike hugging Boo goodbye (pictured above).
  "Go ahead. Go... grow up."
• Mike's evolving attitude. Through most of the film, he just wants to get Boo back out of his and Sulley's lives. By the end, he's willing to decoy the CDA to help save her from the bad guys. Whether you believe he did it for her or Sulley (or maybe both) that's a big change. For that matter, despite how selfish he may seem and all the trouble Sulley's recklessness got him into, Mike never once considers throwing Sulley and Boo under the bus to save himself.
• Boo's tiny little nod when Sulley reassures her when they're hiding under a desk.
• If I Didn't Have You. It's the Heterosexual Life-Partners song.
• When Sulley declares that "none of that matters now", Mike is visibly crushed. You can see Sulley regrets the words almost immediately, but he doesn't take them back. Mike then names several things he feels should matter to Sulley. "What about everything we ever worked for? What about Celia? And what about me?" That last one is when Sulley turns around and apologises - because Mike does matter to him.
  • And after that, Mike still somehow makes the same daring venture Sulley does back into Monstropolis — even though his lack of fur means he could easily freeze to death in the Himalayan climate — just to reconcile, adding that it wasn't like he doesn't care about Boo. Yeah, it's juxtaposed by Randall attacking Sulley but it was a cute gesture (and Mike does ultimately save Sulley, even if by accident).
    "You and I are a team, nothing is more important than our friendship."
• Despite how funny it is seeing all of George's misfortunes throughout the film, When Sulley makes his way back to the Monster World and pushing him out the way to save Boo, he still takes the time to apologize to George.
• The conclusion of the film: Seeing the monsters be reassigned from In-Universe Nightmare Fuel to entertaining kids and evoking laughter from them. Because the emotional energy they get doesn't have to be negative. The monsters get the electrical power they need, and the children they visit are made happy; everybody wins!
  • Not only that, but studies have shown that laughing at night helps you sleep. No longer will those kids have night terrors. Instead they will be able to sleep a whole lot better now.
  • And it looks so much more fun to work in, now.
  • Made even better after the prequel. Oozma Kappa had to work hard to overcome their limitations during the "scream power" days. Now they can be the superstars. You can also imagine Dean Hardscrabble somewhere smiling to herself when she finds out which two monsters are behind the revolutionary new technique. They did surprise her again after all.
  • It should be noted that it appears that the ENTIRE company staff stuck around despite the big transition, even Fungus. And they all seem to love the new method and are genuinely having a great time entertaining the kids. All the monsters we saw previously lurching around menacingly are now doing silly tricks and telling each other jokes. One wouldn't have faulted most of them for being hesitant about a bold new approach in a major industry, when they've never done anything else (heck, based on the prequel it was literally the focus of an entire college education) but they all seem to have embraced the idea of making children laugh with open arms/tentacles/claws etc., and as a result energy is skyrocketing (just look at Sulley's chart on his clipboard), in spite of Waternoose's claims. A far cry from the real world, where major shifts in industries usually lead to most being put out of work when they can't or won't adapt to the changes.
  • Best of all is what the ending means for Mike. The prequel showed he once desperately wanted to be a top scarer and a legend in the field but, despite all his hard work, he simply didn't have the ability. Now he gets to finally go out and get the acclaim and respect he'd always dreamed of and is seen not only as a superstar monster but gets to go down in history as one who helped the entire monster world change for the better and is revered as much as Sully. After all he'd been through in both films, he definitely deserved it. Even sweeter is that far from being resentful about the change meaning he's no longer top dog, Sully is more than happy to stay behind the scenes for a change and is delighted to see Mike finally be the one getting the attention and praise
  • To a lesser extent, the Animated Outtakes. While the movie itself is fairly dramatic and heavy-handed (especially towards the end), it's nice to see the in-universe cast and crew have a fun time at their own expense behind the scenes. Even Randall gets in on the act, and he's supposed to be The Dragon!
• Blink and you'll miss it: when Sulley is trying to console Boo after accidentally scaring her, Mike can be heard in the background trying to convince Waternoose that she's not dangerous, at one point referring to her as "that sweet little girl." A far cry from how he used to talk about her.
• Roz, of all people, gets one. She has no reason to give Sulley a chance to say goodbye to Boo. Heck, it's surprising they even let her go back home despite all she's seen. But her usually gruff voice is almost gentle when she allows Sulley five minutes with the girl. One might even assume she's the one who gave Mike the pieces to rebuild the door.
• In Bonus Features, the interviewer asked Sulley how he became Monster's Inc's top scarer, he replied that he didn't do it alone, as he has the world's best assistant: Mike Wazowski.
  • And in the prequel, it was demonstrated that Mike knew more about scaring that Sulley did even though the former wasn't scary at all. And at the end, it was Mike's brilliance that led them to escape from the Human World. Sulley even pointed out to him that Mike is the one who is the brains of the operation. This ultimately means that in the interview, Sulley wasn't just complimenting Mike or speaking for publicity; he actually meant it.
• In a odd sort of way, the play (from the bonus features on the DVD) that Sulley and Mike stage. As Stylistic Suck-y and humorous as the play may be, it's still nice to see that the monsters can still have a good laugh at the ordeal even after everything that had just recently happened. But then, they did just realize that laughter is more powerful than screams.
• A furious Celia demands an explanation from Mike while he, Sulley and Boo are desperately trying to escape from Randall. She doesn't believe Mike's garbled explanation at first, but the second she realises they're all in real danger? She could've sold Mike and Sulley out to the CDA since they're in possession of a human child, but no. Instead, she makes an announcement over the PA system that Randall has beaten the highest scare record; meaning that he is instantly mobbed by monsters wishing to congratulate him. This gives Sulley and Mike just enough time to get away. Celia just smiles after them, telling Mike to "go get 'em, googly bear.". She risked being an accessory just to help him out.
• Before you learn that Mr. Waternoose is involved in the whole thing, there is a brief moment between him and Sulley when he confides to Sulley his worries about keeping the company that has been in his family for three generations afloat and asks him to help an upcoming training session. Despite Mr. Waternoose being the head of a mega corporation, it's nice to see that he and a lower level worker like Sulley have a good connection.
  Waternoose: James, this company's been in my family for three generations. I would do anything to keep it from going under.
  Sullivan: So would I, sir.
  • This fondness for Sully doesn't completely disappear after Waternoose's turn either. He actually defends Sully's reputation when Randall starts demeaning him, snapping that he was always a better scarer than Randall could ever be. Even though his dedication to the company completely dissolves their relationship, it's nice to know that Waternoose still had respect for his prodigal scarer.
• A small one, but those two CDA agents who take a break from their job just so one of them can get an autograph from Sulley for his daughter.
• Despite Mike's egotistical behavior, whenever he talks about surpassing milestones, he always uses "we", showing that he completely values his best friend.

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