We love Monsters, Inc. This Disney Pixar movie from 2001 is funny, exciting and poignant. As a plus for families with young kids, it is rated G! For all of these reasons, we think it is a great choice for your next family movie night, and we are featuring it as the next film in our Disney Sunday Night Movie series. Let us sneak right into our movie night guide for the screamingly-funny Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Monsters, Inc. (2001) Disney Sunday Night Movie Guide
Our Disney Sunday Night Movie posts are simple guides to creating fun and easy movie nights. We like to offer suggestions for easy activities that involve little or no prep and discussion questions meant to help you connect with your loved ones. We think family movie night should be about drawing closer together and not executing complicated preparations.
At the end of this guide, we do have some snack ideas that could involve extra supplies and time. The good news is that preparing the snacks is designed to be a group activity, so you can make this all part of the fun. Outside recipe ingredients, the only supplies you will need for this Monsters Inc. movie night are pencils (or crayons, markers, etc) and paper.
As always, we encourage you to use the pieces of this guide that work for you and forget the rest.
Watch Monsters Inc. for Movie Night
Disney and Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. (2001) is available for streaming on Disney+. If you do not have this streaming service, we recommend that you borrow the movie from a friend or your library. We are thrilled with how many films—even new releases—we can find at our own local library. And if they do not have the film we want, the librarians find it at another library and put it on hold for us. Seriously, check-out your library!
In addition to Monsters, Inc. Disney and Pixar have also created the film Monsters University (2013) and the series Monsters at Work. On Disney+, you can also find two short films featuring Mike and Sulley. We have watched and enjoyed all of these, and some of the suggestions below can be adapted to work with these offerings as well.
In any case, time to watch Monsters, Inc. for movie night!
Monsters Inc. Movie Night Activities
After the movie is over, but before you jump into discussion, help everyone loosen-up with a Monsters, Inc. activity. Getting a little goofy can help conversation flow later. We have two ideas for you, and you can use one, both or none if you are just ready to talk. Some of our snack ideas (coming up after this section) can also work as activities.
Create Some Monsters, Inc. Musical Theater
Perform your own version of Put That Thing Back Where It Came From… Or So Help Me! That is the fake musical Mike invents to cover-up their attempt to return Boo to her room. At the end of the film, we even see a little bonus performance of it in which a cast of monsters briefly recreates the plot of the movie.
If you are feeling dramatic, have your group create their own song, dance or play based on Monsters, Inc. This is an excuse to loosen-up and also review some of the plot points before your discussion. If you have a dress-up box at home, pull it out and let everyone have some silly fun.
Invent an Odorant for Monsters
If you do not have a room full of thespians, you can still have some creative fun together. Early in the movie Monsters, Inc, we see Mike and Sulley discussing “odorant” in the company locker room. We hear about spray cans filled with options for stinking it up including Smelly Dumpster, Old Garbage, Low Tide and Wet Dog.
Now it is time for you to get in on the fun. Ask your group to come-up with their own creative scents for a great odorant. These could be single scents or blends of malodorous ingredients. Have everyone write down their ideas and design labels for the spray cans. We are suggesting this as a thought activity, but I suppose—if you are feeling brave—you could ask everyone to hunt down some actual bad smells.
Conversation Guide for Monsters, Inc. Movie Night
The most important parts of our Disney Sunday Night Movie posts are our discussion guides. These questions and conversation prompts are meant to guide you into a discussion about Monsters, Inc (2001). More than that, we hope this movie night guide will help you connect with yourself and the people (or monsters) important to you. To aid you in having a meaningful discussion, we have some…
Helpful Tips for Leading a Discussion
We have a few quick tips to help everyone in your group feel comfortable sharing. We saw in the movie how the unknown can be scary. So let us take some time to focus on helping everyone feel comfortable sharing.
Create a Cozy and Comfortable Space
Try to create a welcoming space for everyone in your group. A simple but inviting environment can go a long way towards helping people feel comfortable inside and out. Gentle lighting and a seating arrangement where everyone can see each other is usually best. With our words and a cozy space, we let everyone know that their thoughts are valued.
Writing & Drawing Can Help People Share
Whether we have a room full or introverts or those prone to speaking before thinking, we find that making time for drawing or writing can be really fruitful. Before we ask our group to share, we read discussion questions out loud and give our group members five to ten minutes to draw or journal. Many people need individual time to process their thoughts before they share.
Group members might choose to show their writing and artwork, or they may just use it as a starting place for themselves.
Listen Well
When people choose to share something difficult, it can be hard to know how to respond. Just let that person know you are listening with empathy. Try to avoid the temptation to minimize a problem or offer suggestions right away. Be attentive and acknowledge their feelings. You can say things like, “How did you feel when that happened?” Or, “That sounds very hard. Thank you for sharing this with me.”
Reflection Questions for Disney Sunday Night Movie: Monsters, Inc.
Now on to our reflection questions for Monsters, Inc. movie night. As group leader, we suggest you read these questions aloud one at a time. After each question, give your group members time to think, write and even draw if they wish. After everyone has had time to reflect, invite each person to share their responses.
These questions are designed to start at the surface level and then prompt your group to go deeper.
