In Monsters, Inc., scarers collect screams from human children to power Monstropolis. Monsters, Inc. operates as an energy-producing factory, sending trained scarers through special doors into children’s bedrooms so their frightening encounters can generate power for the monster world.
At the beginning of the 2001 Pixar film, monsters believe that human children are toxic, making the job seem dangerous as well as essential. James P. “Sulley” Sullivan is the company’s leading scarer, while Mike Wazowski works as his assistant. Their routine changes when a human girl, whom Sulley nicknames Boo, enters Monstropolis.
The film eventually challenges the assumption that screams are the best energy source. Sulley and Mike discover that Boo’s laughter produces more power—described in the film as ten times more powerful than screams. After exposing the conspiracy involving Randall Boggs and Henry J. Waternoose, Sulley helps transform the company into a laughter-based operation. Thus, screams are the original answer, even though laughter becomes the new solution.