Monsters Funday Football: Pixar's Mike & Sulley Tackle NFL's Eagles vs. Chargers!

Football just got a whole lot more monstrous! Get ready for an animated Nfl experience like no other as Mike and Sulley host Monday Night Football with the Eagles and Chargers.

TL;DR

Monsters Funday Football, themed after Pixar's Monsters, Inc., airs on Monday, December 8, 2025.
You can watch the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Chargers game in a fully animated Monstropolis on ESPN2, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney+, ESPN App, and NFL+ (for mobile).
The broadcast features original voice actors like Billy Crystal and John Goodman, animated commentators, and groundbreaking real-time player tracking for an immersive, family-friendly NFL experience.

Get Ready for a Monstrous Monday Night Showdown!

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Prepare yourselves, sports fanatics and animation aficionados, because something truly special is heading your way this December! ESPN, in partnership with Disney, Pixar, and the NFL, is rolling out its third annual "Funday Football" animated alternate broadcast, and this time, we're diving headfirst into the beloved world of Monsters, Inc. Mark your calendars for Monday, December 8, 2025, when the Philadelphia Eagles are set to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers in a truly unique gridiron spectacle.

Imagine your favorite NFL stars, like Eagles' quarterback Jalen Hurts (and running back Saquon Barkley!) and Chargers' Justin Herbert, transformed into animated avatars, playing football right inside the iconic Monsters, Inc. factory. This isn't just a gimmick; it's a full-on, real-time animated recreation of a live NFL game, designed to bring a fresh, fun, and incredibly immersive viewing experience to families and fans of all ages.

What Exactly Is Funday Football, Anyway?

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If you're new to this concept, let's catch you up! "Funday Football" is ESPN's innovative answer to making NFL games more accessible and entertaining for a wider audience, especially younger viewers. It takes a live NFL game and re-renders it in real-time within a popular animated universe. This isn't a pre-recorded cartoon; it's live action from the field, translated instantly into a vibrant, animated world.

This "Monsters Funday Football" broadcast is the third in the series. It follows the hugely successful Toy Story Funday Football in 2023, which even snagged three Sports Emmy Awards, including one for Technical Achievement. Last year, we saw The Simpsons Funday Football bring Springfield to the gridiron. Disney and ESPN have also experimented with other animated alt-casts, such as the NHL's Big City Greens Classic in 2023 and the NBA's Dunk the Halls, featuring classic Disney characters on Christmas Day. These events are all part of an extended, multi-year deal between Disney/ESPN and Sony's Beyond Sports, aiming to bring more animated experiences to NFL, NHL, NBA, and even WNBA games through 2027.

Stepping onto the Cheer Floor: Your Game Day in Monstropolis

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Get ready for a trip to Monstropolis like never before! The setting for this Eagles-Chargers matchup isn't just any stadium; it's a reimagined Cheer Floor, inspired by the famous Scare Floor from Monsters, Inc. Picture a full-length football field, buzzing with thousands of cheering monsters, floating bedroom doors hovering above (showing fans watching from their own rooms!), and even a Cheer Competition Leaderboard tracking the excitement. You might even spot the Child Detection Agency (CDA) on clean-up duty, monitoring the crowd and even collecting those penalty and challenge flags!

The stars of the show, Mike Wazowski and James P. "Sulley" Sullivan, will be right there in the thick of the action. Mike will be an honorary teammate for the Philadelphia Eagles, while Sulley will be backing the Los Angeles Chargers. While our human NFL pros will be handling most of the incredible plays, Mike and Sulley aren't just mascots; they'll actually "sub in" for key offensive and defensive moments, adding their unique monster flair to the game. And forget touchdowns for a second – the ultimate prize here is Cheer Canisters! These are a playful rebrand of the iconic Scream Canisters from the movie, now filled with the joyous cheers of monsters (and fans!). The game won't just crown a winner, but also a Cheer Champion based on these canisters. It's a fantastic blend of football strategy and Pixar charm, promising plenty of humor and creative twists.

Meet the Star-Studded Animated Broadcast Team

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The immersion doesn't stop with the gameplay. The "Monsters Funday Football" broadcast is bringing back some very familiar voices to make the experience even more authentic. Legendary actors Billy Crystal and John Goodman will reprise their iconic roles, lending their voices to Mike Wazowski and Sulley, respectively, through prerecorded lines. And don't forget Bob Peterson, who returns to voice the ever-watchful Roz, who will be serving as the game's sideline reporter – because, as she reminds us, she "is watching, always watching!"

Calling all the action from within this animated world will be ESPN's own Drew Carter and NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky. They won't just be in a booth; they'll appear as animated avatars of themselves, using cutting-edge virtual commentator technology and VR headsets to react live to the on-screen animation as if they were right there on the Cheer Floor. This technology allows them to interact seamlessly with the Monstropolis environment. Plus, for extra engagement, social media correspondent Katie Feeney will join the broadcast as a virtual correspondent, sharing behind-the-scenes insights and fun facts. And keep an eye out for a special animated segment featuring ESPN legend Chris Berman making his "Funday Football" debut!

Even the real NFL players from both the Eagles and Chargers will be getting in on the fun, with prerecorded segments where they interact with the beloved Monsters, Inc. characters. It’s a truly star-studded affair, blending top-tier sports talent with iconic Hollywood voices.

The Magic Behind the Monsters: How Real-Time Animation Works

You might be wondering, "How do they do that?" The magic behind "Monsters Funday Football" is some seriously impressive technology, a collaboration between ESPN, Sony's Beyond Sports, and Hawk-Eye Innovations, powered by NFL Next Gen Stats. It's not a cartoon drawing of the game; it's a real-time visualization platform that takes live player and ball tracking data directly from SoFi Stadium (where the actual game is being played) and instantly transforms it into animated action.

