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Updated 10/30/01
GIVING MONSTERS A VOICE!

An interview with the actors in Disney/Pixar's Monster's Inc.

Monsters Inc. is a fun computer-animated movie from the makers of the Toy Story films. What if the monsters in your closet were real but weren't really evil? What if they "scare because they care"? Popular adult actors Steve Buscemi, John Goodman and Billy Crystal wanted to answer these questions and agreed to be the voices of the three major characters in the film. They told Lynn b., our entertainment reporter, about their own special nitetime fears when they were kids and talked about their characters and making the film.

AGW: Monsters Inc. is about monsters in your closet. What kinds of monsters were you afraid of as a kid? Where were they?

Steve Buscemi (Randall Boggs): DEFINITELY under the bed. When I was that young, I shared the bed with my two brothers and we definitely talked about the monsters being under the bed. You'd be afraid to let your arm drop down and hang off; that was way too scary.

AGW: Where was this?

Buscemi: In Brooklyn. Also, I remember being afraid of the headlights that came in through the window late at night and just the way the lights would travel across the bed and up the walls and ceiling. It was explained to me it was just a car, but for some reason that was just eerie.

John Goodman ( Sulley): Mine were under the bed, not the closet. After a while I got hip and started getting a broom stick, pushing it under there. Yeah, I had all kinds of crap in my closet. There's no way one could've survived in there with my sneakers alone. I was afraid of Frankenstein. They used to have a show called "This is your Life". One night Boris Karloff was on and I made the mistake of watching it. So, that night, I knew he was coming for me and I got up. I don't know why, but I could actually see him walk down the hall and I ran into my mom's room. "What are you doing in here? Go back to bed."

AGW: Did the broomstick help against him?

Goodman: Well, once you went under the bed, through the closet, hit the bed again, then you were good to go. And I invented bullet proof sheets so they (monsters) couldn't kill me.

Billy Crystal (Mike Wazowski): I remember being alone in the house for the first time around age 10 and talking in voices, so in case there was someone outside, you'd think there were a number of people in the house. I didn't have a specific monster guy. I had fears of the dark, you know…sounds bothered me. I had really good hearing and when you're scared it gets heightened so you hear scratching noises or something…We'd had some burglaries in the area, always someone breaking in. That was the thing. If you're home alone who's gonna take care of you? Who's gonna fend off the whatever it was? Just the unknown. It was a tiny little house. My room was in the back and I didn't like the dark so I would say 'Keep the light on'. I stopped doing that around two or three years ago. I keep the door open a little bit.

AGW: Was there a particular movie monster that may have scared you?

Billy: There were some pretty scary movies back then which now seem not as scary to some people But Psycho, as a kid, was just terrifying. Bambi, to a kid, was scary.

AGW: Did any of you get to be part of developing what your character looked like or acted like?

Buscemi: When you are recording the voice, even before you are doing it to picture, they videotape you doing it to see the expressions on your face, and I think they DO try and incorporate some of that. They pretty well showed me what the character was going to look like from the very beginning. I liked the character and thought he looked great. I liked the big eyes and the fact that he was this lizard-like monster. I just remember his name changed, but I can't remember what his original name was. I don't remember there being too many changes with the character.

Goodman: Oh, yeah. From (day one), they had the illustrations and computer stuff. It's a long process, so it would be maybe two months later I'd come back and they'd have more stuff done and show me how they incorporated some of your gestures and your facial expressions.

Billy: They brought a piece, about 35, 40 seconds of him animated with my voice lines from (the movie) My Giant I realized. 'The size of the hero is determined by the size of the villain. Without Goliath, David is just some kid throwing rocks'. It was this over and over again with this guy Mike talkin' and movin' his hands. They told me the concept and brought some storyboards and paintings and explained the movie and that was it. I just thought it was epic. (Mike) has no shoulders... He was a combination of a lot of things to me. He was a Pippin apple with Sammy Davis Jr.'s hands. If you watch him, he has very fluid wrists. But I'm like that when I work anyway. So they take that and they magnify it. And he walks like me. He's got the same little bow-legged thing. And the mouth. I knew what he felt like. I'm telling you, when I put the things on, I'm that guy.

