Hosted by Andrew Quinn and Darren Mooney, and this week with special guest Graham Day, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.
This week, Pete Docter’s Monsters, Inc.
In the city of Monstropolis, monsters harvest children’s screams as an energy source. In the midst of an energy crisis, James P. Sullivan is the best scarer in the business. However, when an innocent child named Boo crosses over into this world of monsters, Sulley finds his entire life – and everything that he believed – turned upside down.
At time of recording, it was ranked 200th on the list of the best movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.
Show Notes:
- Recorded 19th April 2024.
- Monsters, Inc. at the Internet Movie Database.
- The Top 250 at time of recording.
- Read Graham’s reviews at Scannain.
- Hear Graham on Speaking Geek.
- Read Graham’s guide to Irish Gaming at Gameir.
- Follow Graham on Twitter.
- Pete Docter talks to Christianity Today about his life and career, May 2009.
- Pete Docter talks to The Irish Independent about his time at Pixar, July 2012.
- Pete Docter talks to Radix about what drew him to animation as an artform, 1998.
- Colin Covert profiles Pete Docter for Star Tribune, May 2009.
- Ed Catmull writes about the Pixar braintrust for Fast Company, March 2014.
- Pete Docter talks to Minnesota Public Radio about how he came to work at Pixar, May 2009.
- Maria L. La Ganga takes a look at the production and development of Monsters, Inc. for The Los Angeles Times, October 2001.
- David Kehr at The New York Times considers Monsters, Inc. as the first Pixar film not to be directed by John Lasseter, November 2001.
- Chloe Veltman at The Telegraph considers the work culture of early Pixar, December 2001.
- Pete Docter talks to Cinematical about how Monsters, Inc. evolved during production and development, November 2009.
- Pete Docter talks to Freakonomics about the development of Monsters, Inc. and his relationship to Steve Jobs, March 2021.
- Brooks Barnes at The New York Times considers Ed Catmull’s Creativity, Inc., May 2014.
- Ellie Bate at BuzzFeed considers the name change of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, January 2016.
- Jamie Loftus at Paste Magazine considers the lasting legacy of Shrek, December 2021.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist considers how Shrek cemented the importance of irony in children’s animation, May 2021.
- Ella Kemp at Vice considers the evolution of Shrek over the two decades since it was released, May 2021.
- Rick Lyman at The New York Times considers the Oscars race between Shrek and Monsters, Inc., November 2001.
- Steve Daly at Entertainment Weekly considers Monsters, Inc. in relationship to Shrek, September 2002.
- Alex Pham at The Los Angeles Times considers the push for photorealism in computer-generated imagery with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, April 2001.
- Dave Wilson at The Los Angeles Times reflects on the box office underperformance of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, August 2001.
- Rick Lyman at The New York Times reflects on the possibility of digital actors replacing live action performers, July 2001.
- Christopher Orr at The Atlantic looks at the Pixar wilderness following the company’s purchase by Disney, June 2017.
- Rashida Jones talks to IndieWire about her departure from Toy Story 4, May 2019.
- Nicole Sperling at The Los Angeles Times considers the controversy around Brenda Chapman’s removal from Brave, May 2011.
- Brenda Chapman talks to Entertainment Weekly about her departure from Brave, August 2012.
- Carolyn Giardina at The Hollywood Reporter on Pixar’s efforts to become a more inclusive working environment, April 2018.
- Darren Mooney at The Escapist argues in defense of Pixar’s recent creative and commercial directions, June 2021.
- Samantha Bergeson at IndieWire considers the box office underperformance of Lightyear, February 2023.
- Brian Lowry at CNN considers the unconventional (and unexpected) box office success of Elemental, July 2023.
- Aaron Couch at The Hollywood Reporter marks the planned release date of Toy Story 5, April 2024.
- Cassidy Stephenson at Comic Book Resources reports on how Bill Murray lost the role of Sulley in Monsters, Inc., September 2022.
- Billy Crystal talks to Entertainment Weekly on turning down the role of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, October 2001.
- Pete Docter talks to The A.V. Club about the technical innovations underpinning Monsters, Inc., May 2009.
- Lex Briscuso at Paste Magazine considers Monsters, Inc. as a movie about parenting, December 2021.
- Cory Atad at RogerEbert.com considers parenthood as one of Pete Docter’s central thematic preoccupations, June 2015.
- Pete Docter talks to The Irish Independent about the importance of childhood to his films and his work, February 2002.
- Thomas S. Mulligan at The Los Angeles Times reports on how Enron manipulated California’s energy market, May 2002.
- Julian Borger at The Guardian reports on the controversies around “the Enron tapes”, February 2005.
- Richard A. Oppel Jr. at The New York Times reports on the internal code names that Enron employed for their economic strategies, May 2002.
- Luke Buckmaster at Flicks considers Monsters, Inc. as a parable about the transition to green energy, June 2021.
- David Crumpler at The Florida Times Union considers how the “G” rating fell out of fashion, June 2013.
- IGN reports on Disney’s decision to pursue a PG-13 rating for Pirates of the Caribbean, June 2003.
- Lee Unkrich talks to The A.V. Club about how animated films increasing pivoted to “PG” ratings, August 2023.
- The Ringer considers whether Pixar movies are for adults or for kids, December 2020.
- Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter considers the Oscar run for Beauty and the Beast, March 2022.
- Josh Spiegel at /film considers the thwarted prestige ambitions of Pocahontas, August 2019.
- Amy Wallace at The Los Angeles Times looks at the prestige and high-profile production of The Prince of Egypt, November 1998.
- Jeffrey Katzenberg talks to The Tampa Bay Times about the production and development of The Prince of Egypt, December 1998.
- Brandon Zachary at Comic Book Resources looks back on Pocahontas and Tarzan as the end of the so-called “Disney Renaissance”, June 2021.
- Mari Ness at Tor.com reflects on the prestige-driven approach that Disney took to Pocahontas, February 2016.
- Mari Ness at Tor.com considers Tarzan as the death knell for Disney’s prestige-driven animated features, April 2016.
- Brooke Bajgrowicz at Mashable considers how the Disney movies of the twenty-first century embraced self-awareness, August 2020.
- Petrana Radulovic at Polygon considers the deeply troubled production of The Emperor’s New Groove, June 2020.
- Richard Natale at The Los Angeles Times reports on the box office success of Monsters, Inc., November 2001.
- Andrew Bridges at The Los Angeles Times reports on the box office records broken by Monsters, Inc. November 2001.
- Peter M. Nichols at The New York Times reports on the home media sales of Monsters, Inc., October 2002.
- The New York Times reports on how Monsters, Inc. drove up Pixar’s profits by 600%, November 2002.
- Kyle Buchanan at Vulture reports on the plans for a Monsters, Inc. sequel internally at Disney, March 2011.
- Cassidy Ward at SyFy reports on how screams are more likely to be a better energy source than laughter, November 2021.
- Rhett Allain at Wired argues that the doors in Monsters, Inc. could generate a perpetual motion device, October 2013.
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Filed under: The 250 | Tagged: billy crystal, boo, graham day, Mike, monsters, monsters inc., Pete Docter, pixar, podcast, sulley, The 250 |
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