History YMMV / MonstersInc

* AccidentalInnuendo: "PUT THAT THING BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR SO HELP ME!"
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
** Following TheReveal, Mr. Waternoose and his motives can be perceived in several different ways.
*** Waternoose proudly states early in the film that his family has run Monsters, Inc. for three generations, but he fears that the company will collapse under his watch due to the worsening energy crisis. When he resorts to [[spoiler:kidnapping children and trying to forcefully take their screams]], is he genuinely doing it to help the people of Monstropolis, or just [[ItsAllAboutMe trying to save the company and his own reputation]]?
*** While he's much less enthusiastic about it than his associate, it's implied that Waternoose was still [[spoiler:the mastermind of the plan and hired Randall to carry it out. Or it might still have been Randall's plan, and he convinced Waternoose to go through with it. Does this make Waternoose a WellIntentionedExtremist forced to stoop to Randall's level, or just as unapologetically cruel and heartless as Randall himself?]] Furthermore, [[spoiler:was Waternoose's FaceHeelTurn his own doing, or was it due to Randall's influence, given the latter's own StartOfDarkness happened [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity long before]]]]?
*** Many of Waternoose and Sulley's interactions indicate that Waternoose serves as a father figure of sorts to Sulley, and Waternoose later expresses displeasure [[spoiler:when he has to banish Mike and Sulley due to Randall's mishandling of the plan, even telling Randall to his face that he isn't half as good a scarer as Sulley was. Does Waternoose genuinely regret banishing a monster he treated like a son? Or was he more concerned about [[PragmaticVillainy the damage the company would suffer without its top scarer, on the chance that Randall's Scream Extractor didn't work?]]]]
** Why were the children getting harder to scare? Some viewers think that they've been trying to scare the same kids for too long and they've gotten too old (interpreting the girl listening to rock music as having gotten older without the monsters noticing), but an image on the news implies that it has something to do with the kids watching TV. Does this mean they've been watching kids' shows with BenevolentMonsters? Or have they been watching something that stated there were no such things as monsters? Or were they watching something scary that desensitised them to monsters? If it's the latter, was it news (this movie did come out around 9/11 after all), or simply horror-themed movies and TV?
* AlternativeJokeInterpretation: At one point, a monster tries to scare a girl his assistant claims is only six, only for her to be already awake, listening to rock music, and walking up close to him without flinching. Has she aged by 7-11 years without the monsters noticing, or is she just a very tough six-year-old?
* AwardSnub:
** The film famously/infamously (depending on your [=POV=]) lost the inaugural Best Animated Feature Oscar to ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', much to the chagrin of many Pixar fans and critics.
** Some would argue that it was also robbed of a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41ill-Bq5UI If I Didn't Have You]]", which finally earned Music/RandyNewman an Oscar for Best Original Song after 20 non-winning nominations.
** The two cues setting up the Scare Floor, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9Fl6y3FDz4 Enter the Heroes]]" and the [[BigBand Benny Goodman-esque]] "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6HR_FAhjaM The Scare Floor]]." Music/SiIvaGunner mashed up the latter with King Dice's song from ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'' and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55IjhuSJjTA it's glorious]].
** There's also the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPDUZKBUhlg Dixieland jazz-style intro]] playing to the 2D animated opening credits, letting the audience know that this is going to be a fun time.
* CatharsisFactor: Considering how [[CompleteMonster monstrously vile]] he is, how he banished Mike and Sulley to the human world and how he WouldHurtAChild, it's '''endlessly''' satisfying to watch Randall [[LaserGuidedKarma get banished to the human world]] and get [[MamaBear beaten up by a human mother]]. With a shovel, no less.
* CompleteMonster: [[RivalTurnedEvil Randall Boggs]] considers himself the greatest Scarer in Monstropolis, and goes to truly depraved lengths to outdo his rival James P. "Sulley" Sullivan. DrivenByEnvy and petty hatred of Sulley ever since [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity he lost a scaring competition in college]], Randall is an arrogant jerk who frequently bullies his coworkers at Monsters, Inc. in his quest to hit "big numbers". Revealed to be scheming to "revolutionize the industry" of Scaring, Randall has used his abused minion Fungus to create a Scream Extractor device that tortures and suffocates those it is used on. Financed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Henry J. Waternoose III]], Randall intends to kidnap children--starting with the toddler Mary "Boo" Gibbs--and [[WouldHurtAChild use the Extractor]] to torment screams out of them and create an endless supply of scream energy, making himself rich and famous in the process of finally proving his superiority to Sulley. When Sulley and Mike Wazowski try to save Boo and stop Randall's scheme, Randall first tries to torture Mike with the Extractor, then attempts to murder them both while mocking Sulley over his planned use of Boo as the Extractor's first victim. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lacking the well-intentioned goals of Waternoose]] and defined by [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]], Randall is uncaring of the lethality of the Extractor or the pain of the countless children he will subject to it, [[ItsAllAboutMe only concerned with lining his pockets and fluffing his ego]].
* ConsolationAward: It's pretty much acknowledged that Music/RandyNewman only won the Oscar because it was one of the weakest years for the Best Song category and Newman had already lost many times.
* CrossesTheLineTwice:
