Shock factor catalyst as a prelude to Randall's return?

[randallsnape7]

Okay..... most everyone knows that Randall's worst efforts in 'Monsters, Inc.' all turned out to be futile. Any harm, real or perceived, that Randall intended for Boo, Mike, or Sulley, ultimately didn't succeed.... which actually keeps him ripe for redemption for a third film, BUT.....

.....I think ONE way to impress upon an audience the severity of the new villains in 'Monsters 3', and the need for Randall Boggs to heroically intervene, would be for them to actually DO some harm in the Monster World. Even if no monster actually gets killed, there are plenty of ways these villains could actually SUCCEED in causing a relative amount of destruction in Monstropolis.... to get the point across to the viewer that these guys MEAN BUSINESS. After that goes on long enough in Randall's absence, I think emotionally, it would make Randall's reappearance by the last third of the movie very touching and welcome to everyone. I would love to see all hell break loose in Monsters, Inc. first, then when Mike goes to fetch Randall, we can be given a respite from all that excitement and terror while Randall and Mike share a quiet moment with each other in the human world and work through their issues. This would be the PERFECT opportunity to show us a flashback of Randall's childhood, when he prepared to go to Monsters University, and when he first met Waternoose.

The mood would go from terrifying and suspenseful to very emotional and touching. Then, once Randall has come to terms with himself, and returns to the Monster World, we can now relax and cheer Randall on as he prepares to save the day.

[pitbulllady]

Makes sense totally; I think that nowadays, in order for a villain or a threat to seem real, there needs to be either SOME harm done or a serious threat of harm, not implied but stated. The audience would need to see some of the monsters perhaps arrested and jailed for things they didn't do, or see some mysterious squad of bad guys grabbing other monsters out of their homes or off the streets, perhaps for speaking out against what is going on, and see unpleasant changes forced at MI, maybe Sulley forced out as CEO and Scream re-instituted as the power source. Children in the audience can understand that this is all bad, while older audience members can see analogies between what is happening onscreen and certain bad things that have occurred in our own history. The audience needs to understand that whoever is ultimately charged with stopping this and restoring order is going to be risking his/her own life to do so, which will make that individual's actions all the more appreciated.

pitbulllady

[randallsnape7]

Precisely! That whole idea of Sulley being forced out as CEO and scream reinstated sounds like a plausible turn of events - maybe by the halfway point in the film. He's going to have to be temporarily usurped by somebody... and it would actually be more impactful if just before that, Mike and Sulley make an attempt to use all their scare abilities, but they fail. Not unlike how in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, Mace Windu confronted Palpatine, only to meet a horrifying demise at his hands.

One of the most shocking catalysts I've EVER seen is in the MONK episode "Mr. Monk and the Magician" (Episode 15, Season 7), when Karl Torini kills Kevin Dorfman. In fact, even though I saw the whole series through for my first time, I was so busy familiarizing myself with everything, nothing really stuck, but on the SECOND run through, when I came to this episode again, I actually FORGOT that Kevin dies, and when Monk is shown crying as Stottlemeyer and Disher begin the investigation, I actually said out loud "Oh, my gosh! He KILLED him! Wow... I forgot that!".



I'm not implying that a monster needs to be killed, but a swift usurping of authority would be just as shocking. Both children and adults would think "WHAT? NO! Sulley LOST? What's going on?" It would be a real eye-opener, and that's really what would make this story unique and stand out: We would see that Mike and Sulley are not invincible heroes, and they CAN be outsmarted and defeated. We would then be forced to think "What now?"... then about 30 minutes later, as events progress, it would finally be revealed to us: "Oh, wow..... Randall Boggs is going to be the one to save the day."

Unpleasant changes forced onto MI is definitely a must, and I also think the idea of monsters being captured from their homes or off the streets could be effective, if done at the right time and in the right way, and um... well, this is just me, but... I think whomever usurps Sulley needs to have a real 'smart-ass' demeanor, similar to when Torini writes down the phony confession about Kevin's murder, places the trick paper in Monk's hand, and then it catches fire and he jeers "Abracadabra, Mr. Monk.".

Before audiences can buy into and welcome Randall's return as a hero, we first need to see at least 3 instances where the villain blatantly defies our expectations, and actually SUCCEEDS in doing something horrible. Another thing that could happen is for the villain who usurps Sulley to even tamper with the on-screen Scare Board statistic data, or replace it with a phony one, showing HIMSELF in all of those monster categories... both Sulley and Randall included. I also think that at some point, Celia Mae will have to be captured or imprisoned or caged, as this would give Mike even further incentive to fetch Randall in secret. At the VERY climax of the film, Boo could be captured and even used as a hostage by the villain to break Sulley's willpower into accepting all the horrific changes that have happened at MI. Not unlike that scene with Harvey Dent at the end of 'The Dark Knight'.

It could be a real standoff scene, Mike and Randall could be scared witnesses, watching the villain make all these horrific threats against them. I also think it would be interesting to see the power shift in this scene: Sulley would start out with a strong resolve, but it would eventually crack under the unbearableness of seeing Boo tortured. Mike would try to help, and we'd think "Yay for Mike!", but the villain would outsmart HIM.... taking him out of the standoff for the moment. Sulley could be pleading for Boo's life, and the villain could REALLY tighten the noose, make his final boast, and all that.... then finally, if THIS happened, the ball could finally land in Randall's court... and the audience would know that Mike, Sulley, and Boo are now at his mercy, so that when he saves Boo and Sulley's life, it will TRULY be a profound, selfless act, which will be the final rope in Randall permenantly burning his bridge behind him.

For Randall, becoming a hero needs to involve him making an irreversible decision for the cause of good. An intense scene like this would show the audience, once and for all, that Randall has indeed chosen the side of good, and he will STAY good forever.

[luvrandall]

I really want a combination of all those ideas to happen! Those ideas are awesome and I really hope Pixar makes another Monsters movie!