Reflections From "Monsters, Inc."
On this day 18 years ago, Pixar's Monsters, Inc. first premiered in theaters. I can fondly remember seeing it in theaters on its opening night at the Regal Cinemas in Short Pump. We even saw it in theaters a second time when they added outtakes to the end of the movie, which included them putting on the musical "Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me. All of that may help explain why I've been experiencing nostalgia for this particular Pixar film, one that's improved with age. Considering that I've had blog posts about fellow Pixar films A Bug's Life and the entire Toy Story series, it only made sense to reflect on another early Pixar film (at this pace, you're up next, Finding Nemo). Monsters, Inc. does a great job of delivering laughs (more on that later) and lessons along the way, too.
Before diving into the lessons from Monsters, Inc., I have to give it a shout-out for its awesome opening sequence with the doors and jazz music. Okay, now we can dive in to the lessons learned!
The movie itself focuses on the dynamic between monsters and children. The source of power for the world the monsters live in literally comes from screaming children that professional monsters scare. However, there's an underlying energy crisis going on. Children are becoming harder to scare and there's not a clear solution in sight. Adding to all of this is the fact that the monsters are scared of the children, believing that they are toxic and could be killed if a child touched them. This causes an all-out panic when a Boo, little girl enters into the monsters' world.
Fear. The monsters' source of energy and power comes from scaring the same children that they're afraid of. They live in a world fueled by fear and live in a state of fear when Boo enters their world. Over the course of the film, Mike and Sulley realize that Boo is harmless Sulley even starts to grow attached to her, giving her the name "Boo". They also start to realize that there's something even more powerful than screaming: laughing. At the end of the movie, laughing turns out to be ten times more powerful than screaming and becomes the monsters' new source of energy.
For the monsters, laughing was more powerful than screaming -- and that's how it should be in our own lives. The children's screams came from fear and being afraid, but the children's laughs came from joy and being happy. Living in fear is no way to live. Constantly living in fear may work for a while, but it ultimately wears one out from exhaustion .For the monsters, fear led to panicking, which only exacerbated the problem at hand. Being in a constant state of fear can also mean missing out on some really great opportunities. I know life's presented me with great opportunities that came with fears, but I'm thankful that I didn't let those fears overpower me. You know, fears like fear of change, fear of rejection, or fear of failure. In the instances of rejection or failure, the fear can sting worse than the actual rejection or failure can. There's something powerful about facing those fears head-on, even if it is painful or scary. If we don't, those very fears become what controls us.
Instead of living in fear, the monsters learned to live in laughter. Laughter has a way of bringing others closer together. Laughing and smiling also have a way of putting one in a good mood, too. There's comfort, joy, and happiness with laughing. Not so much the case with fear. Another way to look at it is this way: you're more likely to make one's day by bringing them joy or laughter than by making them fear you. Without getting to Machiavellian here, a case could be made that it's actually better to be loved, not feared. Or, as Michael Scott from The Office quipped, it can be both - people can be afraid of how much they love you. Tangent aside, there's a lot more joy found in living a life filled with laughter than with fear.
A case could be made that Mike Wazowski's the true star of Monsters, Inc. Voiced by Billy Crystal, Mike's not the scariest monster (far from it), but he works hard in his role to help Sulley out with scaring. Mike also exhibits a general sense of optimism that can be admired. When the company airs a commercial and Mike's face gets blotted out, all he can do is celebrate the fact that he was on TV. Likewise, when Mike and Sulley are on a magazine and Mike's face gets blotted out by the UPC code, Mike celebrates that he's on the front cover a magazine. Mike looks on the bright side of life, something we could all benefit from.
While Mike and Sulley have their disagreements and get into a fight, they ultimately reconcile, with Mike understanding that he and Sulley have one another's best interests at heart. There's no better display of this than at the end of the film when Mike repairs Boo's shredded wooden door. Mike goes through (presumably) thousands of pieces of shredded wood to put Boo's door back together so that Sulley can see Boo again. Mike knew how much Sulley loved and missed Boo, and he provided him with the opportunity for them to reunite. Talk about a selfless act from a friend. We can find a lot of joy in our lives when we do things not for ourselves, but for others. Sulley's face when he sees Boo again clearly made all of Mike's work worth it.
Lastly, Monsters, Inc. teaches the important lesson that sometimes in life, we have to say goodbye. The scene where Sulley says goodbye to Boo is definitely a tearjerker. The two had grown attached to one another, but Sulley's concern was for her to be home again. He was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see Boo again, but understood why. Sulley had to let go of Boo and say goodbye because he loved her and wanted what was best for her. Boo's so happy to be in her room again, unaware that she has to say goodbye to her "kitty" (Boo's nickname for Sulley). It's all the more heartbreaking when Boo opens her door after Sulley leaves and its only her clothes, not Sulley.
It's hard to say goodbye. It certainly was hard for Boo and Sulley. Saying goodbye is hard because it means letting go of something or someone. Saying goodbye means you won't see someone for a while - or may never see them again. That's a tough lesson to learn and come to terms with. In Boo and Sulley's instance, they do get the joy of being reunited, though that's not always promised when saying goodbye. For me, saying goodbye is hard because I'm all about quality time with people (or an activity that I enjoy doing). Time's the most valuable asset we have, and it's a joy to be able to spend it with others (and likewise that they spend their time with me). Saying goodbye though is a part of life. With that, we have to learn how to move forward. We can still miss what we're saying goodbye to, but we can rest in knowing that we'll always have those memories and time with them. The lessons learned from them live on in our hearts, too.
When Monsters, Inc. premiered, I was in the first grade. 18 years later, the reflections and lessons learned are living in laughter and happiness, not fear, finding joy in life, being a selfless friend, and learning to say goodbye. It's hard to definitively rank all of the Pixar films, though if I ever did, there's a good chance Monsters, Inc. would be in the Top 5. I'm thankful that Pixar's cranked out classics such as Monsters, Inc. that provide lessons nearly two decades later. Now if you'll excuse me...I think I'm going to look for way to watch this Pixar classic.
Before diving into the lessons from Monsters, Inc., I have to give it a shout-out for its awesome opening sequence with the doors and jazz music. Okay, now we can dive in to the lessons learned!
The movie itself focuses on the dynamic between monsters and children. The source of power for the world the monsters live in literally comes from screaming children that professional monsters scare. However, there's an underlying energy crisis going on. Children are becoming harder to scare and there's not a clear solution in sight. Adding to all of this is the fact that the monsters are scared of the children, believing that they are toxic and could be killed if a child touched them. This causes an all-out panic when a Boo, little girl enters into the monsters' world.
Fear. The monsters' source of energy and power comes from scaring the same children that they're afraid of. They live in a world fueled by fear and live in a state of fear when Boo enters their world. Over the course of the film, Mike and Sulley realize that Boo is harmless Sulley even starts to grow attached to her, giving her the name "Boo". They also start to realize that there's something even more powerful than screaming: laughing. At the end of the movie, laughing turns out to be ten times more powerful than screaming and becomes the monsters' new source of energy.
For the monsters, laughing was more powerful than screaming -- and that's how it should be in our own lives. The children's screams came from fear and being afraid, but the children's laughs came from joy and being happy. Living in fear is no way to live. Constantly living in fear may work for a while, but it ultimately wears one out from exhaustion .For the monsters, fear led to panicking, which only exacerbated the problem at hand. Being in a constant state of fear can also mean missing out on some really great opportunities. I know life's presented me with great opportunities that came with fears, but I'm thankful that I didn't let those fears overpower me. You know, fears like fear of change, fear of rejection, or fear of failure. In the instances of rejection or failure, the fear can sting worse than the actual rejection or failure can. There's something powerful about facing those fears head-on, even if it is painful or scary. If we don't, those very fears become what controls us.
Instead of living in fear, the monsters learned to live in laughter. Laughter has a way of bringing others closer together. Laughing and smiling also have a way of putting one in a good mood, too. There's comfort, joy, and happiness with laughing. Not so much the case with fear. Another way to look at it is this way: you're more likely to make one's day by bringing them joy or laughter than by making them fear you. Without getting to Machiavellian here, a case could be made that it's actually better to be loved, not feared. Or, as Michael Scott from The Office quipped, it can be both - people can be afraid of how much they love you. Tangent aside, there's a lot more joy found in living a life filled with laughter than with fear.
A case could be made that Mike Wazowski's the true star of Monsters, Inc. Voiced by Billy Crystal, Mike's not the scariest monster (far from it), but he works hard in his role to help Sulley out with scaring. Mike also exhibits a general sense of optimism that can be admired. When the company airs a commercial and Mike's face gets blotted out, all he can do is celebrate the fact that he was on TV. Likewise, when Mike and Sulley are on a magazine and Mike's face gets blotted out by the UPC code, Mike celebrates that he's on the front cover a magazine. Mike looks on the bright side of life, something we could all benefit from.
While Mike and Sulley have their disagreements and get into a fight, they ultimately reconcile, with Mike understanding that he and Sulley have one another's best interests at heart. There's no better display of this than at the end of the film when Mike repairs Boo's shredded wooden door. Mike goes through (presumably) thousands of pieces of shredded wood to put Boo's door back together so that Sulley can see Boo again. Mike knew how much Sulley loved and missed Boo, and he provided him with the opportunity for them to reunite. Talk about a selfless act from a friend. We can find a lot of joy in our lives when we do things not for ourselves, but for others. Sulley's face when he sees Boo again clearly made all of Mike's work worth it.
Lastly, Monsters, Inc. teaches the important lesson that sometimes in life, we have to say goodbye. The scene where Sulley says goodbye to Boo is definitely a tearjerker. The two had grown attached to one another, but Sulley's concern was for her to be home again. He was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see Boo again, but understood why. Sulley had to let go of Boo and say goodbye because he loved her and wanted what was best for her. Boo's so happy to be in her room again, unaware that she has to say goodbye to her "kitty" (Boo's nickname for Sulley). It's all the more heartbreaking when Boo opens her door after Sulley leaves and its only her clothes, not Sulley.
It's hard to say goodbye. It certainly was hard for Boo and Sulley. Saying goodbye is hard because it means letting go of something or someone. Saying goodbye means you won't see someone for a while - or may never see them again. That's a tough lesson to learn and come to terms with. In Boo and Sulley's instance, they do get the joy of being reunited, though that's not always promised when saying goodbye. For me, saying goodbye is hard because I'm all about quality time with people (or an activity that I enjoy doing). Time's the most valuable asset we have, and it's a joy to be able to spend it with others (and likewise that they spend their time with me). Saying goodbye though is a part of life. With that, we have to learn how to move forward. We can still miss what we're saying goodbye to, but we can rest in knowing that we'll always have those memories and time with them. The lessons learned from them live on in our hearts, too.
When Monsters, Inc. premiered, I was in the first grade. 18 years later, the reflections and lessons learned are living in laughter and happiness, not fear, finding joy in life, being a selfless friend, and learning to say goodbye. It's hard to definitively rank all of the Pixar films, though if I ever did, there's a good chance Monsters, Inc. would be in the Top 5. I'm thankful that Pixar's cranked out classics such as Monsters, Inc. that provide lessons nearly two decades later. Now if you'll excuse me...I think I'm going to look for way to watch this Pixar classic.
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