Tylor accidentally breaks the vending machine down in MIFT leading to Fritz reconsidering his future in the latest episode of “Monsters At Work.” The episode takes place during a time when profits and morale are both down at Monsters Inc. leading to Mike and Sully to look for ways to make money to pay their bills. Meanwhile, accounting has asked every department to cut at least one member of the team due to budget cuts. In the end, Tylor fixes the vending machine, Fritz stays with MIFT and Mike finds a way to boost morale which leads to an increase in laugh output and profits.

This is a very unusual episode to this series. Some, like the bowling episode, are clearly self-contained and meant for a small purpose. While Tylor is trying to prove to Mike he belongs on the laugh floor, very little of that episode will matter going forward. Meanwhile, some are pushing towards a bigger, overarching story. The main part of it is Tylor’s desire to make the Laugh Floor after originally being hired as a scarer right when the company moved from screams to laughs. This episode feels somewhere in the middle. A lot of it, like the Vending Machine aspect, is clearly self-contained. Meanwhile, Fritz’s feelings that it may be time to retire, money troubles for the company, and Tylor’s desire to prove himself to his bosses further the overarching story. It’s a good blend for what I think is a solid episode.

The laughs in this one come from the damaging of the new vending machine and how it fights back after being tampered with. The machine spits drinks at them and swallows Duncan before Tylor saves him. Meanwhile, Sully is baffled by Mike’s ways of trying to boost morale. He knows they need to cut costs, but Mike is increasing them with the purchases of foosball tables, art and handing out free money. These are funny moments overall, but this episode, in particular, makes it seem like we are watching two different shows instead of just one with an A and B plotline. The MIFT team’s actions and the actions of Mike and Sully hardly seem connected even if there is one about boosting morale and profits versus cutting team members. It’s something that most companies have probably had to deal with, but it just seems so odd in a show that seems to be targeting kids more than adults.

At the end of the day, I’ve been enjoying this show, but some episodes are home runs while others are strikeouts. This one wasn’t really either. It wasn’t bad. It was better than some we’ve seen, but it didn’t stand out either. I’m having fun, but there’s still room for improvement with this show. It hasn’t hit its stride yet. I just hope that comes soon.

Ranking:

Episode: 3 stars out of 5

Series: 3.5 stars out of 5.

What did you think of this episode of “Monsters At Work?”

Jeremy Brown

Jeremy has been a big Disney fan since he was a kid growing up during the Disney Renaissance. One day he hopes to go to every Disney Park in the world.

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