This morning, rumors have been floating around that possibly shed some light on where Pixar is planning to take Monsters, Inc. 2, the highly anticipated sequel due in theaters in 2012. Before I go any further, please note that this is not an official synopsis, as this information purportedly appeared in a theater catalog distributed by Disney. I shall also state that I will not be revealing specific details from the plot, since they may contain spoilers. Read on for my analysis of some of what was revealed.
The rumor making the rounds is that Monsters, Inc. 2 will not be a sequel, but is actually set to be a prequel. How many years before the original film will the storyline cover? That remains an unknown, but we will likely get to see a younger Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan. This would be an interesting development, as Pixar has yet to go the prequel route with one of their franchises. Toy Story 2 and 3 were incredibly successful and flowed beautifully from one film to the other. The first two films in the Woody and Buzz franchise also left open many possibilities as to where they could take a sequel.
However, the ending to Monsters, Inc. is considered to be perfect by many, similar to how people feel about the final moments of Toy Story 3. Where would you go from Monsters, Inc.‘s closing minutes? Director Pete Docter and his team on the first film actually toyed with the idea of (I’m about to discuss the ending of the first Monsters, Inc. here, so be warned) showing the audience what happens inside of Boo’s room at the end. Instead, they left the ending up to the audience’s imagination, since whatever what was shown on screen could never top what each individual audience member could come up with. A sequel might actually ruin that incredible finale, and that is something Pixar would not want to do. Toy Story 2 and 3 never felt that way – actually, you can make the argument that Toy Story 2 and 3 made you feel even better about the preceding film.
The most important thing about today’s ‘news’ is that all of this could be simply untrue. That, my friends, is the inherent problem with information that is not revealed through Pixar. The animation studio laboriously chooses what storyline details to reveal in official synopses, images, and trailers. Many trailers by rival studios reveal way too much information about a film’s plot. It is likely that the ending of Toy Story 3 may not have been as emotional for people if they knew what was coming the entire time. Almost the entire second half of Toy Story 3 was unknown by audience members, which is why that ending is so breathtaking for so many.
That is als0 why I choose not to reveal other information that came to light today. The Pixar Times is not out to bring spoilers to light (even if it turns out that today’s details are not spoilers). It is too early to tell, as the film is almost two years away. Any details revealed today may be completely untrue, or may contain more details than Pixar wants to reveal. Let’s wait for an official synopsis, trailers and images released by the studio before we believe anything. After all, with two years to go, everything we hear today could simply change before the film is released.
Bottom line, we’re getting another Monsters, Inc. film! That much is for sure. I love the first film so I absolutely cannot wait until 2012. Who’s with me?
The source for this was a French site, Disney Plaza Central.
