It might only be a matter of time before the beloved 3D-animated classic Monsters, Inc. (2001) becomes the latest Disney film to get a live-action horror makeover in the same vein as Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023), Mickey’s Mouse Trap (2024), Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (2025), Bambi: The Reckoning (2025), and Screamboat (2025).
Monsters, Inc. is one of the most beloved 3D animated classics in the Disney library. Set in the monster-inhabited world of Monstropolis, it follows James “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) and Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), two blue-collar workers at the titular factory that houses an array of magical doors that can teleport monsters into the human world. There, the monsters scare children, whose screams power the entire city of Monstropolis.
So far, the film has been followed by a prequel, Monsters University (2013), and the Disney+ animated series Monsters at Work (2021). Monsters, Inc. is owned by Disney and, as such, isn’t public-domain property like Winnie-the-Pooh, Peter Pan, Bambi, and Mickey Mouse. But this might not be enough to protect it from getting a low-budget slasher remake.
While you can rest easy knowing that this relatively new horror subgenre will never get its hands on the Monsters, Inc. IP, there is another genre we should be aware of.
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Familiar with a “mockbuster”? A riff of the word “blockbuster,” a mockbuster is a low-budget knock-off created to exploit the publicity of a major studio film by bearing so many similarities you’d think a major lawsuit was inevitable (it’s an incredibly fine balancing act).
Mockbusters tend to cash in on the success of popular motion picture films. A few hilarious (and audacious) examples are Transmorphers, Atlantic Rim, and Sunday School Musical. We won’t insult your intelligence by explaining which films those titles are mocking.
So, if Monsters. Inc. becomes one of the mockbuster genre’s latest victims, what should we expect? Monsters, Incarcerated? Monstrous University? We’d better stop before we give Hollywood ideas, so let’s put those ideas back where they came from, or so help us.
As for a regular live-action remake of the 2001 classic, that’s something we can get behind.
Related: ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Gets Horror “Reboot”
“Lovable Sulley (John Goodman) and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) are the top scare team at MONSTERS, INC., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis,” the official Disney+ synopsis for the film reads. “When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it’s the monsters who are scared silly, and it’s up to Sulley and Mike to keep her out of sight and get her back home.
Monsters, Inc. stars John Goodman (James “Sulley” Sullivan), Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski), Jenifer Tilly (Celia), and Steve Buscemi (Randall Boggs).
The film is now streaming on Disney+.
Does the thought of a Monsters, Inc. horror movie make you want to scream so hard you could power the entire city of Monstropolis? Let us know in the comments down below!
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