Pairing A Child With an Ideal Monster...

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#1

I was wondering how MI went about doing this and

assigning each Scarer specific children to scare. In truth, if it acts scary, a kid

will be afraid, right? I have constantly wondered exactly why Boo was assigned to Randall if Sullivan did a

fairly good job himself of scaring the living daylights out of her. Do they match up a kid with a monster

depending on specific qualities that kids are afraid of, such as pairing up a child who is afraid of creatures

with large fangs or claws? I’ve just always wondered about that process. I’ll bet anything that if Sullivan had

kept scaring Boo on a regular basis like Randall did, she would have grown just as equally frightened of him as

she did of Randall. I’m not entirely inclined on believing that physical attributes had much of anything to do

with her being terrified of Randall or Sullivan, but rather what they did as part of

their job description, which was scaring.

#2

That could be quite true, although I know

from experience that children of that age often do develope odd phobias and fears(which are not the same thing)of

various people and things, for no apparent reason, and just as quickly get over them. Supposedly, there was a

“research” team employed by the factory whose job entailed going into kids’ rooms and simply

obversing, noting the condition of the room, presence of pets(especially dogs)and the proximity of parents’

rooms, how the child reacts to being scared, etc. In the “Essential Guide”, there’s a sample of one

such research team’s observation regarding one particular child, warning that this child tended to cry rather

than scream, had a dog, parents’ room was next door, but that the room was kept tidy with no toys strewn about

the floor or things hanging from the ceiling which would cause a problem for Scarers. Obviously, though, these

“research teams” probably only observed a child once, which would not have been enough to figure out

what that child was most afraid of.

It’s still a good point that it did not take long for Boo to become

afraid of Sulley, because she saw him roar. It took him much longer to regain her trust after that. Something

that just appears out of nowhere, where apparently nothing had been before, would be even scarier. I’ve said

before on the Bogg’s Board that IF Boo had seen enough of Randall outside of her room, with him NOT in

“scare mode”, her opinion of HIM would probably have changed a lot, too. Already, by the time that he

was carrying her in the Door Vault, she seemed fairly comfortable with him and certainly was not crying or

panicking, other than when he made that leap from one door to another, but THAT would have made most people’s

heart skip a beat right there!

pitbulllady

#3

Although most children would probably be scared of most of the Scarers if they just randomly came into their

rooms, it is true that each child does have one particular trait that they might be scared of. With Randall’s

children, anything with scales or that looks reptillian would be the thing that they are scared of most, so

Randall would never be assigned a child that is fascinated by reptiles, as they’d probably end up either hugging

him or trying to scientifically disect him! :laughing:

In the case of Boo, well, it’s possible that both

Randall and Sullivan had the traits that she would have been most afraid of. Also, I can imagine that Randall and

Sullivan’s styles of scaring would have been rather different. Randall would have gone for the quiet, creeping

around the room type aproach but, as we’ve seen, Sullivan kind of just stomps in there and roars.

And,

to be honest, I never saw Randall as a sort of roaring scarer. He’d probably prefer to growl. Therefore, Boo

wouldn’t be used to being roared at, and being roared at by someone who is supposed to be looking after her and

who she would have previously considered to be a friend would have been an added shock, which is why she took so

long to trust Sulley again. Also, we don’t know Boo’s background- perhaps in her home life, someone who’s

meant to be close to her, such as her parents, cared for her such as Sullivan did, but then betrayed her and hurt

her, therefore making her all the more wary.

#4

Agree that kids develop fears towards the most random

objects, sometimes even people. But most often than not, they grow afraid because that certain object or person

frightened them at one point. I have a cousin who will turn 2 years old next March. I had a Yeti toy in my right

hand (he was a scary-looking thing, very big, with fangs, red eyes that glowed and a mouth that opened when he

growled at the push of a button). He saw the thing and seemed to be quite interested in touching it, but once I

pressed the button and it started growling and snarling, he held up one tiny hand in front as though to shield

himself and started whimpering and backing up whenever I held the toy close to him. I never even had to make the

Yeti growl or howl again to make the kid afraid. Like I said, it was a beastly-looking thing yet, interestingly

enough, the look of it hardly seemed to draw any reaction until the Yeti toy started growling. I’m more than

willing to guess that this was the case with Boo and Randall. She wasn’t afraid of Sullivan because she had

never experienced fear with him until he roared ferociously in the training room. If Boo would have had more

“normal” exposure to Randall, the fear would have eventually dimished if he had ceased scaring her and

she began to see him acting and talking like… well, a normal human adult. You’re

right in that she seemed to be less frightened of HIM, and feared more being strapped down in front of a bulking,

noisier-than-heck sucking machine. Boo just happened to have met Randall under the worst circumstances, being

her Scarer and having access to her door key.

