This includes M.U. too, what year does the movie Monsters Inc. take place?
I’m asking just for fanfiction research purposes, is there a year specified for both movies? I previously made the wild guess that Monsters Inc. took place in 2001 based on its release date.
There’s a few things mentioned in the art of MU in regards to the date. They mention that they set MU twenty years before the events in MI. While they didn’t give any specific dates for MU, they said that they wanted to hint at the 80s in their designs.
However, there is an image circulating online of Frank McCay that has his graduating year (from Monsters University) listed as 1977. We can assume in MU that he has probably recently graduated as he is very excited and proud to talk about his alma mater to the kids. I’m going to say then that the beginning of MU most likely takes place between 1977 and 1978 if we wanna date it. (I’m going to stick with the fall of 1977, it would have been several months since he graduated assuming he graduated like most in the late spring.)
This kind of pokes holes in the idea that Monsters Inc would take place in 2001. If we assume Mike was 6 or even 7 during that first scene (I’m gonna go with 6), that would mean by the time he is 18, it would be 1989. Based on the fact that they mentioned 20 years pass between the two films, MI would end up taking place in 2009, then.
Overall I think Pixar really didn’t want to “date” this film necessarily, but if you wanted to attach solid dates I think these would be the most accurate based on what I’ve read.
little chef
I agree little_chef_eva09, MU must have taken place in the late 70’s. One detail to add to that is that in the ending credits/photo montage they show Mr. Waternoose during Mike and Sully’s first years at MI and Waternoose has an outstanding afro… which to me eludes to the fact that the picture was taken late 70’s early 80’s.
Kinda confusing, can anyone post a internet source, preferably Dan Scanlon’s word? I often read that the gap between MI and MU is 10 years and of course I could be reading unreliable info.
Something I’m trying to look closely into is that, did the Internet exist during the events of M.U. then? Because I sure saw nothing but book research in the film itself, no internet research, and a draft of my fanfiction involved the use of the Internet. Yes, we do have that MonstersUniversity site, which I use as a source, but that might be for marketing purposes rather. This is especially difficult considering that I know the Internet did not become public until around the 80s/90s.
Makes is amusing when I read Don Carlton’s Twitter feed, considering that the first purchasing online site (Amazon) was not released until 1995. twitter.com/Don_Carlton
Boy, if I adjust to getting rid of the Internet for accuracy sake, that would be at the expense of gags in my fanfic.
MI was in 2001/2000…you can see the dates on the newspapers/Sullivan’s company clipboard. Going along with the 10 years prior…that would make 1991/1990 for the events in MU.
One thing to remember is that while the Monster world is similar to our own, culture influences may not be. They may may/not have had the internet at the time, or that it was a new thing or…heck…maybe their own internet “inventors” went to MU heheh.
As for McCay…while his graduating year may be 1977, he’s already a scareing veteran by the time, so it’s unknown exactly how many years he’s been into his career at the time of Wazowski’s visit.
And don’t count the website, me and my associates have noted it is current, not past, just for advertising purposes.
Someone on Tumblr calculated from Mike’s calendar that it was the school year of 1987-1988, which jives okay with Monsters Inc being 2001 same as it came out going from dates on Roz’s paperwork if you zoom in. After all, the ten year gap figure they gave could easily just be a ballpark estimate.
There are a few newspapers that appear in MU… Maybe they give a date ? Although I wouldn’t be surprised if they managed to hide it. I mean, usually they (understandably) simply take the year of release of the film as the year it takes place, but in the case of MU, they would have to invent a date…
As for the Internet, there is (as far as I know…) no obvious appearance of any personal computer or smartphone in MU, which contrasts with modern colleges that are filled with them. I think that is not an accident. Don Carlton is a Computer Science major, but that might not really be a problem, computer science being not limited to PCs (and Internet).
The Fearbook has a picture of Don using what is basically a monsterized Apple II.
Uh I know that this is off-topic, but thanks, Carol, for linking me to Don’s Twitter. The posts these guys make… 
On-topic: to add on, anyone remember that thing Billy Crystal said about Mike and Sulley’s ages? He said something among the lines of them being 17 and 18 respectfully. So I guess you can work on theorizing more from that bit. I honestly am not entirely sure, but what you guys are saying makes sense.
Thanks guys, I appreciate all the help. The Roz paperwork pretty much confirms my speculation and estimate of the year in Monsters U.
I would also come to a speculation that in the late 80s, there would be computer labs in the M.U. library with Internet., though it would be relatively new and not in widespread use. Computers are mainly used to improvise the content of term papers.
I figured MU was taking place in the mid-late 80s, and Monsters Inc either in the late 90s or early 00s. I just have to ask, have any Pixarians actually said anything about the way monsters age? Because there seems to be a bit of confusion about how old Mike and Sulley would be around the time of MI and I see people saying very specific young adult ages, but I don’t know that it’s the same for monsters.
I believe I recall Dan Scanlon saying that Mike and Sully were around 17 or 18.
“They’re 17 and 18 years old in the script…” according to Billy Crystal. Said here iamrogue.com/news/movie-news … ggets.html
I’m also wondering about the Monsters way of aging. At what age is Don Carlton at to consider him as “middle-aged?” I remember Joel Murray saying that he is around his 40s and going on his 50s.
There seems to be the idea they age just like humans, but I guess depending on their classification and species, some might be blessed with longetivity.
Now if someone could just venture into the Monster world and find an article about longetivity, our questions would be answered.
That’s true… I didn’t even think about it in terms of different species having different average lifespans. 
I have so many questions now