AGW: Do you like doing the voice for an animated character?

Buscemi: This is just pure fun, and it probably does bring out the child in you a little bit more. Knowing that it's for kids gives you that extra little boost of energy or excitement in wanting to do a good job and not wanting to let the kids down. I remember when I was a kid and watching these films, you just wanted to totally believe it. So even though it's a lot of fun, it's an acting job that I take very seriously because I want the character to be as real as possible, even though it's a fantasy film and you're playing a monster. I have one son and we saw a screening of it, he brought a friend and they were very excited about seeing it before it was released. They really loved it. It's nice to be able to do something that my son can actually see. Most of the stuff I do he's gonna have to wait till he's 17.

Goodman: Well, I started doing it for my daughter, but in a couple years she'll probably be too old for this stuff. I listened to a lot of radio theater when I was a kid and I've always been a fan of that (voice) stuff. (Note: Goodman has done several animated voices). They started this (Monsters) about halfway through Emperor's New Groove and then I started doing Jungle Book 2 about three quarters of the way through this. I play Baloo (the bear).

Billy: I loved this idea. And when I sat and saw the movie for the first time the other night, the first thing that hit me hard in a great way was seeing 'Walt Disney Presents'. My mother was the voice of Minnie Mouse for a little while in the Macy's Day parades in New York. She would do the recordings of Minnie's voice in the floats with this big four story Minnie Mouse coming down 5th Avenue, The Mouse Club, I remember, as a kid watching on our black and white t.v., set this big (indicates tiny). (I remember) Walt with a hard hat plowing Disneyland and putting up this entertainment land with its future highway. It looks like this guy is everybody's uncle. To be part of the legacy of Snow White and Pinocchio and Old Yeller and Davy Crockett and the Mouse Club and Annette and now the Pixar movies which he would be thrilled about. When I saw 'Walt Disney' at the head of this movie, I got all excited to be part of that legacy.

AGW: Did any of you get to ad lib or make up some of your dialogue?

Goodman: We would read the scripts and they usually don't let actors read together. They usually read them one at a time with a producer or a director, but this time they brought Billy and I together, I guess to see what would happen. The energy just took off like a rocket. So, Billy, after we'd get done with the script, he'd kind of take over and do whatever he wanted and I'd just try to keep up with him. Billy would go off on these tangents and a lot of them you don't want in a Disney film. He'd start and then I'd have to bite my lips and I'd be crying. Then I'd try to get a line out and he had me going so hard. Oh, man. He's a beast.

Billy: Hey! As a director and an actor, I encourage improvisation but in character and in the moment of what it is. My guy I thought was free enough and wild enough to just do anything. And it's up to them to pick the ones they want and use it I did the first two sessions alone and I didn't like it. It was lonely and it was frustrating. And, you know Pete (Docter, the director) would say, 'Do the same thing but now ask it as a question'. And I would go 'Why?'. like 'I'm not doin' this'. Now should I say 'Should I do this?'…He'd say, 'well, in case I change the scene'. I said 'Why don't you get John in here? We'll do it together and we can do everything you want but we'll do it together. Then it'll be natural. Then the editor won't be the one who has to put it all together so it sounds real. It'll just be real. Then we did it and it was great.

AGW: What do you think is the message or theme of this film and why is it important right now?

Buscemi: I'm terrible when it comes to figuring out what a message is, but I guess it would be to face and overcome your fears.

Goodman: It's about fear. I feel a little weird talking about it now but I think in times of crisis, entertainment's always been important.

Billy: At any time this movie is a great movie. You know, now when it deals with fear and laughter and overcoming terror and all that stuff that's obviously an added thing for the (film's success). But, this is a great enjoyment for everybody. What I love about the movie, at any time, is that families can go see it together and it should provoke thought and discussion. You know sometimes when (kids) are afraid of something, they won't tell their parents because they think something's wrong with them. 'I saw a monster and monsters aren't real'. Sometimes they'll run into the room and say 'I saw a monster' but, if they talk about it, maybe they won't have so many.