Disney Interactive and Pixar Animation Studios Allow Kids To Interact with Endearing Characters and Story of Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers/Entertainment Editors

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 29, 2001

Three Exciting, Fun-Filled PC Games for Kids Now Available

Disney Interactive and Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq:PIXR) are bringing the endearing characters from the highly-anticipated Monsters, Inc. film into the interactive world through three exciting, fun and humorous PC games for kids: Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Wreck" Room Arcade Games; Disney/Pixar's "Scare Island" Action Game; and Disney/Pixar's Scream Team Training.

Monsters, Inc., a beautifully computer-animated feature film brought to audiences by the award-winning team of Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, known for breakthrough blockbuster films, Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and A Bugs Life, opens nationwide on Nov. 2.

From the Academy Award(R)-winning creators of "Toy Story" comes this hilarious new computer-animated feature that opens the door to a world of monsters and mayhem and scares up lots of laughs in the process. Monsters, Inc. is the largest scare factory in the monster world and the top kid Scarer is James P. Sullivan (John Goodman), a huge, intimidating monster with blue fur, large purple spots and horns, known as "Sulley" to his friends. His Scare Assistant, best friend and roommate is Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal), a lime green, opinionated, feisty, one-eyed monster. Scaring children isn't such an easy job, as monsters believe children are toxic and that direct contact with them would be catastrophic. The film's eclectic cast of characters also includes the factory's crab-like CEO Henry J. Waternoose (James Coburn), the beguiling serpent-haired receptionist Celia (Jennifer Tilly), and the sarcastic chameleon monster, Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), who schemes to replace Sulley as Monsters, Inc.'s top Scarer. Visiting from the human world is Boo (Mary Gibbs), a tiny girl who turns the monster world upside down.

Disney/Pixar's three engaging Monsters, Inc. CD-ROM titles allow kids to "pre-live" and re-live the movie through immersive activities and amusing game play. Realistic imagery and brilliant colors drive kids to fall in love with and play their favorite Monsters, Inc.'s characters, including Sulley and Mike, even before the movie is released. All three games delightfully capture the hilarious personalities of the monsters and extend the movie experience beyond the theater.

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. titles debuting include:

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Wreck" Room Arcade Games

Packed with monster-iffic fun and quirky game play, Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Wreck" Room Arcade Games let kids, ages eight and older, join Sulley, Mike and the Monsters, Inc. gang in the "Wreck" room, the place where monsters relax after a long day at the scream factory. Gamers can hang out with their favorite monsters as they play crazy versions of three classic arcade games, Eight Ball Chaos, Bowling for Screams and Monster Tag, each of which feature a different character and are Windows(R) and Macintosh(R) compatible.

The estimated retail price of each Monsters, Inc. "Wreck" Room Arcade Game is only $9.99, so everyone in the family can enjoy one. The games are also ideal stocking stuffers during this holiday season. Adding a toy twist, the "Wreck" Room Arcade Games are collectable -- if players collect all three, they can unlock a fourth game, Monster Mania, for free.

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Wreck" Room Arcade Games are:

-- Eight Ball Chaos: Billiards will never be the same with "Top Scarer" Sulley
leading players through multiple levels and layouts of bumpers and pool sticks.
With bumpers that react to game play, this is not your typical game of pool.

-- Bowling for Screams: Mike introduces players to an unusual form of bowling.
Tapping madly at the directional keys on their computer keyboards, players
guide the ball down a wild, obstacle-ridden lane, grabbing power-ups along the
way.

-- Monster Tag: As a member of the Child Detection Agency (CDA), players join
Mike in collecting all of the human items surrounding them while delicately
balanced on a seesaw.

-- Monster Mania: Once all three "Wreck Room" Arcade Games have been collected,
this fourth game will automatically unlock as a bonus on players' PCs. Join the
temperamental Roz, a quick-witted, slug-like monster, in scaring up as many
screams as possible. Players are required to poke through windows and doors to
collect screams while avoiding humans and the objects they're throwing.

And, if that's not monster enough for the family, Disney Interactive is launching two additional entertaining games based on the incredibly captivating storyline of the film. Both games also feature rich 3D graphics that bring the characters to life, emulating the stunning look and feel of Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc.

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Scare Island" Action Game

Serving as a "prequel" to the movie, Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Scare Island" action game for PCs lets gamers play as either Sulley or Mike. This title immerses players, ages eight and up, in a 3D free-roaming environment where they train to become "Top Scarers" at Monsters, Inc. The training takes place on an island retreat with challenges designed to separate the elite Scarers from the "wanna-bes."

Each mission offers a fresh scaring opportunity, as Sulley and Mike try to best the "Nerves," robotic children designed by the monsters to test each Scarer's abilities. If players have what it takes to rise to the top of the scare chain, they may unlock all 30 scares available in the game. Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Scare Island" action game is available for an estimated retail price of $29.99. Features in the action game are:

-- ScareIsland: At the three main training grounds within Scare

Isle -- Urban Training Ground, Desert Training Ground and

Arctic Training Ground -- players undergo a Monsters, Inc.

version of "boot camp." These Scaring Grounds are full of

hidden and dual-identity robotic scare targets that can jump

out of any tree, bush or rock at any time, keeping Sulley and

Mike on their toes (kids can switch between playing Sulley or

Mike at any point during the game). As each level is

completed, the challenges of the monster-made obstacle course 

multiply.

