Do Humane Ends Justify Monstrous Means?

Do the ends justify the means? That’s the question present in Pixar’s 4^th film. Does the way we provide for those around us justify how we go about it? And in recent years where the phrase “America First” has been shouted in nearly every battle for the countries values, does the destruction of those we once relied on really justify our success? I know these are heavy questions to ask for a movie about two guys trying to return a baby but man oh man is Monsters, Inc. deeper than we may realize.

Monsters, Inc. is simple on the surface. Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) have to return Boo (Mary Gibbs) to her home. Meanwhile Randall (Steve Buscemi) is looking to steal her to use his new scream extractor which will increase her scream potential but ultimately harm Boo, a toddler, severely. But we don’t just want to talk surface level with these movies. We want to dive deeper. We want to see what lessons we can still learn from our favorite monsters, so let’s talk about why the movie is really about collaboration with other places, and why a climate crisis needs to be listened to.

The Monster’s in the movie work at Monsters, Inc. It’s an energy company, the world the monsters live in is powered by screams from children, which is why they invade bedrooms and scare children, because they need resources. But lately there has been an energy crisis; the monsters are running out of power, there is a shortage, and numerous people are working to fix that. That’s where Sully comes into the picture, he’s the best, he’s the scarer who is working beyond anybody to fix the crisis. Sully is doing everything he knows to fix the crisis, but he’s limited in his role, he can’t do much as a “simple blue-collar” worker. And that is something we often see in our world, that we look to people in “positions of power” as a sign of knowledge when that’s not always the case. Waternoose (James Coburn) has the solution to work faster and break records, but that’s not only inefficient, it’s draining the work force and it’s stressing everyone out, so much so that monsters are ending up in “harmful situations”.

But it’s after accidentally letting Boo into the monster world, that Sully learns some dark truths, that Waternoose has been exploiting the monster labor for years and that many of the things he’s spent his whole life knowing aren’t actually true. Humans aren’t toxic, the crisis is because of bad resources, and Waternoose is willing to harm children to make sure his company doesn’t go under. That’s something that American’s have been working with for years.

We’re facing a climate crisis and a limit on our resources, and often we’ve invaded and exploited other nations to harvest their resources. But what if there was a better and more sustainable way. That’s what Sully discovers. That children’s laughter is far more valuable than children’s screams. Whereas Waternoose and Randall are looking for a way to extract more of the same resources, which will ultimately deplete them faster and solve nothing in the long term, Sully learns that there is an alternative source which is not only more effective but far more sustainable. Likewise we in the world are facing an impending energy crisis and while many are looking to use the same resource, there are some who are coming up with better ways to fix it and really create long lasting and safer solutions.

But then you have the people in charge shutting down and silencing those who expose their corruption, when Mike and Sully find out about the Scream Extractor, Waternoose not only fires them but strands them in the arctic. And it turns out that it isn’t the first time he’s done that as we learn from the Abominable Snowman (John Ratzenberger). How many employees have been fired spontaneously after working to unionize, or call out corruption or unfair work practices? And when it all comes down to it, companies will do unspeakable things to make money, and will silence anyone who speaks out. Monsters, Inc, and specifically Waternoose, believe that the bottom line justifies anything and everything.

In our modern world we see that there is corruption in corporations, there is a crisis of energy and sustained resources, there people who will do anything to hold power and influence and believe that as long as the end goal is acceptable, the means to get there will be seen as favorable. But that’s not true. We should look at the ends alone. There is always another way, there is always a solution worth pursuing that benefits more people, and there are always good people who deserve recognition within even the most corrupt of the greater corporate structures.

Here is my rubric for reviewing and ranking the movies in the Pixar series: Voice Performances Storyline Worldbuilding Most Memorable Scene Villain Each category will be ranked on a scale of 10 points for a possible total of 50. So here is my breakdown for Monsters, Inc.: Voice Acting: The Cast is solid but lacks all the memorable personalities of the Toy Story characters. While Crystal, Goodman, and Buscemi really stand out the rest of the cast is more or less forgettable and gets lost in the crowd. They aren’t bad but they often get overlooked when compared to other casts. (7/10) Storyline: The story is simple but deeply thematic. It really hits some things but you have to dive deeper into it. Otherwise it’s just a simple tale of who friends and coworkers working to return a child who accidentally disappeared into the world of the monsters. (8/10) Worldbuilding: The world in this one is actually fantastic, the monsters all have interesting and unique designs and the door access points to the numerous kids rooms are incredibly detailed and exciting to watch. Of all the worlds we’ve seen so far this one may be the most unique (10/10) Most Memorable Scene: The chase through the doors is easily the stand-out moment. It comes  through with creativity, action, humor, and ends with a deeply tense moment that really lets the characters show off. (8/10) Villain: Waternoose and Randall sort of share this one, and while Randall is the more interesting villain he isn’t actually the one running the show. The issue that ultimately comes out is that the more interesting villain doesn’t actually get as much time to really be the villain, and while Randall is really fun, his time is weakened when you learn he’s just the right hand man to another player. (7/10) Total Score: 40/50 Current Ranking: Toy Story 2 Monsters, Inc. Toy Story A Bug’s Life We’ve made it four strong, and as we rap up September we head off to the ocean to see a few new lessons and rewatch another one of the movies that defined our childhoods. So come on back and keep watching the magic of Pixar. And as always, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated!