Party Central is a 2013 American animated short film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures and directed by Kelsey Mann. It premiered on August 9, 2013, at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California[1] and was shown in theaters with Muppets Most Wanted on March 21, 2014. Party Central is the second short in the Monsters, Inc. franchise and takes place shortly after the events of Monsters University.[2] The short involves Mike and Sulley helping their Oozma Kappa fraternity brothers make their party a success. It is the only Monsters, Inc. production to be rated PG by the MPA.
| Party Central | |
|---|---|
 Poster for Party Central | |
| Directed by | Kelsey Mann |
| Written by | Kelsey Mann |
| Story by | Austin Madison Adrian Molina Manny Hernandez |
| Produced by | Laurel Ladevich |
| Starring | Billy Crystal John Goodman Peter Sohn Julia Sweeney Charlie Day Nathan Fillion Dave Foley Sean Hayes Bobby Moynihan Joel Murray Colleen O'Shaughnessey James Kevin Ward Cristina Pucelli |
| Edited by | Tim Fox |
| Music by | Dieter Hartmann |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 6 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editShortly after the events of Monsters University, Mike and Sulley are visiting the university because Oozma Kappa is throwing its first party, but no one has shown up. However, Mike and Sulley have a plan. Using a couple of borrowed door stations, they sneak into a party at the Roar Omega Roar fraternity and steal all of its food and guests to fill the Oozma Kappa house. The supply runs take them through the closet doors of a married couple's bedroom, repeatedly disturbing their sleep.
Once they have the party fully stocked, Scott "Squishy" Squibbles' mother Sherri walks in on it while doing a load of laundry. She is upset because they did not invite her. After lighting a bonfire on the lawn, Sherri introduces the crowd to "door jumping"/"door jamming", involving jumping from the roof with the help of two doors to land safely on the lawn.[3] The guests congratulate the Oozma Kappas for throwing a successful party, and many of them decide to pledge the fraternity.
In a post-credits scene, the husband and wife wake their son Timmy up and ask if they can sleep with him, saying that there are monsters in their closet. Timmy shouts, "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"
Voice cast
edit- Billy Crystal as Mike[4]
- John Goodman as Sulley[4]
- Peter Sohn as Squishy[4]
- Julia Sweeney as Sherri [4]
- Charlie Day as Art[4]
- Nathan Fillion as Johnny[4]
- Dave Foley as Terry[4]
- Sean P. Hayes as Terri [4]
- Bobby Moynihan as Chet [4]
- Joel Murray as Don [4]
- Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Mom
- James Kevin Ward as Dad
- Cristina Pucelli as Timmy
Production
editAccording to the short's writer/director Kelsey Mann, "When you first meet the Oozma Kappas, they go to their fraternity house and the first thing they say is, 'Welcome to Party Central! We haven’t thrown a party yet, but when we do we’ll be ready,'... I kept telling [director] Dan [Scanlon], 'I really want to see their party. We have to do it in the credits or something.' Then when the idea of doing a short came up, we were like, 'That could be the party!'" The short took around eight months to make, to which the voices were recorded near end of production of Monsters University. Mann stated "We would do a couple of pickup lines with Billy Crystal and the other actors for the movie and then we’d get the stuff we needed for the short." Party Central was initially considered as a bonus feature for the Monsters University DVD, but the decision was later made to release the short theatrically.[5] It was originally scheduled to be shown in theaters with The Good Dinosaur until the film was shifted from 2014 to 2015.[6]
Release
editParty Central premiered on August 9, 2013, at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California and was shown in theaters with Muppets Most Wanted on March 21, 2014.[5] Party Central received a PG rating from the MPAA for "some reckless behavior",[7] the first Disney animated short to get higher than a G rating since 1990's Roller Coaster Rabbit.[8]
The short was released for streaming on October 21, 2014, on the Disney Movies Anywhere application for iPhone and iPad, and on the Disney Movies Anywhere website.[9]
Home media
editParty Central was released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download as part of Pixar Short Films Collection, Volume 3 on November 13, 2018.[10]
Critical reception
editAfter being screened at the D23 Expo, BigScreen Animation noted "judging from Twitter, the response was tremendous."[11] Newsday said "It starts with a simple plot idea and escalates in classic comedy form."[12] Rotoscopers wrote "This short film was a cool, funny idea. Not a story. It was literally a sequence of jokes with no emotional core whatsoever."[13]
References
edit- ^ Graser, Marc (August 9, 2013). "D23 Expo: Disney Fanfest Starts Off Strong with Animation Lineup". Variety. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ "The Story Behind the Story of Pixar's Party Central Short". Oh My Disney. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ "Door jamming", "door jumping" are used in different translations.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Just Released: First Look at Party Central Short". Oh My Disney. January 7, 2014. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ a b Rottenberg, Josh (January 7, 2014). "Disney to showcase new Pixar short 'Party Central' ahead of 'Muppets'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 21, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Eisenberg, Eric (February 10, 2014). "Monsters University Short Film 'Party Central' Debuts Its First Clip". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Brevet, Brad (January 21, 2014). "'Need for Speed', 'Blended', 'Enemy' and 'Party Central' in Today's MPAA Ratings Bulletin". Coming Soon. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Gallagher, Brian (February 10, 2014). "Monsters University Short Party Central Clip and Photos". MovieWeb. WATCHR Media, Inc. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Alter, Ethan (October 20, 2014). "Exclusive Clip: Mike and Sulley From 'Monsters University' Party Down in a New Short". Yahoo! Entertainment. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Hunt, Bill (September 10, 2018). "Ant-Man and the Wasp, Incredibles 2, X-Men Trilogy, Pixar Short Films 3, Carpenter 4K, Sharp Objects, Space: 1999 & more". The Digital Bits. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Bastoli, Mike (August 9, 2013). "D23 Expo Roundup: New Disney, Pixar Projects, Casting Announcements, and More". Big Screen Animation. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Lovece, Frank (March 20, 2014). "'Muppets Most Wanted' review: Caper for 'Muppet Show' lovers". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
- ^ Ruiz, Pablo (April 1, 2014). "'Party Central' Review". Rotoscopers. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
External links
edit
- Official website at Disney
- Official website at Pixar
- Party Central at IMDb