Monsters at Work, the maybe-anticipated sequel series to Pixar's Monsters Inc., has finally premiered, and its stars have apparently been having a blast resurrecting their characters from the classic film. (Though unfortunately it looks like Sora meeting Mike and Sully in Kingdom Hearts 3 isn't canon. What a waste.) Not only have the biggest names from the 2001 original movie come back to reprise their roles, but they've got plenty of fresh new faces joining the already stellar voice cast, and it's been fun all around.
As part of a recent virtual press conference promoting Monsters at Work, executive producer Bobs Gannaway brought along a few of the show's stars to talk about their experiences. He was joined by Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski) and John Goodman (James P. "Sulley" Sullivan) along with newcomers Ben Feldman (new lead character Tylor Tuskmon), Mindy Kaling (the fuzzy big-legged Val Little), and The Fonz himself, Henry Winkler (MIFT supervisor Fritz). Naturally, there was plenty to tell. Set at the Monsters Inc. factory the day after they made the switch from scream to laugh energy, it seems like unexpected change is the name of the game.
Monsters Inc. was particularly influential, so there were plenty of things the interviewers wanted to know. As expected, questions quickly turned to Crystal and Goodman, asking them how it felt to come back to these characters introduced 20 years ago. "I loved getting back into Mike," Crystal said to Collider. "I don't think he ever left. He's pretty much my favorite character that I've ever played." He went on to exclaim how exciting it was to do something new in this world he'd had so much fun performing in with Goodman, to which Goodman added, "Yeah, it was a no-brainer. The script so good and the animation is of such high quality that it makes it a lot of fun."
The question askers didn't forget the new blood, of course. Feldman compared his own experience to that of his character, Tylor, who gets to work alongside his heroes Mike and Sully on Monsters at Work. "It was horrifying to join this cast," he answered. "I look up to [all of them] and feel like I somehow crow-barred my way into a room that I don't belong in. I love this show so much." Kaling shared a similar sentiment about being honored to be part of the show, while offering up her own thoughts on her character Val. "I just love Val," she said. "She's so enthusiastic and earnest and pure. I normally play sociopaths, so that's really nice."
Winkler, meanwhile, offered up a small tidbit of behind-the-scenes info after also praising the series and cast in his wholesome Winkler way. "I got to act with Ben," he mentioned, explaining how voice actors usually only interact with someone if they share a scene. "I didn't see Billy, John or Mindy, and if we're picked up, I hope that I get to do that." It sounds as though Fritz won't get to do much new during this season if that's how the recording sessions went, but maybe he'll see a little more interaction among the rest of the cast if the show gets a continuation after this. Gannaway echoed the sentiments of the stars, adding that his main goal was to have fans of Monsters Inc. feel right at home. "I really wanted to make sure you get to go back to a place you love and spend time with friends," he said, "and then go places you haven't seen."
Monsters at Work saw its first 2 episodes just released on Disney Plus and plans to run a 10 episode season. No plans have been made as of yet regarding continuing the show after the finale, but perhaps if audiences have as much fun with it as the cast seems to be having, it might just see some more life on the other side of the door.
Monsters at Work releases new episodes on Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
Source: Collider