I can’t believe he hasn’t been on my favorite character list sooner! He used to scare me at eleven to eight years old, but now I think he just might be the sexiest character Pixar created. I love his powers to change color, and his attitude and appearance rock.
You aren’t the only one. There are a number of Randall fans.
I think he’s super sexy too. I always did. I was 17 when the movie originally came out…so yeah. XD I’m 28 now.
He’s my favorite MI, and pixar character in general. I’ve had a crush on him since I first saw the movie when it came out. Wow, I’ve liked him for 12 years. That’s the longest time I’ve ever had a crush. I liked him from the very first scene he was in.
Same here! I always had a crush on him and liked him since the first scene when I saw him.
I didn’t really give into the crush as much at first though…for a while I felt kind of weird about being attracted to Randall. LOL.
I do! He’s my favorite character from Monsters, Inc.
Actually, I’ve liked him a lot more and more over the years. I used to just not like any villain characters from any movie, but then I found out that many were very interesting. Even if he’s a jerk, he’s still pretty cool about how he can camouflage and I really he has really cool shades of purple. I am very interested to see what he will do in Monsters University!
Randall is simply epic! Apart from his slightly sadistic personality, I love him!
Haha, slightly sadistic?
Make that HALF sadistic XD
I like him. 
Mostly because of his reptilian looks, and his ability to change colours is nifty too. Even if he is kind of a jerk I really like his visual design and he seems to get a bit of backstory as well in Monsters University.
I know next to nothing about Monsters U, but I do love how dorky and even friendly he looks like in his college days (maybe it’s those big eyes and goofy glasses). He looks real unpleasant and meaner as his older self in Monsters Inc, but he’s certainly one of Pixar’s best antagonists!
Randall is, at heart, a good guy. Friendly, supportive, helpful…even if he’s really is shy, confident, and uncertain. But of course, life throws good people bad things that they can’t control. Of course, 10 years doesn’t boil down to a single moment…several, but not a single. Unfortunate one of them happens to him when he was just a kid, and it’s something important for someone that young.
shrugs Funny, and some people think Randall’s the cheater…
This movie is going to make me cry I know it.
Uh… really? Unfortunately, I don’t see how a reptile could be that attractive (let alone “sexy”), but his character and chameleon abilities are what make him appealing to a considerable fanbase. I never liked him at first, but MU has kinda changed that. CUPCAKES PLEASE!!!
Randall’s not a “reptile”, though. He just has superficially reptilian characteristics. We see him running around in MU during January, in what is apparently the Midwest(based on Dan Scanlon’s hometown in Michigan), and there’s still icicles hanging from the trees, so it’s cold on the day of Scare Games sign-ups. Randall, though, is active and comfortable(physically, at least), while his ROR boss is wearing two layers of clothing(and in one scene, THREE) over FUR, so clearly Randall is a warm-blooded being, unlike a reptile.
But yeah, he’s still sexy, lol. When he’s happy and feeling good, like when he’s helping Mike study, that smile could light up a room.
pitbulllady
Having browsed fanart and done some research on many MU/MI fans opinions, I guess that the appeal that Randall has is that despite Sulley being at the top, he is THE ultimate bedroom monster; you sit in your bed, afraid something will come to get you or frighten you the least, and not even being able to see it, even though it’s there. I mean, Sulley’s roar would freak out anyone, especially since you wouldn’t expect such loud roaring from a beast that is so gentle and cuddly, let alone polka-dotted (Even Johnny is more believable!).
But Randall… just knowing his iridescent, shimmering serpentine form could coil himself around you, and you’d feel as if you’re being Force-choked. Probably even just seeing his grin floating on your wall, and then flickering away, leaving you thinking, “There’s something in here, but I don’t know what it is!!!” Someone over on the anime fanart site Zerochan even said “This guy is the reason I slept with a night light for 10 years.”: zerochan.net/1412950
As terrifying as he is to very young children, Randall nevertheless captivates a wide portion of the fanbase because of how he was designed to be: invisible to your eyes, but you knowing that he’s out to get you, and leaving you trembling in the comfort of your bed. He is scary indeed, but also very graceful in how he swirls himself so rapidly, yet so fluid.
