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Michael "Mike" Wazowski is a fictional character who appears in
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
/
Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Califor ...
's Monsters Inc. franchise. He is a green one-eyed round monster with two arms, legs, and small horns. In the films, Mike is one of the two
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
s, alongside
James P. Sullivan This list includes all characters from the Pixar media franchise ''Monsters, Inc.'', including the 2001 film ''Monsters, Inc.'', the 2013 film '' Monsters University'', and the 2021 Disney+ series ''Monsters at Work''. Appearing in both films J ...
, and is primarily voiced by
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
in the film series, shorts, and the Disney+ series.


Conception and creation

In early versions of the film, Mike had not yet been added. Later on in development when he was added, his early designs consisted of no arms and his size was smaller with a more aggressive attitude.
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
, having regretted turning down the part of
Buzz Lightyear Buzz Lightyear is the main character in the ''Toy Story'' franchise created by Disney and Pixar mainly voiced by Tim Allen. He is a Superhero toy action figure based on the in-universe media franchise consisting of a blockbuster feature f ...
years prior, accepted that of Mike.


Appearances


''Monsters, Inc.''

Mike runs Sulley's station on the scare floor and they are close friends and roommates. Mike is in a relationship with Celia Mae at this time. Additionally, Mike helps Sulley in his mission to save Boo. While Sulley bonds with Boo, Mike desperately wants her gone. Randall finds out his involvement from the glimpse of him near Boo in a newspaper and Mike makes a deal with him to return Boo. However, this makes Sulley suspicious and Mike tries to prove him wrong. Randall ends up kidnapping Mike for the scream extractor. At the last second, Mike is saved from the extractor by Sulley and after he and Sulley foil Randall's plot, they report Waternoose's involvement in the scheme to the CDA.


''Monsters University''

On a class field trip to Monsters, Inc., Mike is inspired to become a professional scarer. He gets accepted into the Monsters University scare program, where he meets both James P. Sullivan and Randall Boggs in a SCARE 101 class. Mike initially dislikes Sulley for his arrogance and bad work ethic. He likes Randall because he's a Scaring major and his roommate at the time. It is seen that Randall and Mike hangout a lot by studying and even sitting next to each other in class. After failing the class, Mike works out a deal with the school's dean to re-enroll in the program on the stipulation that he wins the Scare Games. Sulley joins Mike, despite Mike's protests. Mike and Sulley join the Oozma Kappa fraternity to qualify for the Games. Mike and Sulley begin to build a friendship as they compete together. During the final event, Sulley cheats. Mike is devastated his team won by cheating and later breaks into the door-lab to unsuccessfully collect a child's scream before Sulley saves him. These actions result in both Mike and Sulley being expelled from school. After being expelled, the two apply as workers in the Monsters, Inc. mailroom. They advance through the ranks until Sully becomes a scarer with Mike as his assistant.


''Monsters at Work''

Following the arrest of Waternoose, Mike and Sulley are put in charge of Monsters, Inc. He works as Jokester and trains former scarers to be Jokesters.


In other media


Other films

Mike made a cameo appearance at the end of the credits of ''
Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American computer-animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Stanton with co-direction by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was writte ...
'' (2003), diving on the seabed.


Video games

As one of the main characters of the ''Monsters, Inc.'' franchise, Mike has regular appearances in the video games of the franchise, usually as a playable character. He also made appearances in other
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
crossover video games, such as the '' Disney Infinity'' series (2013-2015), where as with the other playable characters in the game a tie-in figure for him was also released, ''
Kingdom Hearts III is a 2019 action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch. It is the twelfth installment in the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, and serves as a conclusion of th ...
'' (2019), appearing as one of Sora's party members, and '' Disney Mirrorverse'' (2022), where he is depicted wearing combat armor.


Reception

Mike's character has been generally well received by critics and audiences. JP Baker, an editor for The Badlands on ''
Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...
s website, noted the importance of reaching one's dreams, and how the character's arc in the film ''Monsters University'' tied into this as it dealt with these ambitions as well as how he overcame the obstacles that came in his way. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...
'' considers him the 8th best
Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Califor ...
character, going on to state "It's weird to think of a lumpy green thing as an everyman, but Billy Crystal's voice helps make Mike a monster of the people." Additionally Victoria Robertson from ''
ScreenRant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scree ...
'' listed him as the 7th best Pixar character, stating "perhaps it's the little quirks that make him so great, his skittishness, despite the fact that he's a monster, or his comical and romantic qualities that shine throughout the film, but whatever it is, Wazowski made a name for himself."


Legacy

Mike has appeared in a wide variety of various
internet memes An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
. One such example is the face-swap meme, where Sulley's face is photoshopped onto Mike, as well as "Mike Wazowski explaining things" where Mike is shown complaining to Sulley and Roz about the games in the rec room, taken from a cutscene in the 2001
Disney Interactive Disney Interactive is an American video game and internet company that oversaw various websites and interactive media owned by The Walt Disney Company. History 1995–1996: Formation and beginnings In December 1994, Disney announced that it wa ...
game ''Monsters Inc. Rec Room Arcade''. Mike and Sulley were planned to be featured in the convention hall scenes in '' Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'', but they were replaced with
He-Man He-Man is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the sword and planet ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise, which includes a toy line, several animated television series, comic books and a feature film. He-Man is characterized by h ...
and
Skeletor Skeletor () is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Masters of the Universe'' franchise created by Mattel, serving as the archenemy of the protagonist He-Man. He is typically depicted as a blue-skinned humanoid who wears a purpl ...
.


References

{{Monsters, Inc. Animated characters in film Animated characters introduced in 2001 Disney animated characters Fictional business executives Fictional college students Fictional comedians Fictional cyclopes Fictional factory workers Film characters introduced in 2001 Film and television memes Internet memes Male characters in animation Male characters in film Pixar characters