7 foot 8 inches in height, shaggy aqua fur with purple spots, dark blue eyebrows, devilish horns, a reptilian-like tail, dorsal spikes, muscular limbs, a nose that resembles that of a cat, and a face that resembles that of a human – this description conjures up an image of a large, dangerous monster. But who would have thought that a monster could be so cute? Meet James P Sullivan, the biggest and cutest scarer of all time.
Who is James P Sullivan?
James Patrick Sullivan, famously known as Sully, Sulley, or Jimmy, is one of the main characters of the famous 2001 Disney Pixar movies, Monsters Inc. and Monsters University. He played the protagonist once again in the series Monsters at Work.
Though assigned the task of scaring little kids, Sully is a lovable personality. His calm demeanor, kind-heartedness, and thoughtfulness make him the most amiable monster. He makes up a fantastic pair with his best friend, Mike Wazowski.
His life took a U-turn when he became the guardian of Boo (a human child). Plus, he is the biggest contributor to solving the energy crisis at Monstropolis.
If you love the endearing and heroic deeds of Sully from Monsters Inc. and want to know more about him, you have landed on the right page. We have lots to spill about this lovable character that might interest you.
Here is everything you should know about James P. Sullivan from Monsters Inc.
All you want to know about James P. Sullivan
In Monster Inc., Sully is seen as the best scarer, working under Henry J. Waternoose, his boss, and also the CEO of Monsters Inc.
James P Sullivan dad is Bill Sullivan, a renowned scarer. His mother, Mrs. Sullivan, does not appear in the movie (although we have heard about her from Mike). He is closest to his best friend, Mike Wazowski.
Here is a quick bio of James P. Sullivan:
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How does James P Sullivan look?
Sully is a monster. He has large cyan-blue hair with hap hazardously-placed purple blotches. He has indigo-blue eyes and dark blue bushy eyebrows.
Sully’s long tail features white spikes running all the way from his neck to the tip of the tail, resembling that of a dinosaur. He has a teal nose, a huge chin, sharp fangs, white claws, and curved horns.
Sully’s fans got face-to-face with real Sully hidden behind his thick furry coat and belly in Monster University. The movie shows the thinner version of him with mullet-like hair and small, blunt horns.
Sully and Mike
Sully and Mike did not start on a good note. They are foe-turned-friends. However, as their story unfolded, their rivalry diminished and they became good friends.
Working together brought them even closer. Over time, Mike ultimately became Sully’s best friend.
Mike, his scaring assistant, is also his roommate.
Sully in Monsters Inc.
Although a monster, Sully has no traits of a real beast. He is good-natured, kind-hearted, gentle, hardworking, and lovable. He enjoys being the top scarer and aspires to break the All-Time Scare Record.
A dedicated employee of the company, he works persistently to move ahead. Before becoming the shining star of the company, he worked as a mailman, janitor, can wrangler, cafeteria worker, and then finally, a scarer.
Sully’s world took a 360-degree turn when his paths crossed with a human child. With a deep-seated belief that human children are toxic and can kill him, living with the child was hard-pressed. He did everything in his mighty power to banish the child from his life but to no avail.
As time proceeds, he hits it off with her and names her Boo. He and Boo develop a sweet relationship where he cares for and protects her like a father. However, this new relationship affects his friendship with Mike, who disapproves of his plans to hide Boo from Randall, the antagonist who wants to kidnap children and harvest their screams.
During a scare demonstration, Sully accidentally scares Boo. He realizes that children are frightened of monsters. It tears his stomach to think of how wrong he had been all his life.
Sully had a strong conscience. He knew he had been doing wrong all this while, and later, does everything to repent for his mistakes. He even comes at loggerheads with his best friend, Mike, and boss, Mr. Waternoose, but he dares to stick to the right.
Sully in the Monsters University
Sully from Monster University is not similar to Sully from Monsters Inc. T
he 18-year-old Sully is lazy, arrogant, laid-back, and immature. He loves partying and considers scarring as innately programmed in his genes.
Being the son of Bill Sullivan, a renowned scarer, he thinks he has inherited the trait and does not require to work for it.
Owing to his lineage and natural talent for scarring, James P. Sullivan receives the opportunity to be a part of the Roar Omega Roar team.
In the Scaring Program, he is pitted against Mike Wazowski, who does not possess the natural talent for scarring. However, he is intelligent and hard-working. As we all know, Sully went on to become good friends with Mike.
From seeing his ROR jacket being taken away from him to getting kicked by Dean Hardscrabble, soon Sully realizes that having talent counts for nothing if he does not put in hard work and hone his natural skills.
Shouldering the responsibility of living up to his father’s name makes him worry. He then works hard to ensure he does not tarnish his family name. He also joined forces with Mike, and they form a successful Scare Team.
