Monsters, Inc. (soundtrack)

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All tracks are written by Randy Newman

Monsters, Inc. (An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack)
Monsters, Inc. soundtrack cover.jpg
Soundtrack album by
ReleasedOctober 23, 2001
Recorded2000–2001
Genre Score
Length1:00:30
Label Walt Disney
Producer Randy Newman
Pixar soundtrack chronology
Toy Story 2
(1999)
Monsters, Inc.
(2001)
Finding Nemo
(2003)
No.TitleLength
1."If I Didn't Have You" (performed by Billy Crystal and John Goodman)3:41
2."Monsters, Inc."2:09
3."School"1:38
4."Walk to Work"3:29
5."Sulley and Mike"1:57
6."Randall Appears"0:49
7."Enter the Heroes"1:03
8."The Scare Floor"2:41
9."Oh, Celia!"1:09
10."Boo's Adventures in Monstropolis"6:23
11."Boo's Tired"1:03
12."Putting Boo Back"2:22
13."Boo Escapes"0:52
14."Celia's Mad"1:41
15."Boo Is a Cube"2:19
16."Mike's in Trouble"2:19
17."The Scream Extractor"2:12
18."Sulley Scares Boo"1:10
19."Exile"2:17
20."Randall's Attack"2:22
21."The Ride of the Doors"5:08
22."Waternoose is Waiting"3:14
23."Boo's Going Home"3:34
24."Kitty"1:20
25."If I Didn't Have You" (performed by Newman)3:38
Total length:1:00:30

Reception

AllMusic gave the album a three out of five star rating, saying: "As with both of the Toy Story movies and A Bug's Life, the soundtrack to Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. features a fun, whimsical score by Randy Newman." Noting the retro feel of the album, they also added, "While this album probably won't appeal to most kids, it's nice that Disney acknowledges the huge adult following that Pixar's films have by releasing this playful, detailed score." [3] Empire rated it three out of five stars and summarised: "Colourful, likeable, then, but hardly memorable." [4] Filmtracks.com wrote: "The album for Monsters, Inc. is generous in its presentation of the score, with over 50 minutes of orchestral material available, and no modern pop songs to spoil the mix. Still, it's a disappointing product overall given Newman's lack of stylistic alteration in light of so many possibilities." [5]

In a three out of five stars review Movie Wave stated: "Monsters, Inc. makes for generally a very entertaining and satisfying album, but despite all the comments above, Newman is at his best when scoring serious drama like Awakenings and Avalon and I hope that he manages to squeeze some of those in along with the inevitable Pixar projects to come his way over the coming years." [6] Soundtrack.Net rated the soundtrack three and a half stars out of five and wrote: "It's nothing groundbreaking or unexpected—it's just high quality work from Randy Newman." [7]

Far Out ranked it second in the best of Newman's scores (top ten): "Powered by a funky jazz soul, Randy Newman helps to bring the truly loveable world of Monsters, Inc. to life with a frenetic soundtrack that overflows with imagination, fun and excitement." [8] In their top ten Musical scores from Pixar, MovieWeb ranked it second and wrote: "The lively, rhythmic swing of the movie's soundtrack has a contagious energy that forces you to move. The main theme for the movie is pure jazz with an insanely catchy brass section. Arguably, it's one of Newman's best works for a Pixar movie." [9]

Chart positions

Chart (2001)Peak

position

US Top Soundtracks ( Billboard ) [10] 25

Accolades

Awards [11]
YearAssociationAward CategoryRecipient (if any)Result
2002 ASCAP Film and Television Music AwardsTop Box Office Films of 2002 Award Randy Newman Won
Academy Awards [12] [13] Best Original Score Nominated
Best Original Song (for "If I Didn't Have You")Won
Motion Picture Sound Editors Best Sound Editing in Animated Feature – Music Bruno CoonNominated
World Soundtrack Awards Best Original Song Written for a Film (for "If I Didn't Have You")Randy Newman, Billy Crystal and John Goodman Won
Best Original Soundtrack of the Year - OrchestralRandy NewmanNominated
Soundtrack Composer of the Year
2003 Annie Awards [14] Outstanding Music in an Animated Feature Production
Grammy Awards Best Song (for "If I Didn't Have You")Won
Best Score Soundtrack Album Nominated

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References

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  2. Noyer, Jérémie (November 13, 2009). "Monsters, Inc.'s Composer Randy Newman: "I score because I care!"". Animated Views. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  3. Phares, Heather.Monsters, Inc. (An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack) Archived May 29, 2020, at the Wayback Machine . AllMusic.
  4. Freer, Ian. Monsters, Inc. Soundtrack review Archived November 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Empire.
  5. Monsters, Inc. (Randy Newman) Archived November 10, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Filmtracks.com. October 30, 2001.
  6. Southall, James (2002). Monsters, Inc. Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Movie Wave.
  7. Goldwasser, Dan (October 21, 2001). Monsters, Inc. (2001) Soundtrack Archived May 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Soundtrack.net Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  8. "The top 10 film scores of Randy Newman". Far Out Magazine. November 28, 2021. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  9. "Best Musical Scores From Pixar Movies, Ranked". MovieWeb. 2022-05-16. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
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  11. "Monsters, Inc. (2001) Awards". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2011. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
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