-- Nerves: Nerves serve as Scare Isle's substitute for children,

and focus solely on training Scarers. Since real human

children are so dangerous to the monster world, as Monsters,

Inc. CEO Henry J. Waternoose explains during orientation,

Nerves allow Monsters, Inc. students to train without posing

any danger. When players successfully "freak out" the Nerves,

a scream canister is filled and the Nerve temporarily turns

white, showing that players have literally scared the color

out of it!

-- Graduation: As players progress through their training, they

are rewarded with Certificates of Scaring, handed out by

Waternoose himself. Upon Graduation, players can repeat the

game, but in the new role of "Top Scarer." At this level, they

can unlock three tiers of the island's "Monster Enhancements."

As "Top Scarer," players also learn more complex scare

tactics, like the "old Waternoose jump and growl."

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Training

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Training CD-ROM recreates the feature film experience for kids, ages four and up, so younger gamers can delve into activities and games with the characters they like best. Kids play as one of six monsters, and Monsters, Inc.'s newest employee. Their goal is to become "Top Scarer" by the end of the game. Ten challenging activities, each hosted by a different monster and featuring 30 different game levels (for a total of 300 levels!), involve kids in the exciting day-to-day life at Monsters, Inc. As they play, they can even strive to become "Employee of the Day," Month or Year, an important feat in the Monsters, Inc. world. The estimated retail price for Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Training is $29.99. Activities that are sure to keep kids laughing are:

-- Paperwork: Roz keeps a watchful eye over players as they file

paperwork. Folder contents are organized by placing colored

paper in the order that matches the colored dots listed on the

folder. Once the papers are in the proper sequence, they will

file into the folder.

-- The Mail Room: Mike helps players in a sorting-game frenzy to

get all the mail into the proper employee mailboxes before the

clock hits 9 a.m.

-- Day Care Center: Sulley guides players through this game of

logic and memory. Monsters are either frowning or in

full-blown crying mode. Players must bring babies to a

content, happy or sleepy state by connecting the correct toy

with the right baby.

-- Lunch Room: Sulley oversees players in a crazy arcade game of

feeding hungry monsters in the Monsters, Inc. cafeteria.

Players must correctly serve up food items and daily specials

for each monster based on the lunch-order ticket presented.

Trays will continue to stack up as orders come in, so time is

of the essence.

-- Parking Lot: Mike assists players in the ultimate valet

parking experience. As the official company valet, players

must park all the cars in the parking lot before the 9 a.m.

whistle blows. With some cars already parked, players must

maneuver through a grid-like puzzle of obstacles to create an

orderly parking lot.

-- Door Vault: Sulley is in a race against the clock and Randall

to catch Boo who is lost in the Door Vault (the area with

hanging doors that move across the screen). Players jump from

door to door while avoiding falling toxic socks to find Boo

and return her to her bedroom.

-- Try Out Room: Sulley guides players through their first

"Scarer" training session in this scare-simulation game. With

only a flashlight to guide them, wanna-be Scarers are

challenged to move quietly across a completely dark bedroom

full of obstacles like roller skates, toys and sleeping cats

-- all without waking the sleeping Audio-Animatronic child.

-- Scream Collection: Mike coaches players to collect screams by

filling each canister with the correct sound -- all without

overfilling and exploding the canisters.

-- Door Transport: Sulley assists players as they match doors to

the appropriate country's flag.

-- Canister Storage Room: Players try to organize a storage area

overfilled with scream canisters to make sense of this messy

room. Roz supervises as the evil Randall drops new canisters

into the room below. Players clean up the room by matching

similar canisters and making them disappear.

Availability

Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. "Wreck" Room Arcade Games and Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. Scream Team Training are Windows(R) 95/98/ME and Macintosh(R) hybrids. Disney/Pixar's "Scare Island" Action Game is Windows(R) 95/98/ME compatible. All are available now at stores nationwide, along with Monsters, Inc. for Game Boy Color , Game Boy Advance and PS One.

About Disney Interactive

Disney Interactive, part of the Disney Consumer Products division of The Walt Disney Company, develops, markets, and globally distributes a wide variety of interactive entertainment, educational and sports CD-ROMs and video games. For more information on Disney Interactive's products, visit www.disneyinteractive.com.

About Pixar Animation Studios

Pixar Animation Studios (Nasdaq:PIXR) combines creative and technical artistry to create original characters and stories in the medium of computer animation. Under its partnership with Disney, Pixar has created and produced the first computer-animated feature film, the Academy Award(R)-winning Toy Story, released in 1995; A Bug's Life, the highest grossing animated film released in 1998; and Golden Globe-winner Toy Story 2, the highest domestic grossing animated film released in 1999. The Northern California studio's next films are Monsters, Inc., scheduled for release November 2, 2001, and Finding Nemo, scheduled for a summer 2003 release.