Monsters Incs Planned Godzilla Cameo (& Why Pixar Couldnt Do It)

Monsters Inc’s Planned Godzilla Cameo (& Why Pixar Couldn’t Do It)

The original Monsters Inc. includes a giant kaiju-like character named Ted, who was supposed to roar like Godzilla. Here’s why it didn’t happen.

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Monsters Incs Planned Godzilla Cameo (& Why Pixar Couldnt Do It)

Monsters Inc. came close to including a cameo from one of the most famous monsters of all time: Godzilla. The original 2001 Pixar classic introduced audiences to a weird and wonderful world populated by monsters of many shapes and sizes, nearly all of which featured original designs. However, Monsters Inc. also took the time to pay tribute to some well-known creatures, and the legendary King of the Monsters was nearly one of them.

Early in the film, best friends/coworkers Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) leave their apartment and make their way down the winding streets of Monstropolis to begin a new day at work. When they arrive at a crosswalk, they find themselves standing next to a gigantic monster named Ted, who is so tall that only his feet and legs are visible onscreen. Sulley greets Ted, and the huge creature responds with a friendly chicken-like cluck before crossing the street.

With his huge height and scaly feet, it’s obvious that Ted was a loving homage to the giant monster genre, specifically Japan’s legendary kaiju films. Aside from its green coloration and cartoony simplicity, the monster’s lower half is a near dead-ringer for the classic Showa-series Godzilla that appeared in 15 films between 1954 and 1975. However, Pixar originally intended for this Monster’s Inc. cameo to be even more on the nose and wanted to use Godzilla’s famous roar in Ted’s scenes.

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In the DVD commentary track recorded for Monsters Inc. upon its home video release, the film’s director, Pete Docter, briefly spoke about Ted and his relationship to Godzilla. Docter revealed that the original intent for Ted was to have him respond to Sulley’s “good morning” with Godzilla’s roar. With the character already designed as a tribute to kaiju, Docter and his team at Pixar wanted to take things a step further and basically turn Ted into Godzilla, giving the famous monster an unofficial cameo in the film. Unfortunately, this unique idea never came to be. According to Docter’s statements in the commentary, the creators of Godzilla, Toho Co. Ltd. in Japan, wouldn’t give Pixar the rights to use the roar. As a result, Ted was given a chicken cluck instead.

Toho has always been notoriously (and understandably) protective of Godzilla and has never hesitated to take companies like Subway and Honda to court over copyright infringement. Using the Monster King’s well-known roar in Monsters Inc. without Toho’s permission might’ve resulted in legal action and could’ve even caused production problems for the film. In the end, even though Ted doesn’t roar like Godzilla in Monsters Inc., the character still manages to stand as a funny and much-appreciated tribute to the long history of Japan’s giant monsters.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/monsters-inc-godzilla-monster-cameo-pixar-toho-rights/

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