Disney+ Monsters at Work (3 Viewers)

[Jake Lipson]

Disney recently announced the premiere date for Monsters at Work. So I thought now is as good a time as any to start a thread for it. As its name implies, it is a spinoff series from Monsters, Inc. It is set after the events of the movie, once the Scare Floor becomes the Laugh Floor. The first episode will start streaming July 2 on Disney+.

From TV Line:

The streamer announced Wednesday that Monsters at Work will debut on Friday, July 2. According to the official logline, the sequel series picks up the day after the Monsters, Incorporated power plant started harvesting the laughter of children to fuel the city of Monstropolis, thanks to Mike and Sulley’s discovery that laughter generates 10 times more energy than screams. The series is told from the prospective of Tylor Tuskmon (Superstore‘s Ben Feldman), “an eager young monster who graduated top of his class at Monsters University and always dreamed of becoming a Scarer” — that is, until he lands a job at Monsters, Incorporated. There he discovers that “scaring is out and laughter is in.”

Returning fan-favorites include Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski; John Goodman as James P. “Sulley” Sullivan; John Ratzenberger as Yeti and Tylor’s dad, Bernard; Jennifer Tilly as Celia Mae; and Bob Peterson as Roze, twin sister to his original Monsters, Inc. character, Roz.

The voice ensemble also features Henry Winkler as Fritz, the scatterbrained boss; Lucas Neff as Duncan, an opportunistic plumber; Aisha Tyler as Tylor’s mom, Millie Tuskmon; Alanna Ubach as Cutter, the officious rule follower; and Stephen Stanton as Smitty and Needleman, the bumbling custodial team at Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc. Spinoff, Chip ‘N’ Dale Reboot Get Disney+ Premiere Dates

'Monsters, Inc.' TV show 'Monsters at Work' gets Disney+ premiere date; the streaming service has also announced a Chip 'N' Dale reboot.

tvline.com

Deadline adds this tidbit:

Produced by Disney Television Animation, the series was developed and is executive produced by Disney animation veteran Bobs Gannaway.

‘Zenimation’ Renewed For Season 2 By Disney+; ‘Monsters At Work’ Gets Premiere Date; First-Look Images

Disney+ has ordered a second season of its animated short-form series and soundscape experience Zenimation.

deadline.com

So it isn't actually being produced by Pixar proper. That feels a little weird, especially since Pixar just announced a bunch of things for Disney+ which they're going to be doing themselves, like Dug spinoff shorts from Up. I wonder how many people will even realize this has been outsourced to a different subdivision of Disney, since Monsters is well-known and associated with the Pixar brand. I'm not sure what to think about that but I'll probably still watch it. I hope it's good. At the very least the monster world is a fun one to spend time in.

IMDb also lists Kelly Marie Tran in the cast too playing a character named Val Little. She's been getting around a lot lately with a variety of voice work. She voiced Dawn Betterman in The Croods: A New Age and of course is one of the titular characters in Disney's Raya and the Last Dragon which is coming on Friday.

Kelly Marie Tran | Actress, Producer, Soundtrack

Known for: Raya and the Last Dragon, Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

www.imdb.com

 

[Sam Favate]

This seem like the year for Disney+'s original programming. There is going to be an abundance of stuff for every sort of fan. I think this show will get a lot of attention, especially if it has the charm of the movies (yes, Monsters University wasn't as good as the first film, but it was still pretty good).

 

[Edwin-S]

I know this is a thread for the D+.Monsters spin off, but they coupled this with news of a Chip and Dale reboot. The C&D character redesigns look terrible.

 

[Jake Lipson]

The C&D character redesigns look terrible.

I agree. I'm not nearly as interested in that. But to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they will look better in motion?

 

[Edwin-S]

I agree. I'm not nearly as interested in that. But to give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they will look better in motion?

You have a point there. I won't totally write them off until we see them moving. I just found the designs off-putting because of my familiarity with what the characters looked like from their classic period. They were redesigned for the Rescue Rangers TV series, but still looked closely to the originals. These new designs are really pushing it.

Maybe motion will improve them though. The retro designs for the Mackey Mouse show worked pretty well when in motion. I must have watched the one where he was a taxi driver in India about a dozen times. The BGM for that episode was spot on. I really dug it and I'm not a big BGM person.

 

[Edwin-S]

Check out "City of Ghosts" on Netflix if you get a chance. I know you are a big fan of animation and I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. I was fairly impressed with it, considering it is rated Y7. I'd like it to get more episodes, but Netflix is notorious for killing shows after one season, and I'm not sure how it will go over with kids because aspects of it feel like it is more relatable to an adult.

Edit: I started a thread on it, but I doubt it will get any responses.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Val Little, the character previously attributed to Kelly Marie Tran, will now be voiced by Mindy Kaling. It's not clear if the previous news of Tran voicing the role was inaccurate or if this is a recasting for whatever reason.

