Claim: Bonnie Hunt was in a movie.

Monsters , Inc. is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures . Featuring the voices of John Goodman , Billy Crystal , Steve Buscemi , James Coburn , and Jennifer Tilly , the film was directed by Pete Docter as his directorial debut , co-directed by Lee Unkrich and David Silverman , and executive produced by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton . The film centers on two monsters employed at the titular corporation Monsters , Inc. ; top scarer James P. `` Sulley '' Sullivan -LRB- John Goodman -RRB- and his one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski -LRB- Billy Crystal -RRB- . Monsters , Inc. employees generate their city 's power by targeting and scaring children , but they are themselves afraid that the children may contaminate them ; when one child enters Monstropolis , Mike and Sulley must return her .   Docter began developing the film in 1996 , and wrote the story with Jill Culton , Jeff Pidgeon , and Ralph Eggleston . Fellow Pixar director Andrew Stanton wrote the screenplay with screenwriter Daniel Gerson . The characters went through many incarnations over the film 's five-year production process . The technical team and animators found new ways to render fur and cloth realistically for the film . Randy Newman , who composed the music for Pixar 's three prior films , returned to compose its fourth .   Monsters , Inc. was praised by critics and proved to be a major box office success from its release on November 2 , 2001 , generating over $ 577 million worldwide . Monsters , Inc. saw a 3D re-release in theaters on December 19 , 2012 . 12 years later , a prequel , Monsters University , directed by Dan Scanlon , was released on June 21 , 2013 .