Disney+ launched with the promise of bringing many adored Disney franchises to the small screen, but with big picture ambition, storytelling, and production values. So far, that promise has mostly been met, with the Disney+ original series like Mighty Ducks: Game Changers and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier feeling like stretched out features diced into episodic instalments. However, Monsters at Work, Disney+’s new sequel series to Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., feels more like traditional television than a “X-hour movie,” for better or worse. Monsters at Work takes place immediately following 2001’s Monsters, Inc. After Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) discover that laughter generates ten times more power for the Monstropolis power plant than screams, Mike and Sully are put in charge. and tasked with helping the company transition from an organization of scarers to jokesters. Meanwhile, recent Monsters University graduate Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman) arrives at Monsters, Inc. as the top scarer in his class, but finds that his skillset doesn’t fit in with Monsters Inc.’s new corporate culture. He’s assigned to the MIFT (the Monsters, Inc. Facilities Team) crew, a misfit group of monsters comprised of warm leader Fritz (Henry Winkler), over-enthusiastic Val (Mindy Kaling), down to business Cutter (Alanna Ubach), and threatened brown-noser Duncan (Lucas Neff). Tylor is torn between pursuing his dream of getting on the scare floor or falling in with his new whacky work family. Another thing that takes some of the excitement away from Monsters at Work is our familiarity with the Monsters Universe. After two films, the wacky character designs and world-building feel familiar and therefore are less likely to surprise. However, exploring the unsung heroes of Monsters,Inc., the maintenance folks and other day-to-day operational players is an intriguing idea with room for growth. In the two episodes screened for critics, it does appear that the show is presenting the idea that college isn’t the only path to a fulfilling and meaningful career, which feels wildly different for kid’s entertainment and a welcome, necessary message. Monsters at Work also looks like it will have fun playing with tropes of workplace comedies, taking aim at institutional businesses during transition. Anyone that has been through a company merger or a “culture reset” can find something recognizable in Mike and Sully’s struggle to redefine what Monsters, Inc. is. There’s also some lighthearted jabs at workplace burnout that are fun to see.
