Monsters Inc. opening sequence

The Monsters Inc. opening sequence starts with an animated title sequence and jazzy music. The animations are of many doors and animated monsters, which play a key role in the film. The animation and music then the screen fades to black. The picture fades in to a shot of a shelf in a childs' bedroom, the lights turn off and it is then dark. The camera pans down to a little boy in bed trying to sleep. There are then various different shots of the room, in near silence when the closet door slowly creaks open with a creak. There is no non-diegetic sound in this scene.

The boy opens his eyes and looks at the door to see a tentacle poking out of the door. The boy blinks and the tentacle has been replaced with a jumper. Some non-diagetic music begins at this point, building tension as a shadow passes across the bed. The shot pans down to under the bed where some red eyes open. The monster then slowly rises up above the bed in a threatening pose. The child looks up and screams, as does the monster. The mood of the scene is then immediately lightened when the monster falls backwards and makes a fool of himself. It is at this point that the whole thing is shown to be a simulation.


-Michael Kitchen