What Monsters, Inc. Owes to Modern Art: Exploring Charles Sheeler’s Precisionism

The Monsters, Inc. factory in Monsotropolis is set in a futuristic cityscape with a large building displaying an "M" logo, surrounded by smokestacks and other signs of industry.

Rewatching Monsters, Inc. recently, I was struck by how much the Monsters, Inc. building in Monstropolis seems to borrow from the work of 20th-century modern American artists like Charles Scheeler (1883–1965). Scheeler was an American painter, photographer, and graphic artist who is considered a pioneer in American modernism. Why would the beloved Pixar film look to an artist like Scheeler? I have some ideas!

What Monsters, Inc. Owes to Modern Art

In Monsters, Inc., the energy factory seems inspired by industry and a Machine aesthetic. The factory looms over Monstropolis; it has clean lines and a precise geometric form. All the structures surrounding it are in the same style. There are few organic forms, or rounded shapes, outside of orbs connecting to pipes and factory parts, and there is a lack of shrubbery or trees. Likewise, the interior of the factory retains the clean, precise lines and visual clarity. This is where my mind thinks of Charles Scheeler.

Charles Sheeler, Classic Landscape (detail), 1931. Oil on canvas, 25 × 32 1/4 in. (63.5 × 81.9 cm). National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Meet Charles Sheeler, Precisionist Painter of a Machine Age

Scheeler was a leader of the modernist style known as Precisionism, which gained popularity after World War I. It borrows from Cubism and has this clear focus on planar geometry. It was also known for focusing on machines and industry as a way to celebrate American subjects in the post-war era.

Inside the Monsters, Inc. building.

Comparing stills from Monsters, Inc. and Scheelers are side-by-side reveals that likelihood that Pixar artists were inspired by the modernist arist's work—or so I'd argue. Scheeler’s precise images have a similar aesthetic to Monsters, Inc., both its exterior and interior.

Charles Scheeler, Stacks in Celebration, 1954, oil on canvas, 22 x 28 inches. Dayton Museum of Art.

Why Would Pixar Reference Modernist Art like Scheeler's?

What reasons would Pixar artists and animators have to look to paintings and photographs by Scheeler?

Inside the Monsters, Inc. building

Charles Scheeler, Criss-Crossed Conveyors, River Rouge Plant, Ford Motor Company, 1927

Another shot inside the Monsters, Inc. building

Charles Scheeler, Golden Gate, 1955, oil on canvas

The machine age aesthetic reflected the rise of mechanization and industrialization in the early 20th century, along with all the pros and cons that came with these forces. The Monsters, Inc. building is celebrating the power and impact of such things in Monstropolis—in this case, harnessing the screams of young children to power the monster metropolis.

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Learn more

1. Read more about Charles Scheeler on The Metropolitan Museum of Art's website.