Monsters at Work Season 2 Review – A gently amusing show that younger children will enjoy

Episode 1 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 2 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 3 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 4 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 5 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 6 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 7 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 8 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 9 – | Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 10 – | Review Score – 2.5/5

Gone are the days when monsters under the bed (or in the closet) were a scary proposition.

After the release of Monsters Inc. in 2001 (and the 2013 prequel), the prospect of having a green, one-eyed creature peering out from the darkness became something to be welcomed rather than feared. The same applied to having a furry blue guy lurking in the shadows!

We are, of course, talking about Mike Wazowski and Sully, voiced by Billy Crystal and John Goodman respectively, who were the main protagonists of the Pixar movies. They turned up again in Season 1 of Monsters at Work and they’re back in Season 2.

But as was the case in the previous season, they don’t get a massive amount of screen time as its other monsters who get more time under the spotlight, chief of whom being Tylor Tuskmon (Ben Feldman), a purple-horned-demon who was a top of his class scaring superstar at Monsters University. 

In Season 1, Tylor was an eager new recruit at the Monsters Inc. factory but his dream job was akin to a nightmare when he realized he would be making kids laugh instead of doing the one thing that he was good at – scaring them! In this second season, he’s still at the company but after a meeting with the CEO of a rival firm, Fear Co., he is offered a job with them as a Scarer.

Does Tylor take the position? We aren’t going to reveal that here. But as he’s not very good at making kids chuckle (his main comic routine of putting doughnuts on his horns fails to impress youngsters) then it’s easy to understand his dilemma. 

Should he accept the job offer he has been granted? Or should he remain where he is with his best friend Val (a long-legged creature with no torso, voiced by Mindy Kaling), who also works at Monsters Inc.?

The show’s writers play on that age-old question: Is it ever right to leave a company you love in pursuit of a better job elsewhere? It’s something many of us have had to face in our careers, especially when we know our skills aren’t being utilized where we are. 

It’s the show’s relatability that gives it universal appeal. Admittedly, we aren’t able to relate to these monsters’ peculiar exteriors – how many people do you know that have multiple eyes or that are made of jelly?  – but it’s their personalities and (in Tylor’s case) their existential introspection that makes them relatable to us human folks.  

Parents will certainly relate to Tylor and co but their little ones might struggle to do the same. Monsters at Work is a workplace comedy, set in a world that kids aren’t yet a part of, so they will likely remain clueless to some of Season 2’s job-focussed references.

This isn’t a huge issue, however, as it’s the warm and colourful characters that will prove to be the biggest draw for them. So, while episode 2’s energy convention will be alien to your little ones, they’ll still enjoy some of the visual gags at the event, such as a monster producing energy by belching!

Unfortunately, Monsters at Work isn’t likely to be that funny for adults. This is kind of ironic, as the main character, Tylor, isn’t all that funny either, though purposefully so. His attempt at a joke – What did the sea monster have for dinner? Fish and Ships! – is as eye-rollingly cringey at the show’s genuine attempts at raising a laugh. 

In one scene, for example, a monster revels in Tylor’s humiliation when he makes a fool of himself on the football field. “It’s like a gift from above,” remarks the mocking monster, right before a bird poops on his head. Younger kids will laugh at the toilet humour but adults might find this gag (and others like it) quite lame.

Despite the lack of big laughs, this second season of Monsters at Work passes the time amicably enough. Kids will enjoy it more than their parents who will much prefer the Pixar movies the series has been inspired by. They were funnier and more creative than the series’s plotlines and the animation was a tad more inspired too.

Monsters at Work is still easily bingeable though, especially for the under-10s, who will be less critical of its failings than anybody older. The show is less binge-able for adults (even die-hard Pixar fans), but they’ll still appreciate the occasional pearls of wisdom that might make them reflect on their own career prospects. “We can’t stop walking through doors just because one didn’t work out,” says Sulley at one point in the series. 

Monster at Work Season 2 is available in its entirety on Disney+ right now. It’s missing that Pixar charm that made  Monsters Inc. and Monsters University so good. But there are worse spin-offs to big-screen animated movies than this likeable if slightly underwhelming series. 

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