"The Cover Up" is the fifth episode in the first season of Monsters at Work. It aired on July 28, 2021 on Disney+ and aired on January 21, 2023 on Disney Channel.
Synopsis[]
When Fritz goes on vacation and leaves Duncan in charge, MIFT causes a power outage and an inspector is called in to investigate.
Plot[]
Fritz takes up Needleman and Smitty's offer to take a "vacation door", abandoned doors that were saved from shredding, and uses the island getaway door. MIFT uses a wheel to determine who the temporary supervisor will be for the next two weeks. The needle lands on Val, but Duncan, who has longed for being supervisor, expresses sadness and the group tips the wheel in his favor. Duncan, who still thinks that Tylor is after his job, begins to abuse him with demeaning and harsh tasks. While emptying canisters, Cutter suggests sending a canister Duncan's way, which he does. Duncan attempts to get back at Tylor, but sends several canisters flying that knocks the main energy box out.
The backup power at Monsters, Inc. comes on, but the power all over Monstropolis went out. Monstropolis Energy Regulatory Commission (MERC) sends the notorious inspector Argus Blinks to check on the company to see any unethical actions have taken place. Mike attempts to bribe him to no avail. The MIFTers blame each other for the incident (Val for the wheel, Cutter for the suggestion, Tylor for starting it, Duncan for the outage) and decide to simply clean up the mess and make sure nobody catches them. Argus goes to Mike and Sulley's office and sends his eyeballs through the tubes to find the problem. One of them catches Duncan and Tylor trying to perform a "cover up" for the incident.
Argus heads down to MIFT and confronts them with the knowledge of their cover up. As he threatens Duncan with dismissal or worse, banishment, a loose cannister stuck in the ceiling suddenly falls and knocks him out. The group decide to toss him through the vacation door, but realize that his eyeballs saw everything and try to grab them, only for them to run loose through the facility. They manage to collect them all and place them back in the suitcase as Duncan explains that they have two weeks to figure out what to do with them.
Two weeks later, they still have not figured out how to get out of this mess. Suddenly the door opens as a newly rejuvenated Argus, who has never taken a vacation in 20 years, happily enters with Fritz. He explains that they will simply get a write up and a warning as he leaves. Mike and Sulley demand an explanation and threaten dismissal, but Duncan and Tylor take the blame for the incident. Fritz happily congratulates them on their honesty and Mike and Sulley forgive them. As Mike announces that the door will be shredded, Needleman and Smitty inadvertently reveal that Mike will be using the door next.
Mike's Comedy Class[]
Mike attempts to teach the class knock knock jokes, but Carla and Chuck have trouble understanding the basic premise and accuse Mike of forcing them to lie to children. He gets so worked up that nurses have to carry him away on a stretcher.
After credits quote[]
- “Hey ma. We're gonna make it. It's gonna be okay. I know you were dependent on that temporary supervisor money coming in. No, I love you too. Turn up your hearing aid ma!”
- ―Duncan
Cast[]
- Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski
- John Goodman as James P. Sullivan
- Ben Feldman as Tylor Tuskmon
- Mindy Kaling as Val Little
- Henry Winkler as Fritz
- Lucas Neff as Duncan P. Anderson
- Alanna Ubach as Cutter, Carla Benitez, Maria
- John Michael Higgins as Argus Blinks
- Jennifer Tilly as Celia Mae
- Stephen Stanton as Needleman and Smitty, Chuck
- Bobs Gannaway as Roto, Otis
Trivia[]
- Instead of the typical theme playing during the credits, an island rendition is performed.
- This is the first episode to not credit any "additional monsters".
- Maria is credited, even though she does not appear in the episode.
- This episode reveals that Monsters, Inc. saves doors for vacation time, even though it is against company policy.
- The 6 wheeled yellow car from the short Mike's New Car makes an appearance in the lobby, despite being destroyed at the end of the short. It's could be assumed that the episode takes place before the short or Mike fixed the car, but decided to get rid of it in order to avoid repeating another incident like that.