** The scene of Sulley watching (what he believes is) Boo being mutilated by the trash compactor. Like [[WesternAnimation/FeedTheKitty the Looney Tunes short it's referencing]], there's obviously nothing funny about a child being brutally killed, but Sulley's melodramatic reactions to what we explicitly know ''isn't'' happening take it from tragic to hilarious.
** Randall [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beating the crap out of Sulley]] and almost choking him to death? Terrifying. Mike being completely oblivious to this and making a rambling apology as Sulley's being choked to death? Hilarious!
* DracoInLeatherPants: A good number of Randall's fans are convinced that he was just stressed out and didn't really do anything wrong. The more extreme ones see him as an orphan who's discriminated against for being a reptile, both in-universe and out. As Creator/{{Disney}} will tell you, any type of material that contradicts these views is immediately deemed [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] or just ignored.
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Roz has a lot of fans. Being a DeadpanSnarker slug who's Mike's SitcomArchNemesis and also [[spoiler: the head of the CDA]] certainly doesn't hurt one bit.
** George Sanderson has a lot of people who feel bad for him being a victim of two 2319s. In the end, they were glad to see he got his justice.
* EpilepticTrees: Boo is the central figure of the [[http://www.pixartheory.com/ Pixar Theory]], that all the studio's films share the same universe. It states that she became obsessed with reconnecting with Sulley and discovered an erratic form of time travel that resulted in the {{Easter Egg}}s in all the other films, eventually becoming the witch from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' and causing the introduction of magic into the world in the first place.
* EstrogenBrigade:
** Randall is very popular among female fans, if all the fanart of him is evidence enough.
** To some extent, Mike and Sulley seem to be really popular among female fans as well (especially shippers).
* EvilIsCool: While likely not the film's intention, Randall Boggs gets this from some fans thanks to his cool design, [[{{Invisibility}} unique ability]], DeadpanSnarker tendencies, and being surprisingly threatening when his true nature is revealed.
* EvilIsSexy: Randall gets such treatment from his fangirls.
* FandomSpecificPlot: Randall making a HeelFaceTurn is a popular topic in fanfics.
* {{Fanon}}:
** In humanization fanart, Mike is often given bangs as an allusion to him being a {{Cyclops}} in the movie.
** Fans have come up with two explanations for why monsters thought humans were toxic. Either 1.) somebody down the line lied that they were so that the scarers wouldn't feel sorry for the kids, or 2.) in the past, a scarer worked with a sick kid, caught whatever they had, and concluded that humans were toxic.
* FirstInstallmentWins: While ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' and ''WesternAnimation/MonstersAtWork'' are both well liked in their own right, most fans agree that neither reaches the quality of the original ''Monsters Inc.''.
* FoeYayShipping: Some fans ship Sulley/Randall, despite Randall viciously hating Sulley and even trying to kill him multiple times throughout the movie.
* FountainOfMemes: Mike has become this, from scenes of him being blurred out, to [[GroinAttack getting hit in the crotch]], to "Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!" to simply [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWzbKNfGSY8 falling over]], almost everything he's done has become a meme.
* FriendlyFandoms: Fans of this film can have some of this with ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'', due to their shared [[MemeticMutation memes]] and buddy comedy plots. However, it can lead into FandomRivalry due to the above mentioned AwardSnub.
* HarsherInHindsight:
** Randall's behavior in the original film becomes worse, not to mention much pettier, when you watch the [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity prequel]] and realize that [[spoiler:for months, if not years, he'd been beaten out as Scare Leader by what essentially amounts to ''a college dropout'']].
** Randall's nastiness towards Mike also becomes this after said prequel as well: [[spoiler: not only did they used to be roommates and friends, Mike's advice to Randall to use his invisibility is what helped him become such a good scarer in the first place. Even later coming close to ''killing'' Sulley.]]
** Not to mention, Mike's bitterness over the possibility of losing his job reflects all the hard work and turmoil he had to go through to have his job as a Scare Assistant.
** Boo narrowly avoids being crushed to death into the shape of a cube. [[spoiler:But in ''WesternAnimation/Cars2'', this is precisely what happens to Leland Turbo.]]
* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: Creator/BillyCrystal is most well-known for his comedic work, but he delivers Mike's emotional dialogue heartbreakingly realistically, particularly Mike's monologue to Sulley when they're trapped in the Himalayas.
* HeartwarmingInHindsight:
** The prequel revealed that Sulley and Mike weren't always friends, with the duo having sort of a bitter rivalry. Although they do end up warming up to each other by the end of said prequel, this is the flick that really shows just how much their friendship has evolved.
** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' reveals that Mike wanted to be a scarer as a kid but suffered from the issue of [[DreamCrushingHandicap simply not being scary enough to do it no matter how much effort he putted into it]]. This makes the ending of the movie [[spoiler: where they discover laughter to be a bigger source of power and he becomes one of the biggest in the business to be a major EarnYourHappyEnding]].
* HilariousInHindsight:
