Monsters at Work Premiere Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of the first two episodes of Monsters at Work. The first episode premieres Wednesday, July 7th on Disney+

Readapting their famous animated properties, Disney did something different this time around and continued the story of 2001’s Monsters Inc. as a workplace comedy with the aptly-named Monsters at Work. The inner workings of Monsters Inc. and the various monsters within it are certainly ripe for a workplace comedy. Shifting to an episodic series will be an adjustment as far as fans of the series are concerned and those growing pains are felt through the first two episodes as it attempts to find its footing with new characters and a new story. However, fans need not worry as Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) do make a return along with a few other familiar characters though they take a backseat to the new characters.

Set 6 months after the events of Monsters Inc., Monsters at Work saw the company adjust as they moved away from collecting energy from scares to collecting energy from laughs with Mike and Sully now leading the way. This adjustment was none greater than for Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman), a recent graduate from Monsters University with aspirations that didn’t quite fit the new direction in which Monsters Inc. was headed. This came as a shock to him as he was faced with an identity crisis where he had to essentially reinvent himself in order to find a new place in this new world as a Jokester. To do so, he had to earn his stripes and work his way up from the bottom. Suffice it to say that this would be easier said than done as he begrudgingly found himself part of the misfits that made up the Monsters Inc Facility Team or MIFT who Tylor saw as holding him back from his new dream.

Meanwhile, the task of moving from scares to laughs was an adjustment for Mike and Sully who had to learn how to run Monsters Inc. but most importantly, teach scary monsters how to be funny. One of those scary monsters was Tylor who needed to learn to be funny while working his way up. Over the course of that journey thus far, there were definitely some bumps but regardless, the other monsters saw Tylor’s promise. Whether or not he got to show it as a Jokester or as a member of the MIFT remain to be seen.

Though these first two episodes were a little on the slow side while laying the groundwork for the series as a whole, the voice acting is absolutely the best part of Monsters at Work thus far. It was nice to hear Crystal and Goodman as Mike and Sully again but Feldman as Tyler made for a fun protagonist and was compelling to watch, showing some youthful energy. Mindy Kaling, Lucas Neff, and Henry Winkler as Val Little, Duncan, and Fritz respectively also made for some hilarious side characters as part of MIFT. The early episodes only scratched the surface of where that dynamic can go so it will be interesting to see where it all goes from here.

In the end, Monsters at Work is off to a slow yet decent start but nevertheless, fans of the franchise will be at home here.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.