History YMMV / MonstersInc

%% Before anyone adds Randall as an example of Complete Monster, bear in mind that he is not an example according to the Disney CM list. If you think he is an example, take it to the CM cleanup thread.

** The energy crisis that plagued Monster Inc. and drove Waternoose to villainy will definitely strike a nerve to European viewers who suffered from the shortage of energy in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

* SpiritualAdaptation:

* 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 ''WesternAnimation/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.

** 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.
** It's also considered to be the best animated 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.

* SugarWiki/DevelopmentHeaven: The extensive work on the hair simulation for Sulley is staggering, and the efforts clearly paid off.

* 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.

** Doubles as a [[TearJerker]], because Sully considered him a ''father figure''.

** 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]].

* 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.

* 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 [[UncannyValley 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.

* UncannyValley: 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 ''WesternAnimation/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.

** Many of Waternoose and Sulley's interactions indicate that Waternoose serves as a father figure of sorts to Sulley, and Waternoose later expresses anger [[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?]]]]

*** 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]]]].

* 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]].

** Many of Waternoose and Sulley's interactions indicate that Waternoose serves as a father figure of sorts to Sulley, and Waternoose later expresses anger [[spoiler:when he has to banish Mike and Sulley due to Randall's mishandling of the plan, even telling Randall to his face that [[BerserkButton 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?]]]]

** 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.

** 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, who's design is just a [[PaletteSwap blue-colored version of Mike]].

** The two protagonists are best friends named [[Creator/JamesRolfe James]] and [[Creator/MikeMatei Mike]].

* TastesLikeDiabetes: 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.

** 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 Boo.

** 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.

** A mother and son living in the trailer who [[spoiler:mistaken Randall as an alligator after he is banished to the human world]]. Though they only they silhouettes are shown, they are rather popular in their 10 seconds appearance, especially the mother for beating up [[spoiler:Randall]] with a shovel. Their popularity also leads them to return in

* 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]]]]

* 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.