“Monsters At Work” Levels Up For Second Season With More Original Storytelling And Relatable Plots

After nearly three years, Monsters at Work has returned with a sophomore season of the animated series, set in the world of the Academy Award winning film, Monsters, Inc. This time, the series is set to debut their new episodes on Disney Channel prior to a release on Disney+, a reversal of what occurred with the first season. Fans are going back to Monstropolis for more episodes with Tylor, Val, Duncan and the others. Devotees may recall that at the end of the first season, Tylor had become a jokester with Val as his assistant at the end of season one. After numerous episodes that seemed eerily reminiscent of a hit workplace sitcom,  Tylor had discovered his place at Monsters, Inc. after forgoing his education as a scarer. For season 2, we’re back seeing Tylor on the Laugh floor at Monsters, Inc, but perhaps realizing that this might not be where he wants to be after all. Tylor is an all-star Scarer, and the Laugh Floor might not be the best fit for him, especially when Scare companies still exist in Monstropolis. Fortunately, while the new stories are a bit generic and tropey (“I want to do this, but I want to be loyal to my friends!”), this brings Monsters at Work into its own and leaves comparisons to other office-based workplace sitcoms behind. We also see the series get surprisingly topical, using the platform of Scare Energy vs. Laugh Energy in Monstropolis as a not-so-subtle parallel to alternative energy sources and how the populous can perceive them. This brings the series into more of an adult realm, leading those who watch with the target demo of youngsters to enjoy the content as well. There is also (comparably) more of Mike and Sulley peppered throughout, connecting the series as a whole to the original films. Billy Crystal and John Goodman return to reprise their roles as Mike and Sulley, respectively. The original cast of the series also returns, with Ben Feldman as Tylor and Mindy Kaling as Val. John Ratzenberger returns as Tylor’s dad, alongside Aisha Tyler as Tylor’s mom, Henry Winkler as Fritz, Lucas Neff as Duncan and Alanna Ubach as Cutter. Season two guest stars reprising their roles from the franchise include Aubrey Plaza as Claire Wheeler, Nathan Fillion as Johnny Worthington III, and Bobby Moynihan as Chet Alexander. Additional guest cast includes Jennifer Coolidge, Rhys Darby, Janelle James, Jenifer Lewis, Ali Wong, Bowen Yang, Paula Pell, Danny Pudi, Cody Rigsby, Jimmy Tatro, Danny Trejo, Joe Lo Truglio and Alan Tudyk. Season 2 is once again produced by Disney TV Animation, and not those who created the characters at Pixar Animation Studios. Although arguably better than the first season, the animation is still subpar when compared to the original Monsters features. However, most will be too engrossed and engaged in the newer, better stories of the second season and will likely not notice. The broad themes and more original story being told make Monsters At Work’s second season superior to the original debut, and hopefully this momentum will be retained if the series is picked up for a third season. 3.8 out of 5. Monsters at Work is set to debut on Disney Channel and Disney XD on Friday, April 5th at 8:00 PM, with subsequent episodes moving to Saturdays, with two new episodes launching each week beginning at 10:00 a.m. EDT on both channels, leading up to the series’ streaming debut on Disney+ on Sunday, May 5.