Monsters, Inc. scene had to be deleted last minute after 9/11
The scene was scrapped and retooled to be more sensitive
Featured Image Credit: Walt Disney
Topics: Film and TV, Pixar, Disney
Ben Thompson
Topics: Film and TV, Pixar, Disney
Monsters, Inc. is a firm favourite among Pixar fans and contains many scenes that we remember fondly even 20 years after its release.
With characters as memorable as Sully, Mike, Boo and even the sinister Randall, it's not hard to see why this animated film has such a special place in people's hearts.
But one of the film's most memorable scenes had to undergo a significant change in the months before the film's release.
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You remember the scene at the restaurant?
Mike is having a nice date with his gorgon girlfriend Celia, when Sully shows up with the human Boo in tow.
When the tot gets free in the restaurant, all of the monsters inside freak out as they believe human children are germ riddled beasts.
Depending on who you ask, they're not totally wrong about that.
Anyway, as the chaos ensues, Mike and Sully escape the restaurant with Boo trapped inside a takeaway box.
As they run for it, the Child Detection Agency (CDA) show up to quarantine the restaurant.
What we all remember is that a giant plasma ball forms around the building, coming into force just as our heroes make it down the street.
That wasn't originally how the scene went.
In the original cut, a giant fiery explosion would be what got Mike and Sully's attention.
Which sounds all and well good at first, until you remember that this film was being released in November 2001.
And coming two months after the attacks of September 11, such explosions were likely to stir up unpleasant feelings among American moviegoers.
Particularly when they've taken their kids to a film that they hope would offer some escapism during a turbulent time.
The producers of the film thought better of including the explosion and opted for the tamer plasma dome.
This wasn't the only film to undergo last minute changes due to the attacks which killed more than 3,000 people.
Trailers for Spider-Man which showed the superhero trapping a helicopter of robbers in a web between the Towers was pulled from cinemas.
Lilo and Stitch also saw a hasty last minute edit to its ending, which originally saw the protagonists chase the villain through a city.
The image of aircraft weaving in and out of skyscrapers didn't sit right with Disney, with the film coming out in the summer after the horrific attacks.
Instead, the film's climax sees the spaceships maneuvering themselves around mountains on the Hawaiian island.