I love this film, but I also liked the show Aahh Real Monsters on Nick. Its been bothering for some time now, I’ve noticed many simularties, let me know if I’m pushing it by posting a topic like this here. Any one else a fan of both and wondering this? I read some where that they were going to make an Aahh Real Monsters movie, but it was too dark, so Nick decided not give it the green light. Do any of the Real Monsters writers or producers work on this film?
I, too, was a huge fan of the Nicktoon, “AHH! Real Monsters!”, especially of adorable little misfit Ickis, and that in fact, was one of the reasons why I never went to see Monsters, Inc. during its theater run. The trailers I’d seem really DID make it seem like a CGI rip-off of the Nicktoon, especially the one that showed Mike walking down the hall with his feet wet and the strip of toilet paper clinging to his heel. For those of you not familiar with the Klaasky-Csupo animated series, the monsters in question accessed human dwellings via the sewer systems, so there were lots of references to toilets in the series.
But no, Woodyfan, as it turned out, none of the people who’d worked on the Nickleodeon cartoon worked for Pixar, and the resemblence between “AHHH! Real Monsters!” and Monsters, Inc. ended with the fact that the major characters in both happened to be monsters. In the Nicktoon, the monsters live right here in our world, under our very noses, taking up residence in places like garbage dumps, swamps and other places considered gross by many humans. They gain access to our buildings through our sewer systems, as I said. The main characters are monster kids, and the main setting is a sort of monster boarding school located under a landfill, where the young monsters are taught the finer points of scaring humans, which is NOT done to obtain energy, but to simply maintain a balance of power and prevent humans from from totally taking over the place. It’s also done to keep the monsters ALIVE, since in the Nicktoon, monsters can only exist as long as humans continue to believe in them and be afraid of them, but at the same time, the monsters can’t let the humans get TOO familiar with them, since they know that humans will ultimately haul them off to some laboratory and dissect them like frogs in a biology class. The monsters in the Nicktoon thrive on much, garbage and gross, disgusting things, and love a messy, nasty environment. What is considered bad for us is good for them and vice versa, while in the Monster World of Monstropolis, the residents pride themselves on being “green” and keep their city spotlessly clean and free of pollution. Monstropolis exists not in our world, but on a parallel version of planet Earth, in a parallel universe(Google “String Theory” if you’ve got some spare time). They have figured out how to manipulate “worm holes”, if you will, to access our universe, our Earth. That is the key to their clean, “green” world; they use the power of clean-burning Scream energy, supplied by terrified human children, to power their electric plants and vehicles. Unlike the monsters in the Nicktoon, who have odd-sounding names like “Ickis”, “Krumm”, and “the Snortch”, the denizens of Monstropolis have very ordinary, human-sounding names like James, Mike, Randall and Celia Mae. They work nine-to-five shifts, drive cars, go out to sushi restaurants and basically do all the things that WE do, because they are, according to the animated short, “History of the Monster World”, on the DVD, actually descended from US, from odd-looking early humans who were cast out of their tribal lands because they didn’t look like everyone else. While the PIxar monsters still depend on humans, they don’t require us to simply believe in them to exist. They are ordinary flesh-and-blood beings.
Although, I DO have to say that the little round, one-eyed, horned monster in “AHHH! Real Monsters”, the one with the deep voice, DID remind me a LOT of Mike Wazowski, just a different color.
pitbulllady
Yah I noticed the differences too, I felt the same way you did too, when I saw the promos and trailers for this I was like no way. Never gonna see that, Real Monsters rip off. Than I think I saw it on TV or some thing and loved it. Now I want the DVD. So like I said, I love both but do note some simularites. But ok, no one from that show works on it than.
I, personally, am not a fan of Ahh Real Monsters by Nick and I dont think that Monsters inc. had anything to do with it. Monsters inc. and Ahh Real Monsters are the only monster related entertainment that I have seen get anywhere far though. And who knows, maybe a creater of one of the shows got the idea from the other!
Maybe the monsters get their training in the AAAAH! Real Monsters! world, and then go report that to MI. Or the other way around.
I’ve heard that there have already been a lot of comics cartoons featuring the ideo of monsters scaring as work.
well, yes…
Aagh, Real Monsters didn’t create the idea of monsters scaring, that has been around for centuries.
I think the Nostalgia Critic said that himself.
Awesome…exactly what I thought too. Anyway…do you think MI subtly tells us we need to switch from fossil fuel to nuclear power? Just wondering–been pondering it for a while now…
It will always be my personal TV Tropes WMG that they are both in the same universe. In fact, wouldn’t be surprised if the Gromble made a cameo in Monsters University (I kid) 
I kinda think so too…
Huh. I’ve never seen Ahh Real Monsters so I cant give an opinion on that, but I cant say I ever thought there’d be a connection.
Me neither…
Aaahh!!! Real Monsters is a really awesome 90s animated show, done by Klasky Csupo (the Rugrats Animation guys). Most of the eps are on places like Megavideo now but you might be able to find them on the 'tube.
It’s also available on Netflix. 
Oh–poo, I don’t have Netflix…hello, Arcship…welcome to Pixar World/Planet/Land! 
Thank you for the greeting!
I didn’t have Netflix until recently, though it was definitely a great decision to get it. There are plenty of Nickelodeon shows on it.
You’re welcome…