Judging by the MI commercials,

I figured they actually conducted deeper observations rather than basic info gathering to match up a kid with his

or her “ideal monster” to make scaring more effective. That’s a little disappointing, IMO, though it

would certainly explain Monsters’ lack of human knowledge if their observations never go beyond room layouts and

if children cry or scream.
I need to get myself one of those “Essential Guide” thingies…

#5

I want to know what it was about Randall that made

him an ideal Monster for Boo instead of Sullivan if each Scarer really is assigned a

specific child. That’s why I was wondering if MI just paired up a kid with the first monster that drew a scream

out of him/her, or if they took the time to assess different scaring techniques and physical qualities of

different employees that would produce the loudest, most frightened scream out of a kid. But I’ve scratched that

idea off my list, seeing as they probably only jotted down some quick notes about the surrounding environment

rather than delving into each child.

I assure you that anything that can give a defeaning roar like

Sullivan did would frighten the life out of any kid (or adult, even), whether they feared the physical qualities

Sullivan possessed or not. He probably scarred the kid way worse than Randall ever would have! I was blown by the

sheer force (and LOUD) roar that had come out of Sullivan the first time I watched the movie. I really don’t

have much reason to believe that Boo (or Mary… either one) would grow “wary” of anyone, particularly

because her behavior for a two-year-old indicated that she had been very well-cared for by

both parents that have created a nurturing environment for her. Mary was a fairly

independent, happy toddler that didn’t have any separation anxiety kick in. She was giddy when she saw her room

again. This is why some of the fics on ff.net that suggest an abusive childhood really make me tick because there

really is nothing in that movie that would indicate Boo suffered parental neglect or abuse. I doubt anyone had

ever so much as raised his/her voice at her (since voice-raising and corporal punishment are extremely looked

down upon, anyway), so receiving such an aggressive reaction out of someone she considered a fun playmate (not a

friend) did damage that trust factor between Sully and her, but wasn’t the end result of previous maltreatment

on behalf of her parents. That mistrust would have shown through way before meeting Sully.

I never saw

Randall as the type of monster who would roar, either. Growling definitely seems to be his thing.

#6

wow. obviously you’ve all thought about this a lot more than I have. Come to think of it, I dont think i

thought about the process of how they match the monsters and children. But you do present some interesting

theories…

#7

Double Latte
Makes you

think doesn’t it? It really is interesting HOW they get the matches done.
Of course the reason WHY is to

promote the maximum scream possible, which is influenced by WHAT scarer they put in, and the type of

“skill” they use.
For instance Randall’s skill is “stealth”. He would be able to scarer

kids who are afraid of reptiles, yes. But he would also scare kids who become increasingly afraid with an unknown

precense in their room. And Randall would be able to incorporate that more with his invisibility skill.
Now

Sullivan. His skill is basically a blast “immediate action”. Given his size, he is able to preform

scares efficently on children already awake. Children who stay up past their bedtime and, to prove my theory,

SLEEPOVERS.

Now. HOW is this done? HOW do they know who is right for whom?
I have round-a-bout two

theories…
Well lets see what everyone else says

heh.

Pitbulllady

My first theory explained, thank you, good

choice.

Now…to take this theory of Pitbullladyes and add a bit of my own. First theory proposes that

when a door is made, as said, a research team or single specialist (possibly with an ability such as Blending or

Shadow Walking to make the joke swift and in-incidental), goes in and observes the room.
Now…to me…this

really doesn’t tell much about WHAT the child is afraid of. Maybe a bit about WHAT they aren’t afraid of. If a

kid has like a uhh…pet snake or something, they wouldn’t send in a reptilian scarer.