** In the outtakes, a character accidentally calls Sulley "Solomon" and is called out for his mistake. Now rather amusing to those who have read the ''Literature/NESGodzillaCreepypasta'' and are familiar with the {{Kaiju}} named Solomon there…
** This isn't the last time we'd see a [[WesternAnimation/WallE cube of garbage]] in a Pixar movie.
** In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue_SfrHHBAc the teaser trailer,]] Sulley says to Mike "You remember the fifth grade, when you spent all your time sending notes to Susie Boyles? The rest of us were studying geography." ''Monsters University'' reveals that not only did Mike and Sulley not meet until college, but Mike was a diligent student while Sulley spent most of his time partying.
** In the charades trailer, Sulley correctly guessed Mike's charade as ''Franchise/StarWars''. 11 years after the film came out, Disney, the parent company of Pixar, bought the rights to ''Star Wars''.
** During "If I Didn't Have You", Mike mentions that he sometimes gets a little blue. ''WesternAnimation/MonstersAtWork'' would later give Mike a SitcomArchNemesis in the form of Gary Gibbs, whose design is just a [[PaletteSwap blue-colored version of Mike]].
** Towards the beginning of the movie, Mike calls Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) "Big Daddy." A few years later, in ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', John Goodman would voice ANOTHER character nicknamed "Big Daddy."
* ItWasHisSled:
** Waternoose is the main villain.
** Roz is the leader of the CDA. Making this worse is that she appears in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity in her CDA armor'', and her voice (also provided by Bob Peterson) is unmistakable.
* JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler:Waternoose, up until he crosses the MoralEventHorizon, is doing what he does out of genuine concern for the monster world and has real fatherly affection for Sulley, feeling clear regret over having to betray him.]]
* LoveToHate: Randall Boggs. Although the writers were clearly trying to [[HateSink get the audience to root against him]], he's one of Pixar's most popular villains thanks to Creator/SteveBuscemi's performance.
* MemeticMolester: Waternoose. Several [=YouTube=] editors have taken advantage of his frequent use of the word "child" and of course the chase scene where he yells at Sulley to "GIVE ME THE CHILD!!! GIVE HER TO ME!!!" and tries to break down a door to get to her.
* MemeticMutation:
** Waternoose's line, [[spoiler: "I'll kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die!"]] is subject to snowclones/Photoshops on Tumblr and other sites.
*** The line is ''even more popular'' among Latin American audiences. For the film's Mexican Spanish dub, the quote was dubbed as [[spoiler:¡Robaré los necesarios para salvar esta compañía! (I'll steal all the kids I need to save this company!)]] leading to its extensive use in discussions regarding politics and other real world issues, as well as a far more conventional meme mocking things such as reposting memes and stealing them from other pages.
** Also popular in the Latin American countries and related to the dub is the line "Well, a kid flew right over me and blasted a car with its laser vision[[note]]Translated as ''Un niño flotó sobre mí y voló un auto con su rayo láser''[[/note]]." Though this is mostly due to the Argentine-like accent used for the character rather than the actual line.
** "Put that thing back where it came from, or so help me!"
** "Wazowski, you didn't file your paperwork last night."
*** "I'm watching you, Wazowski. Always watching! Always!"
*** "[[SarcasmMode Your stunned silence is]] ''[[SarcasmMode very]]'' [[SarcasmMode reassuring.]]"
** [[WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} Actually, it's your word against yours]]! [[spoiler: "I'll kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die!"]]
** Covering Mike's face on any packaging he appears on has bled out into [[https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/28vwjc/i_cant_believe_itim_on_the_front_of_a_box_of real]] [[https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1g4hji/i_cant_believe_it_im_on_a_box_of_cookies/ life]]. Occasionally followed up with variations of "I can't believe it... I'm in a (object with Mike Wazowski's face covered on it)!".
*** Even Creator/DisneyPlus has gotten in on [[https://www.reddit.com/r/memes/comments/dwu886/i_cant_believe_it_im_on_disney_plus/ the joke.]]
** Mike's scream when he has [[AmusingInjuries Roz's office window shut on his hands, as well as when a kid bites him.]] This has led to videos on Website/YouTube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEogtbpoxYw like]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeh708tybpM these.]]
** "You and I are a team. Nothing's more important than our friendship," thanks to its prominence in ''Film/BabyDriver''.
*** "Stop feeding me lines from Monsters Inc!"
** Way too many of Mike's scenes to count. Pretty much ''everything'' he's done has become a meme at some point.
** A Photoshop of Sulley's face on Mike's body has become popular as a reaction to "bruh moments".
** "Do you hear that? It's the winds of change..."
** The iconic TeamPowerWalk of the Scarers has become this in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Captions over the video usually go along the lines of "girls returning to the salon once quarantine lifts", or "how everyone will be when they get to go to the club again".
** Another COVID-19 related meme is to reference "23-19" as a way to poke some much-needed jest at the panic induced by the rapid spread of the virus.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVYSsn_HL1w Monsters Inc. Theme Song (Earrape)]], a [[SensoryAbuse heavily bass-boosted]] version of the main theme often played to JumpScare unsuspecting viewers.
** During Election Week 2020, when votes came in far slower than usual thanks to the increased amount of mail-in votes, many memes went around comparing the wait for the final results to Sulley and Randall's shifting vote tallies during the first Scare Floor sequence. This also led to memes about "Sullivan 2020" and the like.
** Boo being terrified by Sulley's roar with her being photoshopped to wear headphones and holding a [=PS4=] controller has been used as a reaction image for raging or horrified gamers.
* MoralEventHorizon:
