While Monsters Inc. did have a second movie, the new Disney+ show Monsters at Work is the first full-fledged sequel. That’s because the first follow-up, Monsters University, was a prequel. So now Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) will finally get to put into practice the revelation they discovered at the end of the 2001 hit: laughter is more powerful than screaming.
Monsters at Work premieres July 2 on Disney+ and brings back those legendary voices from the original film, along with Bonnie Hunt, Jennifer Tilly, and John Ratzenberger. Plus there are a slew of new voices provided by the likes of Mindy Kaling, Henry Winkler, Lucas Neff, and others. It feels like Disney has been teasing this show for years but now the first footage is here.
Here’s the weird thing about Monsters at Work. It’s Pixar characters, but Pixar didn’t make it. Pixar has done several things for Disney+, such as Forky Asks a Question and Pixar Popcorn, but this big, almost Mandalorian/WandaVision-level spinoff of a huge Pixar property was done by Disney Television Animation, not Pixar itself.
The question is: will viewers even notice? The animation looks pretty in line with the Monsters Inc. films though maybe not as constantly innovative as Pixar’s features. Nevertheless, the real test will be if the writing holds up. Both Monsters movies are excellent, in my opinion, by blending huge spectacle with really important life lessons. Monsters at Work looks like it could live up to that — and, if it does, it’ll be very special indeed. If it doesn’t? Maybe it’ll “Sully” the good Monsters name.