Of course, in MU, we do see a very different Randall at the start of the movie. In a way, not to sound like an anime otaku, but I believe Pixar decided to give the Randall fans a bit of fan service, but I mean that in a positive way. The reason I’m referring to Randall’s depiction as being fan service is because probably Pixar knew how popular he was, and decided to make his character in such a way that now made him appealing on a new basis; now he’s adorable, sweet-natured, and has a talent for baking (as a sidenote, in anime, a character who is attractive because he/she wears glasses is usually referred to as a megane character; megane-kun if a guy and meganekko if a girl), therefore actually boosting his fanbase and gaining new fans (not to mention the heart print!). By definition, fan service means anything done to amuse an audience (usually visually), and boy, did he amuse many die-hard fans! But just like watching the Star Wars prequels, you know what he had to become in order to get to Monsters, Inc.
And so, that’s my take on Randall’s popularity. I’ve heard rumors here and there that he should get his own movie as a sequel to MI, but only time (and Pixar) will tell. 
Sulley’s top record aside, Randall IS a very skilled and experienced Scarer. The Scare Game final is, of course, no judgement on just how good he is. Even when not in top condition, he manages to do his job very well.
As you detailed, Randall possess the ability to scare in a way that other Scarers can’t. Being able to play on the dormant fears and unlimited power of imagination to drive that scream out. It’s like that saying along the lines of “it’s scarer with what you don’t see”. Your imagination runs wild, perhaps even thinking something is more frightening than it is.
I’m not sure of the weight of this captivation towards the fanbase (having been in it since inception, I would know), and given that the fanbase has been afflicted through MU…I can’t give a proper tally. Some just downright find Randall attractive. I believe somebody else here will give you the “poetry in motion” line about how he “moves about”.
As for the service…maybe it was. But it’s still in-character for Randall. While his distaste for Sullivan wasn’t solely from college/Scare Games, he does develop from a nice, considerate person who gets the life-kick and gets barred down.
He deserved to show how he really was. That that “Randy” is a part of him. Even though for some fans, seeing how the train-wreck came on, it was a hurt waiting to happen. Necessary hurt, but there it is.
As for his own film, it’s credible. He’s really the only secondary to return in-person in MU (though secondary is debatable hehe), he WASN’T originally playable in Disney Infinity (he got added into the first batch later), and it seems Pixar is in gear to set things up.
Personally I’ve seen to engage in sequel methods…and yes…it’s quite possible. After all, his story isn’t the only one…Sullivan and Wazowski’s aren’t over either.
Exactly; the fear of the Unknown is the deepest, most-primal fear that we have. Sometimes it’s what you DON’T see that is most terrifying. We really see that concept well-illustrated in MU, in the scene at the human camp. Mike, who himself is about as scary as a walnut, effectively primes the park rangers into such a vulnerable mode to be terrified by Sulley by relying on that fear of the Unknown. He uses props like the doll walking across the floor by itself, the phonograph playing all by itself, and takes a cue from his idol, Frank McCray, by scratching on the beds. The rangers have no logical explanation for any of that, and become terrified, even though they never even catch a glimpse of the cause. Had Mike not done that, and had Sulley just jumped out with that roar, they’d have dealt with him the same way they’d have dealt with a charging bear, which is what they initially were expecting, and Sulley would have gotten a .45 ACP “makeover”, end of story. As it was, whatever was happening, it wasn’t something that the rangers could deal with, not something you shoot or pepper spray, so they reacted by screaming like little kids! Randall relies on that same technique to instill fear; you know that SOMETHING is there, but can find no logical explanation for it, so your mind just kicks into that terror mode. I’d imagine that to scare many of the children, Randall never even had to reveal himself fully, because I do know that a lot of kids list “ghosts” as one of the things they’re most afraid of, and hearing this disembodied chuckle, hearing something unseen whisper your name, seeing inanimate objects move seemingly on their own-THAT would be pretty disconcerting even for most adults!
Now, I would like to think that Randall’s inclusion in MU was not mere fan-service. That really seems rather cheap, and not something that Pixar would do. If Scanlon only wanted to include him as fan-service, something just to acknowledge Randall’s very large and loyal fan-base, he could have simply shown him in the background and not even had any lines for him at all, let alone any character development. I’m really hoping that there’s more to it than that. Mr. Scanlon has already strongly hinted that there will be another “Monsters” movie, eventually, and as you said, Randall is the only one of the Main Three-himself, Sulley and Mike-who has appeared AND had a role in both “Monsters” movies so far, but has not gotten HIS movie yet. I would love nothing more than for Pixar to adapt the Circle 7 Studios script and make it their own, but keep Randall’s role that was written for that sequel-that-never-was, and bring things back to how most of the original scripts for MI were written, with him, Mike and Sulley as a “Power Trio” rather than bitter rivals, who find out that working together accomplishes a whole lot more than opposing each other. There NEEDS to be closure for that, for Randall’s fans to know what happened to him, and to see him at least get partially back to “Randy”, in as much as someone who has been through what he’s been through and done what he’s done can, but there also needs to be closure on the part of Mike and Sulley, too; THEY need to be able to forgive, and Boo would be a perfect catalyst for that to happen.
pitbulllady
You know, I just had a random thought on Randall as of lately.