Sully in Monsters at Work
After realizing that a child’s laughter is ten times more powerful and potent than its screams, Sully incepted the idea of harvesting children’s laughter.
He believes that laughter is a viable way to solve the energy crisis in Monstropolis. He also considers it a great way of keeping Monsters Incorporated running.
For him, harvesting laughter is a way of making things better for monsters and human children.
He persistently works to replace scaring with laughter to benefit both ends of the spectrum.
Apart from these appearances, Sully is also seen in Mike’s New Car, Cars (as a giant monster truck), and Tokyo Mater.
Where Can You Find James P. Sullivan?
Besides the Disney Pixar movies, you can find Sully from Monsters Inc. in other places too.
From parks to video games, Sully has dominated it all. Read further to know where you can find James P. Sullivan.
Video Games
Disney Infinity Series
The Disney Infinity series features your favorite monster, Sully Monsters Inc., as a playable character in its video game. Get the starter pack for Disney Infinity 1.0 to control your favorite character through your video game remote.
You can find Sully in
- The Toy Box for Disney Infinity 1.0
- The Monster University Play Set with Disney Infinity 1.0
- Disney and Pixar Toy Box Games for Disney Infinity 2.0
The character has several amazing powers, skills, and abilities, including Super Jumper (Creepy Leap), extraordinary strength, mid-air recovery, and more.
Disney Heroes: Battle Mode
Sully also appeared in Disney Heroes-Battle Mode along with Boo. He was a corrupted and unlockable hero. You will have to spend 30 tokens to unlock Sully.
He exhibits the same set of abilities and skills that he possesses in the movie.
Kingdom Hearts III
Sully plays a party member in the game.
Disney Parks and Resorts
Visit the Disney California Adventure, and you will find Sully and Mike. He appeared in Monsters Inc. Mike and Sully to the Rescue! He can also be seen in World of Color.
Currently, he is the leading monster in the Monsters Inc. unit of the Paint the Night Parade. He also has a cameo in Pixar Play Parade and an on-and-off presence at Pixar Pier.
He can also be seen in the Tokyo Disney Resort in Monsters Inc. Ride and Go Seek.
Interesting Facts about James P Sullivan
- The prehistoric ground sloth is the inspiration behind Sully.
- The original version of the first Pixar movie was something else. Instead of a scarer, Sully was supposed to be a janitor. This thing came into the light during Monsters University’s credit sequence.
- Sully was responsible for the dismissal of both him and Mike from the scare program of Monsters University. He tarnished the name of his company. His name “Sully” meaning to tarnish, testifies to that.
- Before arriving at Sully, the cute monster was given many names. He was named Johnson, Mulley, and Hob. Also, he was not supposed to be a great scarer but a clumsy monster and later a TV actor.
- Before finalizing the cute cyan-blue fur with purple patches, Sully was given brown fur and wore glasses. He also had tentacles for his legs. However, the final design showed him with blue fur and glasses. Later, the animators removed the glasses.
- In the early version of the movie, Bigfoot was Sully’s father, and Sully was a legacy employee with high intellect. He would often suggest inventions to aid scaring. However, things changed in later stages.
- Sully Monsters Inc.has 2,320,413 hair strands, out of which 25,336 determine the shape and motion of the remaining 2,295,077.
- Sully from Monsters University has 5.5. Million hair. This number is five times what he had in Monsters Inc.
- Sully has 5,475,458 hair on his body.
- Sully weighs around 768 or 795 pounds.
- The scene where Boo was seen touching Sully’s finger has an interesting backstory. The Pixar technical director hand-animated the hair in order to make them react to the touch.
- Sully’s father made him wear his glasses. However, it made it difficult for everyone to see his eyes. Hence, they dropped the idea of Sully wearing glasses.
- After breaking the law, Sully registered his name in the list of protagonists who break the law. Sully joined the list of Lightning McQueen and Carl Fredricksen.
- In the French version of this show, Sully is named Jacques Sullivent. His nickname is Sulli.
How Sully from Monster Inc. came to life
Here are some interesting anecdotes that made James P Sullivan the character he is:
- Bill Murray was supposed to play Sully originally. He had even given the screen test for the part. However, failing to contact Bill, Pete Docter took it as his no.
- Other actors who auditioned for the role of Sully include Steve Martin, George Wendt, Robin Williams, and Dan Aykroyd.
- Sully’s name is inspired by the late James Owen “The Rev” Sullivan, the inceptor and original drummer of Avenged Sevenfold, the American heavy metal band.
Final thoughts
James P. Sullivan is the most loved character in the Disney Pixar movies. His cute physical appearance and calm and cool demeanor make him the best monster in the Pixar universe. Moreover, his strong moral compass and fearless attempts to save Boo make him the real hero.
We wish to keep seeing him in every Disney Pixar movie and enjoy his funny antics with his friend and partner in crime, Mike, and the love of his life, Boo.
