Pixar has been accused of plagiarizing the premise of their 2001 animated hit Monsters Inc from an earlier live-action movie, 1989’s largely-forgotten Little Monsters, so what are the similarities between the two movies? Almost two decades after Monsters Inc arrived in cinemas to commercial and critical acclaim, Pixar has been accused of ripping off the 1980s family monster movie Little Monsters, an early Fred Savage vehicle that shares a lot of creative DNA with the later John Goodman-starring animated movie.
Monsters Inc, like many Pixar movies, was a huge hit upon release whereas Little Monsters did minor business back when it was released in the late 80s and has mostly been forgotten since. But with both films featuring the eponymous monsters scaring kids for a living, eventually befriending one of these children, and finding that this unexpected kinship causes a crisis of conscience for them, is there any validity to the claim that Pixar owes the creators of Little Monsters some credit for their later film?
Not to be confused with 2019’s gory horror-comedy of the same name starring Lupita Nyong'o, 1989’s earlier Little Monsters is a kid’s horror-comedy that stars The Wonder Years’ Fred Savage and the voice of Gremlins' Gizmo Howie Mandel as an unsuspecting kid and the blue monster he befriends, respectively. Savage's young hero meets the monster after discovering him hiding in his room, and if that sounds familiar, it’s probably because Monsters Inc has essentially the same story. To be fair, the Pixar movie is mostly seen through the eyes of the monsters themselves rather than a kid hero. Nonetheless, it’s undeniable that the characters of both movies are very similar, the story likewise, and even the world of monsters in Monsters Inc owes a considerable debt to Little Monsters.
Before outlining their similarities it needs to be noted that, as far as differences between the movies go, the monsters of Little Monsters are former kids who love pulling pranks and causing mischief solely for the sake of it, whereas the titular characters of Monsters Inc are working stiffs who extract screams via machine for a power plant. Beyond this distinction though, the glaring similarities are hard to ignore. Not only is the blue-hued Maurice the monster of Little Monsters the same color as Monster Inc’s Sully, but both characters also befriend a human and end up deciding to stop scaring kids when their new friend makes them realize it can be cruel to do so. Both movies feature secret portals to a monster world that is hidden in every kid’s bedroom, and both feature a chase through these portals at the end.
Both movies also feature an antagonist who kidnaps a child to set the climax in motion, and who wants to keep things the way they are when their friend develops a pesky conscience. Only Monsters Inc earned itself an (almost very dark) sequel, but both movies also feature baddies have a goon who does most of their evildoing for them, and both monsters have to say goodbye to their new human friend at the film’s bittersweet end. Both heroes even give said friend a little memento to remember them by. It may not be an exact carbon copy, but Monsters Inc owes a serious creative debt to Little Monsters, and although the live-action movie may not be as fondly remembered as the Pixar hit, it’s still a very clear predecessor in terms of story and lore.