Although this is a

good theory…I have doubts.
HOWEVER…this theory explains a bit about how Monster culture and referrences

to the human world, such as Thanksgiving, come about. The R&D division could send specialists in to study the

room, but at the same time, not any cultural or material differences.
In some ways, the R&D division

brought forth several factors from the Human World to study and observe.

Heh. Would be a good explaination

if your kid lost her favorite dolly or his favorite action figure heh.

[b]Lizard

Girl[/b]
True true heh…

As I stated above. Randall’s more flexible and knows more

scareing technics than Sullivan, even having his own, Boggs Quick Reveal, in the company book. Sullivan is a more

direct, blasting roar scarer.

Randall does growl, who doesn’t. Occasionally a roar or two maybe, but he

figures he’s probably best at what he does. Leave the high class stealth to himself and the roaring to

Sullivan.

Double Latte
Boo overcame Randall at the end, as seen, and

stayed as far back as she could at first. So she probably WAS afraid of reptiles.
Hard to say…As stated,

R&D brings over human traditions and such, but HOW do they incorporate child matching.
Perhaps they bring

in Scarers of each type. Seeing as how several doors are made a day, the Type Scarers scare each door and the

R&D crew gauge the achieved Scream to see which result is the best.’

Personally would not be afraid

of Sullivan’s roar. Would be more afraid to have saliva stain my suit.
Well of course…remember that

Sullivan was sorta…“A friend” to Boo…well…“Kitty” in terms of her pet cat.
If your

pet cat, and I do have one heh, were to ROAR at you, you would be pretty freaked out yourself.

#8

Had a thought today…

Based on what PBL told me

about what Monsters take note of in a kid’s room, maybe choosing a monster for a kid has really nothing to do

with his or her fears, but rather what monster (or Scarer) will perform and cope better with a specific room.

That is, leaving a particularly cluttered room for someone who will know how to move around quickly and silently

in that situation and also manage to deliver a great scare. We all saw what happened to “Phlegm” in the

training simulator. He was new, but stealth and agility were obviously not his

forte, and that’s what probably kept him from becoming an effective Scarer when it came to getting around a

particularly messy room. We were never given a look into any of Sullivan’s assigned rooms, but I can bet they

weren’t nearly as cluttered or had toys hanging from the ceiling like Boo’s room. This guy has an enormous,

heavy build that makes it hard to just jump over a toy or strewn jacks on the floor without making some noise.

The scene where he trips and falls hard in Boo’s room because of the stuff laying around everywhere proves that.

That room just wasn’t meant for him. Tallness and hanging toys from the ceiling are also another bad

combination. That’s probably why Randall was given the job as Boo’s Scarer based on her room instead of her

fear of a specific Monster. He could cling to the walls or ceiling and move around the stuff while remaining

completely unseen, and that’s a huge advantage in a room that’s hardly ever kept

tidy. Sullivan probably had rooms that were kept clutter-free with no hanging toys to make it easier for his type

to stomp in, scare, and leave without anything clinging to his horns or something. Has anyone given this any

thought? I can’t believe it just came to me after having seen the movie a million times. :3

#9

Nice

idea, DoubleLatte. It would explain a lot, and it does make sense. But because there’s so many scarers, and

obviously a huge amount of rooms, I think they would probably assign rooms firstly based on the content of the

room, and then on the child afterwards. For example, a fair amount of children’s rooms would be uncluttered, and

there’s quite a few scarers that are large and would need an uncluttered room to scare in, so to divide the

rooms up once again they could decide on another factor, such what the child is most likely to be afraid of, and

so on.

#10

Room observation, as said, would be a

factor…
But to maximize scream intake, certain monster species would be paired up with certain

children.

Maybe it’s regional?
After all, the Eastern Seaboard is considered a scare zone. Could it be

those on the floor were selected because of the area itself?
For instance…lets see…take Louisiana. People

there will most likely NOT be afraid of any reptilian species…but maybe a furry would do a better

job.

As DL suggested, this would even more futher that Room Observation is the key.

Another idea is

perhaps the atmosphere.
Although Randall is warm blooded, they probably wouldn’t send him to scare kids in

Napal.
Actually…that WOULD be a good idea. Seeing as how nobody seemed to be wondering where Randall was

when the scaring was going on there.