It has been more than a year since Disney + made the first announcement about the development of a Monsters, Inc. sequel series, and now franchise star Billy Crystal has finally opened up about Monsters at Work, confirming that the project is still moving forward at the streamer. Speaking with Collider, Crystal revealed that he and the voice cast along with fellow franchise star John Goodman are really having fun with the series, describing it as fantastic looking and hilarious.
“It’s a series. John Goodman and I are Sully and Mike,” Crystal said. “The show, time-wise, starts six months after ‘Monsters, Inc.’ ended. So now, we’re on the Laugh Floor. We’ve created all of the new, young, great characters with some great voice actors, and John and I are reprising our parts. I tell ya, it’s [been] 20 years [since the release of ‘Monsters, Inc.’] and that movie looked amazing 20 years ago. It’s coming up to the 20th anniversary, I believe in September [November]. It’s fantastic looking, it’s hilarious, and we’re having a lot of fun doing it.”
He also went on to confirm that they have already worked on numerous episodes before the pandemic hit. However, that didn’t fully stop their production as he was able to do some voice recording at home.
“Yeah, we’ve done a bunch [of episodes]. We’ve been on a break because of the pandemic. But some I was able to do at home and some I was able to do in a very deserted studio out in Burbank. To be the only one on the lot was a little weird. But yeah, we’re progressing. I don’t know when they’re gonna start [being released] but I promise you they’re really good.”
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Monsters at Work picks up six months after the original movie with the power plant at its center now harvesting the laughter of children to fuel the city of Monstropolis. The series follows Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman), an eager and talented mechanic on the Monsters, Inc. Facilities Team who dreams of working on the Laugh Floor alongside Mike and Sulley.
Also starring in the voice cast are franchise originals John Ratzenberger as Yeti, Jennifer Tilly as Celia, Bob Peterson as Roz, and franchise newcomers Ben Feldman (Superstore), Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Henry Winkler (Barry), Lucas Neff (Raising Hope), Alanna Ubach (Coco), Stephen Stanton (Star Wars Resistance) and Aisha Tyler (Archer).
Tran will voice Val Little, Tylor’s lifelong friend and confidante; Winkler will voice Fritz, the scatterbrained boss; Neff will voice Duncan, an opportunistic plumber; Ubach will voice Cutter, the officious rule follower; Stanton will voice Smitty and Needleman, the bumbling custodial team; and Tyler will voice Tylor’s mom, Millie Tuskmon.
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Monsters at Work is executive produced and developed by Bobs Gannaway (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse). Kat Good and Rob Gibbs will direct the Disney Television Animation production with Ferrell Barron serving as producer.
Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. made its debut in 2001annd was an instant critical and box office success with a gross of more than $577 million worldwide. It also earned a few Oscar nominations including Best Animated Feature but only won Best Original Song. After 12 years, it was then followed by a prequel film titled Monsters University in 2013 which follows the origins of Sulley and Mike’s friendship. Like the first film, it also generated positive reviews and was a commercial success with a gross of over $743 million.