Now, here’s a point of view that may be met with criticism (no flames, please!), but in a way, although Randall was a pretty brutal antagonist, at the same time, in a way, he is also a hero in the movie.
To start with, I base my conclusion on his statement to Mike in the Scream Extractor scene, when he says, “I’m gonna revolutionize the scream industry.”
At the end of the day, Randall actually did accomplish this, and not just the scream industry, but the whole energy industry as a whole. Sure, it was Sulley who discovered the laugh energy, but here’s why Randall gets some credit: Had he not left Boo’s door on the scare floor in the first place, Boo wouldn’t have entered the monster world at all, and thus Sulley wouldn’t have discovered the strength of a child’s laughter. Basically, all the events in the movie (including Randall’s after hours cheating) ended up working together for good to find a humane solution to the main problem, the scream shortage.
So in the end, Randall did (albeit indirectly) revolutionize the industry, just not in the way that Waternoose had envisioned it, which was actually illegal and inhumane. Both he (Randall) and Sulley get credit for solving the shortage.
One big correction here(not a flame): Randall was NOT cheating! Not after-hours, not any time. The Scream Extractor was not connected to the Scare Board so no Screams collected with that machine would have counted towards Randall’s, or anyone’s, totals. Randall was working after-hours because he needed a human child as a test “lab rat” to determine if the Scream Extractor even worked, and he could not risk just going in and getting a “toxic” child with everyone else still on the Scare Floor, now could he? THAT was the only illegal thing about what he was doing; he was going to bring in a creature that was perceived as toxic, dangerous and horribly threatening to monsters: a human child. Their laws had nothing to do with protecting human kids from “kidnapping” or “inhumane” treatment, but protecting monsters against human children! The official protocol upon finding a human child was to KILL IT, even blowing up an entire restaurant to accomplish this, so “humane” treatment of human children did not play any part in Monster World laws! The only reason that there was any legal issues with what Randall was doing were due to the presumed threat those horrible children posed to the Monster World.
Randall never did cheat. His involvement with the Scream Extractor had NOTHING to do with the Scare competition or the All-Time Scare Record, and he even says so himself. Randall is trying to get around that, to finally find a way to earn recognition and acceptance and respect, that he’s been seeking since before he even came to MU. He has not been able to do that working as a Scarer because he’s been constantly overshadowed by someone that HE has known to be a cheater from college, and I’m referring to Sulley. Randall believes that Sulley cheated to beat him in the Scare Games Scare competition, when Sulley caused Randall to fall by stomping on the floor, and intentional or not, that should not have been allowed to stand. Later, surely Randall would have found out that Sulley really DID cheat, and was even later arrested, so that would have clinched in his mind that Sulley was dishonest, but still loved by everyone because of his family name. Randall’s attitude towards Sulley can be summed up by MIKE’S words out at the lake: "Monsters like you can mess up again and again and everyone will still love you!" Randall is just going to invent a new way to get Scream, one that Sulley can’t succeed at; he’s circumventing the whole process of Scaring altogether, negating Sulley’s accomplishments as a Scarer. Indeed, Randall nearly flips out when Mike(who started the whole “Big Lie” of Randall cheating) accuses him of “cheating” because he HATES cheating and believes that Sulley is STILL cheating in order to stay on top, and getting away with it. I can’t blame him for thinking that way, considering that Sulley was beating Power Ball Jackpot odds just in getting “Employee of the Month” for 11 months straight, out of what was probably hundreds of thousands of employees altogether. NO one is that good at anything! Sulley gets 100 points for filling his Scream canister, while Randall only gets 75 for doing the exact same thing! No one can tell me that SOMETHING unfair and unethical wasn’t going on behind the scenes to make sure Sulley stayed on top of the Scare Board and everything else; it’s just that Randall missed the mark in his believing that it was Sulley who responsible. Sulley was just another pawn on the chess board along with Randall, a tool being used by the one in real power: Waternoose.
pitbulllady