** Randall [[spoiler:and Waternoose]]'s plan, which involves [[spoiler:kidnapping children and using the Scream Extractor to suck the screams from them]], which if the effects on [[spoiler:Fungus]] are considered standard, would kill them through suffocation by sucking the very air from their lungs along with the screams.
** Speaking of which, if Randall didn't cross it by planning the above, then he crossed it by trying to use the Scream Extractor on Mike.
** And if this wasn't bad enough, [[spoiler: Waternoose corners Sulley and Boo in the climax and makes it clear that he intends to straight-up ''murder'' them because they know too much. In his own words, "I'll kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die! And I'll silence anyone who gets in my way!"]]
** Doubles as a {{TearJerker}}, because Sully considered him a ''father figure''.
* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: ''Monsters, Inc. Scream Team'' for the [=PS1=] and [=PS2=] is one of the many copycats of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', but instead of [[FollowTheLeader lazily rehashing the basic concept to make a quick buck]] the developers instead opted to produce wonderfully unique levels to give each world its own feel; in other words, they copied ''Super Mario 64'''s methods, but kept the final product its own distinction from its competitors. It also helps that the game has a very snazzy jazz soundtrack and stellar graphics for its time.
* OneSceneWonder:
** Abominable Snowman only has a brief scene, but remains one of the most well-liked characters in the movie. It no doubt let him being brought back in ''WesternAnimation/MonstersAtWork'', where [[spoiler:[[ThrowTheDogABone he got a happy ending]]]]
** The mother and son living in the trailer who [[spoiler:mistaken Randall as an alligator after he is banished to the human world]]. Though only their silhouettes are shown, they are rather popular in their brief appearance, especially the mother for beating up [[spoiler:Randall]] with a shovel. Their popularity also led them to return in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', reenacting the same karmic justice on [[spoiler:Randall]] after he is defeated.
** In the Latin American dub, the purple monster in the TV interviews saying that the kid blasted a car with its laser vision. Mostly due to the completely out of place Argentinian accent the actor gave it. To the point it is very easy to find remixes of that minor scene in Spanish.
* PopCultureHoliday: Code 2319 inspired a whole [[https://uproxx.com/viral/monsters-inc-fans-date-february-3-2019/ fan day]] dedicated to the film on February 3, 2019 (2/3/19 in US order).
* PopularWithFurries: Though not ''animals'' per se, several monsters like Sulley and Randall are popular among furries for their animalistic traits.
* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: While ''Scream Team'' is a pretty well regarded [=3D=] platformer in its own right, the same can't be said for the far more obscure [=PS2=]-exclusive ''Monsters, Inc.'' game, which has ugly graphics that look about on par with a [=PS1=] game, poorly designed platforming with extremely difficult sections early on in the game (the second level features a mail train segment which lasts a long time and instantly kills Sulley if he falls at any point while the third level has a chimney segment which requires pinpoint-perfect reflexes and accuracy and also has a segment that will take you right back to the beginning of the level without telling you), [[DemotedToExtra demotes Mike to an NPC]] and has NoEnding.
* RealismInducedHorror:
** Notice that the BigBad's plan is essentially to kidnap children and use them for slave labor...
** Also when Sulley thinks Boo is being crushed by the trash compactor.
* RootingForTheEmpire: Although many fans can agree that it's hard to hate [[GentleGiant Sulley]] and [[TheLancer Mike]], many fans (particurally [[EstrogenBrigade female fans]]) found themselves rooting for Randall over said characters to the point where some were disappointed that he didn't win in the end, despite the fact that [[spoiler: he was quite willing to help Waternoose in kidnapping innocent children and clearly took much delight in what he was doing.]]
* SpiritualSuccessor:
** Owing to its plethora of colorful monsters and creatures, not to mention the presence of Creator/FrankOz, this has been called "the best [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]] movie never made by Creator/JimHenson". Fitting, as Creator/PeteDocter is a huge Henson fan and even considered being a Muppeteer before getting into animation.
** It's also considered to be the best animated (and, by extension, best kid-friendly) movie Creator/TheCoenBrothers never made, not only due to their [[Creator/JohnGoodman regular]] [[Creator/SteveBuscemi stars]] appearing in this but the plot wouldn’t be out of place in their works, either.
* SweetnessAversion: Mike and Celia are SickeninglySweethearts who use pet names for each other. This type of stuff may be hard to stomach, depending on how old the viewer is.
* UnintentionalUncannyValley: Impressive as it was at the time, the CGI has not aged all that well. The lighting still makes everything look kind of plastic, and Boo looks more like a doll than a human, something Pixar still hadn't quite nailed by 2001 (though you can blame two ''Franchise/ToyStory'' movies for that). Compare this to ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' immediately before or after, a movie where Pixar actually changed their lighting system to achieve better visual effects.
* UnpopularPopularCharacter: [[InvisibleJerkass Randall Boggs]]. In-universe, with the exception of Fungus and Waternoose, the characters don't take him too seriously and he's quickly over-shadowed by Sulley. The fans, on the other hand, consider him one of the best (if not ''the best'') Pixar villains due to how malicious he is, his determination and his sympathetic potrayal in ''University''. It helps that he's voiced by Creator/SteveBuscemi (who's known for playing [[AxCrazy violently deranged characters]] with [[HairTriggerTemper bad tempers]]).
* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Probably not as impressive [[TechnologyMarchesOn today]], but when the technology of CGI was still relatively at its bare minimum at the time, great pains were taken to make Sulley's fur look real. That's not even mentioning Randall's disappearing acts.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic: Due to focusing on a company, there's a lot you could read into this movie about energy use, humane treatment, and the rights of whistle blowers if you think too hard about it.
* {{Woolseyism}}: In the outtakes in the German dub, the joke of Sulley flubbing a line leads to a good one: when trying to confess to Mike about the human child he's hidden in the bag, Sulley accidentally says "Flasche" (bottle) instead of "Tasche" (bag). Mike quips, "Well, unless you have a script where Boo appears as a genie.".

