Fans of football and Pixar animation will unite this December when ESPN, Disney, Pixar, and the National Football League present Monsters Funday Football – a one-of-a-kind, animated broadcast of Monday Night Football. The event airs Monday, December 8, featuring the Philadelphia Eagles facing the Los Angeles Chargers inside the colorful world of Monsters, Inc.
The immersive experience will transport viewers to Monstropolis, powered by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Sony’s Beyond Sports visualization technology, and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations. The result is a real-time animated game where players appear as motion-enabled cartoon versions of themselves, recreated in real time from SoFi Stadium gameplay.
This marks the third consecutive year for ESPN’s Funday Football series, following Toy Story Funday Football (2023) and The Simpsons Funday Football (2024). For the first time, the alternate broadcast will air on ESPN2, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and the new ESPN App, alongside its continuing home on Disney+ and NFL+ for mobile streaming. Traditional coverage with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will still air on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes.
Beloved monsters Mike Wazowski and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan will join the fun, taking on football-themed roles as honorary teammates for the Eagles and Chargers. The action unfolds on the Cheer Floor, a playful twist on the film’s Scare Floor, now decked out as a football field surrounded by thousands of cheering monsters.
Additional characters, film references and aesthetics will bring a regular day at Monsters, Inc. into an exciting Monday Night Football atmosphere:
- Fan-Favorite Monsters, Inc. Characters: Accompanying Mike and Sulley will be Roz, the slug-like monster, who will serve as the game’s sideline reporter because she “is watching, always watching!” The Child Detection Agency (CDA) will also be in attendance to monitor the crowd and the game — helping to clean-up the penalty and challenge flags that are thrown. Many additional fan-favorite characters will also make appearances.
- Familiar Sights from Monstropolis: In addition to the converted Scare Floor and Scream Canisters, the Scarer’s Leaderboard will become the Cheer Competition Leaderboard, while floating Monsters, Inc. bedroom doors hover above the field, showing fans viewing the game from their bedrooms, all over the world.
- Famous Voices of Monsters, Inc.: Renowned Hollywood actors, Billy Crystal (Mike), John Goodman (Sulley) and Bob Peterson (Roz) return to voice their original characters through prerecorded lines.
- Halftime Show Fit for Monsters: While Mike and Sulley duke it out for cheers throughout the entire game, the competition will ramp up during halftime with Mike & Sulley’s Cheer Canister Competition.
- Boomer Takes Monsters, Inc.: ESPN legend Chris Berman makes his Funday Football debut with a special animated segment.
- NFL Star Cameos: Eagles and Chargers players appear in fun, prerecorded interactions with the Monsters, Inc.
Viewers can expect plenty of humor, creative twists, and animated cameos as Monsters Funday Football delivers a fresh take on sports entertainment. For Pixar and NFL fans alike, December 8th promises to be a monstrously fun night of football magic.