Reflection Questions for Monsters, Inc. Movie Night
- Let us take some time and have everyone in the group create a monster version of themselves.
- If you lived in Monstropolis, what would you look like? Would you have any special abilities or attributes? Would you be short or tall? Furry like Sulley or with snake-hair like Celia?
- Draw a picture of monster-you or write a list of your attributes. Share them with the group when you are ready.
- Mike and Sulley have a friendship that grows and changes over the course of the movie. It is challenged and changes in ways that surprise them both. Do you have a friendship that has grown and changed?
- What did you need to do to remain friends through those changes?
- Most of the monsters in Monstropolis believe that human children are incredibly dangerous. How do you think they came to have this belief?
- Can you think of an example of something that many people in our world are mistakenly scared of? Why do you think people are scared of something that is not harmful?
- How do you think Monstropolis will change when switching from scream power to laugh power?
- Do you think they should make the change? Why or why not?
- Is there something you would like to see change in your own community?
- What would it take to make that change?
Snack Ideas for Monsters, Inc. Movie Night
Your Disney Sunday Night Movie can be extra special with some monsters-themed snacks. You can make these into a creative snack-tivity or pull-together something simple. We have ideas across the spectrum to match your Monsters, Inc. movie night.
This snack portion of the movie night guide includes some links to Amazon product pages. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, which helps support this blog. We earn a small commission on purchases you make using those links, but the price you pay remains the same.
Totally Gross (but Tasty) Popcorn Ideas
First, we always say popcorn is a movie night classic for a reason. We have a whole article on movie night popcorn here: Easy Popcorn Hacks for Family Movie Night. If you want to take your popcorn to a monstrous new level, you can use the topping suggestions from that article and give them fun monster names. Chili powder can become hot lava powder, Parmesan cheese turns into toenail clippings and everything bagel seasoning is garbage dust… you get the idea.
Decorate Some Monstrous Desserts
Decorating your own cupcake or cookie makes for a fun monster-themed activity and dessert. We like that making monster treats creates an even playing-field for folks of all skill levels: because you are trying to make something “monstrous,” being messy can actually work in your favor.
Start by buying pre-made cookies or cupcakes or make your own baked goods. If you are baking with kids, try our favorite baking book for kids: The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs. (We also love the companion cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen here.) Honestly, these are some of our favorite cookbooks even when we are not cooking with kids.
You can then use frosting recipes from that same cookbook or grab some ready-made stuff. Glob that gooey frosting onto your baked goods in monstrous designs and add some other decorations for good-and-scary measure. We recommend:
Set out all of your ingredients and let your little monster go wild.
Dine at Harryhausen’s, the Hottest Spot in Monstropolis
Or how about pretending you are dining at the hottest restaurant in Monstropolis: Harryhausen’s? You can pull this off by ordering some sushi, making your own or getting this fun candy sushi instead (it’s a dessert and an activity).
You can also get really creative and put your own spin on food from Harryhausen’s. Below, we have menu items as described in the queue for the Disney California Adventure Park attraction Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! You can also glimpse the menu and some patrons’ plates during the film.
- GOO-TOFU: tender slice of goo with tofu garnish
- VEGETABLE TEMPUKI: reeking selection of vegetables fried tempuki style
- SWILL & SOUR SOUP: varmint medley in miso broth
- FLAB CAKE: sautéed slab of muck with ginger dipping sauce
- SPIDER ROLL: hairy spiders in a used seaweed wrapper
- CARRION KATSU: crispy-fried carrion with radishes
- SLIMI SASHIMI: slime-crusted chunk of malodorous mackerel
- HOWLING HAMACHI: yellowtail with lima beans and burned spinach
- CATERPILLAR ROLL: ripe caterpillars rolled with fermented bean curd
- TERRIBLE TERIYUCKI: vulture cutlets served on a sizzling platter
- ICKKI ISHIKARI: Soft shell blab with leech and lentil puree
- ASSORTED YUKITORI: grilled plob and rancid fish on bamboo skewers
- SQUID SLUDGE SHOGAYUKI: Fresh squid covered with locally-dredged sludge
- KAPPA MUCKI: Marinated and grilled mucki fillet
- GREEN TEA ICE SCREAM
- BLUEBERRY SLOBBER
- MUD PIE
Make recreating these items as simple or complicated as you wish. Since they all seem to be riffs on human food, you can get some of those regular-to-us dishes and call them by their Harryhausen’s name. An extra gooey looking sauce will really sell the gag.
Just set out some ice cream and goo and call it “Ice Scream.” Blueberry cobbler can get pretty oozy and should make an easy stand-in for “Blueberry Slobber,” and a crab cake with lots of sauce should do well for “Flab Cake.” If you are feeling brave, you can invite your fellow movie-goers to select some gross looking ingredients for your own “Swill and Sour Soup.” Get silly and have fun with these Harryhausen’s menu items.
Thank you for reading this movie night guide for Monsters, Inc.
We hope you have found some simple but fun ideas for your own movie night. Be sure to check-out our other Disney Sunday Night Movie guides here. We have other Pixar classics including Inside Out and Cars, plus other films like The Muppets. And consider subscribing to our free newsletter for fun future ideas. Thanks again for reading!