* CompleteMonster: [[RivalTurnedEvil Randall Boggs]], a monster both literally and metaphorically, considers himself the greatest Scarer in Monstropolis, and goes to truly depraved lengths to outdo his rival James P. "Sulley" Sullivan. DrivenByEnvy and petty hatred of Sulley ever since [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity he lost a scaring competition in college]], Randall is an arrogant jerk who frequently bullies his coworkers at Monsters, Inc. in his quest to hit "big numbers". Revealed to be scheming to "revolutionize the industry" of Scaring, Randall has used his abused minion Fungus to create a Scream Extractor device that tortures and suffocates those it is used on. Financed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Henry J. Waternoose III]], Randall intends to kidnap children--starting with the toddler Mary "Boo" Gibbs--and [[WouldHurtAChild use the Extractor]] to torment screams out of them and create an endless supply of scream energy, making himself rich and famous in the process of finally proving his superiority to Sulley. When Sulley and Mike Wazowski try to save Boo and stop Randall's scheme, Randall first tries to torture Mike with the Extractor, then attempts to murder them both while mocking Sulley over his planned use of Boo as the Extractor's first victim. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lacking the well-intentioned goals of Waternoose]] and defined by [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]], Randall is uncaring of the lethality of the Extractor or the pain of the countless children he will subject to it, [[ItsAllAboutMe only concerned with lining his pockets and fluffing his ego]].

** ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'' reveals that Mike wanted to be a scarer as a kid but suffered from the issue of [[DreamCrushingHandicap simply not being scary enough to do it no matter how much effort he putted into it]]. This makes the ending of the movie [[spoiler: where they discover laughter to be a bigger source of source of power and he becomes one of the biggest in the business to be a major EarnYourHappyEnding]].

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: The prequel also revealed that Sulley and Mike weren't always friends, with the duo having sort of a bitter rivalry. Although they do end up warming up to each other by the end of said prequel, this is the flick that really shows just how much their friendship has evolved.

** During Election Week 2020 when votes came in far slower than usual thanks to the increased amount of mail-in votes, many memes went around comparing the wait for the final results to Sulley and Randall’s shifting vote tallies during the first Scare Floor sequence. This also led to memes about “Sullivan 2020” and the like.
* Boo being terrified by Sulley’s roar with her being photoshopped to wear headphones and holding a PS4 controller has been used as a reaction image for raging or horrified gamers.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Although many fans can agree that it's hard to hate [[GentleGiant Sulley]] and [[TheLancer Mike]], many fans (particurally [[EstrogenBrigade female fans]]) found themselves rooting for Randall over said characters to the point where some were disappointed that he didn't win in the end.

* CatharsisFactor: Considering how much of a [[CompleteMonster vile]] {{jerkass}} he is, how he banished Mike and Sulley to the human world and how he WouldHurtAChild, it's '''endlessly''' satisfying to watch Randall [[LaserGuidedKarma get banished to the human world]] and get [[MamaBear beaten up by a human mother]]. With a shovel, no less.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Following TheReveal, Mr. Waternoose and his motives can be perceived in several different ways.
** Waternoose proudly states early in the film that his family has run Monsters, Inc. for three generations, but he fears that the company will collapse under his watch due to the worsening energy crisis. When he resorts to [[spoiler:kidnapping children and trying to forcefully take their screams]], is he genuinely doing it to help the people of Monstropolis, or just [[ItsAllAboutMe trying to save the company and his own reputation]]?
** While he's much less enthusiastic about it than his associate, it's implied that Waternoose was still [[spoiler:the mastermind of the plan and hired Randall to carry it out. Or it might still have been Randall's plan, and he convinced Waternoose to go through with it. Does this make Waternoose a WellIntentionedExtremist forced to stoop to Randall's level, or just as unapologetically cruel and heartless as Randall himself?]]
*** Furthermore, [[spoiler:was Waternooses' FaceHeelTurn his own doing, or was it due to Randall's influence, given the latter's own StartOfDarkness happened [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity long before]]]]?
** Many of Waternoose and Sulley's interactions indicate that Waternoose serves as a father figure of sorts to Sulley, and Waternoose later expresses displeasure [[spoiler:when he has to banish Mike and Sulley due to Randall's mishandling of the plan, even telling Randall to his face that he isn't half as good a scarer as Sulley was. Does Waternoose genuinely regret banishing a monster he treated like a son? Or was he more concerned about [[PragmaticVillainy the damage the company would suffer without its top scarer, on the chance that Randall's Scream Extractor didn't work?]]]]

* {{Fanon}}: In humanization fanart, Mike is often given bangs as an allusion to him being a {{Cyclops}} in the movie.

** There's also the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPDUZKBUhlg Dixieland jazz-style intro]] playing to the 2D animated opening credits, letting the audience knows that this is going to be a fun time.

*** Furthermore, [[spoiler:was Wasternoose's FaceHeelTurn his own doing, or was it due to Randall's influence, given the latter's own StartOfDarkness happened [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity long before]]]]?

* {{Fanon}}: In humanization fanart, Mike is often given PeekABangs as an allusion to him being a {{Cyclops}} in the movie.

* CompleteMonster: [[RivalTurnedEvil Randall Boggs]] considers himself the greatest Scarer in Monstropolis, and goes to truly depraved lengths to outdo his rival James P. "Sulley" Sullivan. DrivenByEnvy and petty hatred of Sulley ever since [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity he lost a scaring competition in college]], Randall is an arrogant jerk who frequently bullies his coworkers at Monsters, Inc. in his quest to hit "big numbers". Revealed to be scheming to "revolutionize the industry" of Scaring, Randall has used his abused minion Fungus to create a Scream Extractor device that tortures and suffocates those it is used on. Financed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Henry J. Waternoose III]], Randall intends to kidnap children--starting with the toddler Mary "Boo" Gibbs--and [[WouldHurtAChild use the Extractor]] to torment screams out of them and create an endless supply of scream energy, making himself rich and famous in the process of finally proving his superiority to Sulley. When Sulley and Mike Wazowski try to save Boo and stop Randall's scheme, Randall first tries to torture Mike with the Extractor, then attempts to murder them both while mocking Sulley over his planned use of Boo as the Extractor's first victim. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lacking the well-intentioned goals of Waternoose]] and defined by [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]], Randall is uncaring of the lethality of the Extractor or the pain of the countless children he will subject to it, [[ItsAllAboutMe only concerned with lining his pockets and fluffing his ego]].

* FriendlyFandoms: Fans of this film can have some of this with ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', due to their shared [[MemeticMutation memes]] and buddy comedy plots. However, it can lead into FandomRivalry due to the above mentioned AwardSnub.

** The film famously/infamously (depending on your [=POV=]) lost the inaugural Best Animated Feature Oscar to ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', much to the chagrin of many Pixar fans and critics.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Disney movies like ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' are often criticized for overusing the premise of a HiddenVillain with TheReveal not happening until ''the last 10 minutes of the movie''. This trend started with [[spoiler:Henry J. Waternoose]] who seemed like a ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[spoiler:but later turned out to be working for Randall]]. People didn't mind this at first since [[spoiler:he had good intentions]] but after Disney tried copying that formula by making characters like [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Prince Hans]], [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 Professor Callaghan]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} Bellwether]] seem like nice people but are actually evil and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative bastards]] deep down, many fans grew sick and tired of this formula and just wanted Disney's old {{CardCarryingVillain}}s back.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Disney movies like ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' are often criticized for overusing the premise of a HiddenVillain with TheReveal not happening until ''the last 10 minutes of the movie''. This trend started with [[spoiler:Henry J. Waternoose]] who seemed like a ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[spoiler:but later turned out to be working for Randall]]. People didn't mind this at first since [[spoiler:he had good intentions]] but after Disney tried copying that formula by making characters like [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Prince Hans]], [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 Professor Callaghan]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} Bellwether]] seem like nice people but are actually evil and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative bastards]] deep down, many fans grew sick and tired of this formula and just want Disney's old {{CardCarryingVillain}}s back.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Disney movies like ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' and ''WesternAnimation/Zootopia'' are often criticized for overusing the premise of a HiddenVillain with TheReveal not happening until ''the last 10 minutes of the movie''. This trend started with [[spoiler:Henry J. Waternoose]] who seemed like a ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[spoiler:but later turned out to be working for Randall]]. People didn't mind this at first since [[spoiler:he had good intentions]] but after Disney tried copying that formula by making characters like [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Prince Hans]], [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 Professor Callaghan]] and [[WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} Bellwether]] seem like nice people but are actually evil and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative bastards]] deep down, many fans grew sick and tired of this formula and just want Disney's old {{CardCarryingVillain}}s back.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Disney movies like ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'', ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' and ''WesternAnimation/Zootopia'' are often criticized for overusing the premise of a HiddenVillain with TheReveal not happening until ''the last 10 minutes of the movie''. This trend started with [[spoiler:Henry J. Waternoose]] who seemed like a ReasonableAuthorityFigure [[spoiler:but later turned out to be working for Randall]]. People didn't mind this at first since [[spoiler:he had good intentions]] but after Disney tried copying that formula by making characters like [[WesternAnimation/Frozen2013 Prince Hans]], [[WesternAnimation/BigHero6 Professor Callaghan]] and [[WesternAnimation/Zootopia Bellwether]] seem like nice people but are actually evil and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative bastards]] deep down, many fans grew sick and tired of this formula and just want Disney's old {{CardCarryingVillain}}s back.

** The iconic PowerWalk of the Scarers has become this in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Captions over the video usually go along the lines of "girls returning to the salon once quarantine lifts", or "how everyone will be when they get to go to the club again".

* CatharsisFactor: Considering how big of a {{Jerkass}} he is, how he banished Mike and Sulley to the human world and how he WouldHurtAChild, it can be '''very''' satisfying to watch Randall get banished to the human world and get [[MamaBear beaten up by a human mother]]. With a shovel, no less.