Edit: Here's an older Hollywood Reporter article which announces Kelly Marie Tran as Val Little. Therefore, I assume this was true at one point and Mandy Kaling is being brought in as a recasting.

‘Monsters, Inc.’ Voice Cast to Return for Disney+ Series (Exclusive)

Logo text Disney+, the forthcoming streaming platform designed to rival Netflix, is getting the Monsters, Inc. gang back together — and inviting some new friends to the party. Monsters at Work, the upcoming animated spinoff set to debut in 2020 on Disney+, is officially welcoming back original...

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Back to the actual new story. Besides Kaling joining the cast, Bonnie Hunt will be returning as the voice of Ms. Flint, who trained new recruits at Monsters, Inc. in the first movie.

Mindy Kaling Joins ‘Monsters At Work’ Animated Series On Disney+

Mindy Kaling will lend her voice to Monsters At Work, Disney+'s upcoming animated series

deadline.com

Disney+ social media unveiled some new character images. However, oddly enough, they didn't attach names to the new characters. Obviously we know who Mike and Sulley are, but it would be nice to have names to go with the rest of those featured here.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Entertainment Weekly has an article with the same pictures as above, but they have character names:

Meet the 'Monsters At Work' crew in exclusive first look at new Disney+ series

Meet Mike and Sulley's new co-workers, including characters played by Mindy Kaling and Bonnie Hunt, in this preview of the 'Monsters, Inc.' spinoff show

ew.com

 

[Jake Lipson]

ABC has been running some random Disney movies on Monday nights lately. I'm not usually interested in that because I don't like to watch movies on TV with commercials and potentially cropped, especially if It is something I own. However, I bring this up because Monsters, Inc. is the movie on Monday, May 17. Of course I own that on Blu-ray and would always choose to put in the disc to watch the film. But it occurred to me that we haven't yet seen a trailer or any footage at all from Monsters at Work even though it is supposed to debut on July 2.

It would make sense, promotionally speaking, to include a sneak peak of the series during the broadcast of the movie. I want to be very clear here that I don't have any insider information at all and I don't know what they are planning. It could very well just be that they're airing the movie to fill time and there is no connection whatsoever with the series. But July 2 is only 48 days away, so the marketing campaign for the show will have to start sooner rather than later if it is maintaining that previously announced date. So I set my DVR to pick up the movie just in case. I have no interest in actually watching the film in a television format, but I'll go through the recording after it airs and see if there's anything of interest promoting the show.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Here it is:



Give it to me right now!

But seriously...45 days...

 

[TravisR]

I've been so busy recently that I didn't know this was happening so seeing this commercial on Instagram this morning was a very pleasant and welcome surprise.

 

[Sam Favate]

Looks like a lot of fun. We'll be tuning in every week.

 

[Jake Lipson]

A new poster image via Disney social media:

 

[Jake Lipson]

New longer trailer:

 

[Jake Lipson]

I noticed just now that the new trailer indicates the series will be streaming July 7 rather than the previously announced July 2.

July 7 is a Wednesday.

This is kind of irritating because it means that for the first three weeks of this run, Monsters at Work will be dropping new episodes on the exact same day and time as Loki.

I like Loki being on Wednesdays because it spreads the Disney+ debuts throughout the week. Now, by picking Wednesday for this show as well, Disney has kind of defeated that purpose. Because I always stay up and watch at midnight, that means Tuesday night/Wednesday morning is going to be really long with the combination of both of these shows before I go to bed. I enjoy watching them as soon as possible (and in particular with the Marvel shows I don't want to risk getting spoiled online), but that's part of why I like having Loki on a different day so there isn't a pileup of multiple programs at once. Oh well.

 

[Jake Lipson]

New character posters from Disney social media.

These also confirm that there will be two episodes on premiere day, which is now July 7 since Disney+ shifted all of their series to Wednesdays.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Billy Crystal was on Jimmy Kimmel Live recently to promote the show. In addition to the interview, this video also includes a new clip from the show I hadn't seen before.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Here is a short featurette with Dominic Lewis, who is the composer for the show. Randy Newman, who scored the Monsters films, is not involved with the show.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Variety has an interview with showrunner Bobs Gannaway and actor Ben Feldman. Feldman provides the voice of Tylor.

‘Monsters at Work’: Showrunner Bobs Gannaway and Star Ben Feldman on Reviving Pixar’s Hit Franchise for Disney Plus

Two decades after 'Monsters, Inc.' was released in theaters, Pixar and Disney Plus are bringing back Mike and Sulley for another adventure.

variety.com

 

[AlexF]

First two episodes dropped today and I watched them with the kids today.

It picks up basically right at the end of Monsters Inc. and tells the "what happened next" story.