Disney Announces Movie Theme for Next 'Monday Night Football' Altcast

A Pixar classic will get the NFL treatment.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will, in some respects, receive a cinematic treatment.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles will, in some respects, receive a cinematic treatment. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Both the Eagles and Chargers have scared their opponents at points this season, so it seems only appropriate that they will appear together on a themed Monday Night Football altcast later this year.

Disney will produce an animated broadcast for Philadelphia and Los Angeles's Dec. 8 game themed around Monsters, Inc., it announced in a Monday evening release. Billed as Monsters Funday Football, the production will utilize Next Gen Stats, Hawk-Eye, and other technologies.

The broadcast follows previous productions centered around the worlds of Toy Story and The Simpsons.

“Each iteration of Funday Football has pushed the boundary of what’s possible in sports technology. By blending real-time NFL data and tracking with cutting-edge animation, we’re transforming the way fans experience an NFL game," Michael Szykowny, ESPN's vice president of graphics innovation, said in a statement.

Monsters, Inc., released in 2001, is one of Pixar's most celebrated films; it was the third-highest grossing film of its release year and received four Academy Award nominations.

The broadcast is scheduled to air on the Disney Channel, Disney XD and ESPN2, while also streaming on Disney+, ESPN's app, and NFL+.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .