Party Central

For the Chinese political body, see Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Party Central

Poster for Party Central
Directed by Kelsey Mann
Produced by Laurel Ladevich
Written by Kelsey Mann
Pete Docter
Starring Billy Crystal
John Goodman
Peter Sohn
Julia Sweeney
Charlie Day
Nathan Fillion
Dave Foley
Sean Hayes
Bobby Moynihan
Joel Murray
Colleen O'Shaughnessey
Jim Ward
Cristina Pucelli
Music by Dieter Hartmann
Production
company
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures
Release dates
Running time
 6 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Party Central is a 2013 Pixar computer animated short directed by Kelsey Mann. It first premiered 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.

Plot

Mike and Sulley are visiting Monsters University for the weekend to see how their Oozma Kappa fraternity brothers are doing. The group is throwing its first party, but no one has shown up. However, Mike and Sulley have a plan to liven up the house. Using a borrowed door station, 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 angry with the fraternity, but only because they did not invite her. After lighting a bonfire on the lawn, Sherri introduces the crowd to "door jamming," or jumping from the roof with the help of two doors to land safely on the lawn. The guests congratulate the Oozma Kappas for throwing a great 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. Their son vehemently replies, "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

Voice cast

Production

According 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, voices were recorded near the 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.[4] It was originally scheduled to accompany the theatrical release of Pixar's The Good Dinosaur until the film was shifted from 2014 to 2015.[5]

Release

Party Central first premiered August 9, 2013 at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California and accompanied the theatrical release of Muppets Most Wanted on March 21, 2014.[4] Unlike the two feature-length Monsters, Inc. films (which are both rated G by the MPAA), Party Central received a PG rating from the MPAA for "some reckless behavior."[6] Thus, it is the first Pixar short to receive a PG rating from the MPAA (unlike all of the previously-released theatrical Pixar shorts, which were rated G by the MPAA) and also the second Disney animated short film to have been designated that rating after 1990's Roller Coaster Rabbit.[7]

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.[8]

Critical reception

After being screened at the D23 Expo, BigScreen Animation noted "judging from Twitter, the response was tremendous."[9] Newsday said "It starts with a simple plot idea and escalates in classic comedy form."[10] 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."[11]

References

  1. ↑ "The Walt Disney Studios Shares Never-Before-Revealed Details About Upcoming Animation Titles with Fans at D23 Expo". D23.com. August 15, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  2. ↑ "The Story Behind the Story of Pixar's Party Central Short". Disney Insider. January 23, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Just Released: First Look at Party Central Short". Disney Insider. January 7, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  4. 1 2 Rottenberg, Josh (January 7, 2014). "Disney to showcase new Pixar short 'Party Central' in front of 'Muppets Most Wanted' - EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ Eisenberg, Eric (February 10, 2014). "Monsters University Short Film 'Party Central' Debuts Its First Clip". Cinema Blend. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Brevet, Brad (January 21, 2014). "'Need for Speed', 'Blended', 'Enemy' and 'Party Central' in Today's MPAA Ratings Bulletin". Rope of Silicon. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  7. ↑ Gallagher, Brian (February 10, 2014). "'Monsters University' Short 'Party Central' Clip and Photos". MovieWeb. WATCHR Media, Inc. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  8. ↑ Alter, Ethan (October 20, 2014). "Exclusive Clip: Mike and Sulley From 'Monsters University' Party Down in a New Short". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ Bastoli, Mike (August 9, 2013). "D23 Expo Roundup: New Disney, Pixar Projects, Casting Announcements, and More". Big Screen Animation. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ Lovece, Frank (March 19, 2014). "'Muppets Most Wanted' review: Caper for 'Muppet Show' lovers". Newsday. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  11. ↑ Ruiz, Pablo (April 1, 2014). "'Party Central' Review". Rotoscopers. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
Preceded by
The Blue Umbrella		 Pixar Animation Studios short films
2013 		Succeeded by
Lava
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