* UnpopularPopularCharacter: [[InvisibleJerkass Randall Boggs]]. In-universe, with the exception of Fungus and Waternoose, the characters don't take him too seriously and he's quickly over-shadowed by Sulley. The fans, on the other hand, consider him one of (of not) the best Pixar villains due to how malicious he is, his determination and his sympathetic potrayal in ''University''. It helps that he's voiced by Creator/SteveBuscemi (who's known for playing [[AxCrazy violently deranged characters]] with [[HairTriggerTemper bad tempers]]).

* LoveToHate: Randall Boggs. Although the writers were clearly trying to [[HateSink get the audience to root against him]], he's one of Pixar's most popular villains.
%% * {{Moe}}: Boo is utterly adorable.

* CompleteMonster: [[RivalTurnedEvil Randall Boggs]] considers himself the greatest Scarer in Monstropolis, and goes to truly depraved lengths to outdo his rival James "Sulley" Sullivan. DrivenByEnvy and petty hatred of Sulley ever since [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity he lost a scaring competition in college]], Randall is an arrogant jerk who frequently bullies his coworkers at Monsters, Inc. in his quest to hit "big numbers". Revealed to be scheming to "revolutionize the industry" of Scaring, Randall has used his abused minion Fungus to create a Scream Extractor device that tortures and suffocates those it is used on. Financed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Henry J. Waternoose III]], Randall intends to kidnap children--starting with the toddler "Boo"--and [[WouldHurtAChild use the Extractor]] to torment screams out of them and create an endless supply of scream energy, making himself rich and famous in the process of finally proving his superiority to Sulley. When Sulley and Mike Wazowski try to save Boo and stop Randall's scheme, Randall first tries to torture Mike with the Extractor, then attempts to murder them both while mocking Sulley over his planned use of Boo as the Extractor's first victim. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lacking the well-intentioned goals of Waternoose]] and defined by [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]], Randall is uncaring of the lethality of the Extractor or the pain of the countless children he will subject to it, [[ItsAllAboutMe only concerned with lining his pockets and fluffing his ego]].

* CompleteMonster: [[RivalTurnedEvil Randall Boggs]] considers himself the greatest Scarer in Monstropolis, and goes to truly depraved lengths to outdo his rival James "Sulley" Sullivan. DrivenByEnvy and petty hatred of Sulley ever since [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity he lost a scaring competition in college]], Randall is an arrogant jerk who frequently bullies his coworkers at Monsters, Inc. in his quest to hit "big numbers". Revealed to be scheming to "revolutionize the industry" of Scaring, Randall has used his abused minion Fungus to create a Scream Extractor device that tortures and suffocates those it is used on. Financed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Henry J. Waternoose III]], Randall intends to kidnap children--starting with the toddler Boo--and [[WouldHurtAChild use the Extractor]] to torment screams out of them and create an endless supply of scream energy, making himself rich and famous in the process of finally proving his superiority to Sulley. When Sulley and Mike try to save Boo and stop Randall's scheme, Randall first tries to torture Mike with the Extractor, then attempts to murder them both while mocking Sulley over his planned use of Boo as the Extractor's first victim. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Lacking the well-intentioned goals of Waternoose]] and defined by [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy]], Randall is uncaring of the lethality of the Extractor or the pain of the countless children he will subject to it, [[ItsAllAboutMe only concerned with lining his pockets and fluffing his ego]].

* CompleteMonster: [[ItsAllAboutMe Randall Boggs]] considers himself the greatest Scarer in Monstropolis, and goes to truly depraved lengths to outdo his rival James "Sully" Sullivan. DrivenByEnvy and petty hatred of Sully ever since he [[WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity lost a scaring competition in college]], Randall is an arrogant jerk who frequently bullies his coworkers at Monsters, Inc. in his quest to hit "big numbers." Revealed to be scheming to "revolutionize the industry" of Scaring, Randall has used his abused minion Fungus to create a Scream Extractor device that tortures and suffocates those it is used on. Financed by Waternoose, Randall intends to kidnap children--starting with the toddler Boo--and [[WouldHurtAChild use the Extractor]] to torment screams out of them and create an endless supply of scream energy, making himself rich and famous in the process of finally proving his superiority to Sully. When Sully and Mike try to save Boo and stop Randall's scheme, Randall first tries to torture Mike with the Extractor, then attempts to murder them both while mocking Sully over his planned use of Boo as the Extractor's first victim. Lacking the well-intentioned goals of Waternoose and defined by jealousy, Randall is uncaring of the lethality of the Extractor or the pain of the countless children he will subject to it, only concerned with lining his pockets and his fluffing his ego.