Here's the breakdown:

Data Collection: NFL Next Gen Stats, combined with Sony's Hawk-Eye optical tracking cameras, capture every millisecond of player movement and ball trajectory on the field. This data is incredibly precise.
Real-Time Transformation: Sony's Beyond Sports' data visualization technology then takes this raw data and feeds it into its powerful engine. This engine renders the live gameplay into animated action, transforming real players into motion-enabled animated avatars.
Character Integration: Beyond Sports' proprietary technology ensures that the animated characters, whether it's an NFL player avatar or Mike Wazowski himself, integrate seamlessly into the live action. It adapts authentic athletic movements to each character's unique size and shape, making every tackle and pass look natural yet totally cartoonish.
Immersive Environment: All of this is set within a meticulously recreated virtual world of the Monsters, Inc. factory, complete with dynamic environmental details and movie easter eggs.

This complex workflow is what earned Toy Story Funday Football its technical awards and continues to push the boundaries of what's possible in live sports broadcasting. It demonstrates ESPN's commitment to next-generation presentation formats, offering a completely different way to consume sports.

"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. Our continued innovation with partners like the NFL, Beyond Sports and Disney+ showcases how technology can turn a live game into a fully immersive world, giving fans an additional way to consume sports."

— Michael "Spike" Szykowny, ESPN VP of Graphics Innovation Where to Catch All the Monstrous Gridiron Action

One of the coolest things about this year's "Monsters Funday Football" is how widely available it will be. Unlike previous alt-casts that were mostly streaming-only, this one is hitting linear TV channels too, making it easier than ever for everyone to tune in!

Here's where you can watch the Philadelphia Eagles vs. Los Angeles Chargers game in its animated glory on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET:

Linear TV: ESPN2, Disney Channel, Disney XD
Streaming: Disney+, ESPN App (the new ESPN app is designed to give fans more choice, flexibility, and access), and NFL+ (for mobile viewers)

For our international fans, good news! "Monsters Funday Football" will also be available live on ESPN platforms and/or Disney+ in a wide range of markets, including Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia & New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Canada (via TSN+). If you miss the live broadcast, don't worry – Video on Demand (VOD) will be available on Disney+ shortly after the game wraps up.

And for those who prefer the traditional game experience, fear not! The standard Monday Night Football broadcast featuring Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters, and Laura Rutledge will air concurrently on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes, and will also stream live on the ESPN App. So, no matter your viewing preference, you're covered!

Beyond the Scare Floor: Disney's Big Play for Future Sports

This continued investment in animated alt-casts isn't just about one fun game; it's a strategic move by Disney and ESPN to shape the future of sports broadcasting. As Sander J. Schouten, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Beyond Sports, puts it, their mission is "to innovate how fans experience sports." He's even stated that if you "get them before they turn 14, you have a chance to get them for life," highlighting the goal of attracting and retaining younger audiences in an era where youth engagement with traditional sports is a growing concern.

The expanded partnership with Sony's Beyond Sports through 2027 shows Disney's long-term commitment. This deal isn't just for NFL games; it will also include new animated alt-casts for the NBA, NHL, and, excitingly, the WNBA – marking the first animated broadcast for professional women's sports! While specific dates and IPs for these future broadcasts haven't been announced, it signals a broad vision for immersive, tech-driven content across multiple major leagues.

These productions, while resource-intensive (The Simpsons Funday Football took nearly a year to produce!), are seen as valuable tools for storytelling and fan engagement. While public viewership data for streaming alt-casts can be hard to come by, the fact that Toy Story Funday Football was the "biggest live event to date on Disney+" based on peak concurrency, and the consistent expansion of the program, indicates its success within Disney's ecosystem. It's clear that this blend of sports and beloved intellectual property is here to stay, creating new, shareable moments for fans worldwide.

Why Monsters Funday Football is a Must-Watch for Everyone

Whether you're a die-hard Eagles or Chargers fan, a Pixar enthusiast, a parent looking for family-friendly entertainment, or just curious about cutting-edge broadcast technology, "Monsters Funday Football" offers something truly unique. It’s a perfect example of how innovation can transform a traditional viewing experience into something fresh, engaging, and incredibly fun.

Imagine Mike Wazowski making a sideline dash, Sulley rumbling for a tackle, or Roz delivering a quirky reporter update – all while real NFL plays are unfolding. The combination of familiar characters, top-tier professional football, and groundbreaking animation creates an unparalleled immersive world. It's more than just watching a game; it's stepping into a vibrant narrative where every play helps fill those Cheer Canisters. So gather your family, grab your snacks, and get ready for a monstrously good time this December 8th. You won't want to miss this unique chapter in sports and animation history!

FAQ: Your Guide to Monsters Funday Football When is Monsters Funday Football? The special animated broadcast of Monsters Funday Football will air on Monday, December 8, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET. Which NFL teams are playing in the Monsters Funday Football game? This year's game features a Week 14 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers. Where can I watch Monsters Funday Football? You have plenty of options! It will be televised on ESPN2, Disney Channel, and Disney XD. You can also stream it on Disney+, the ESPN App, and NFL+ (for mobile devices). It will also be available internationally on various ESPN/Disney+ platforms. What's new or special about this year's Monsters Funday Football broadcast? This is the first time the "Funday Football" concept is using the world of Pixar's Monsters, Inc. The broadcast will feature original voice actors Billy Crystal (Mike) and John Goodman (Sulley) with prerecorded lines, along with Bob Peterson (Roz) as the sideline reporter. The game takes place on a "Cheer Floor" within the Monsters, Inc. factory, with players competing for "Cheer Canisters." Plus, for the first time, it's widely available on linear TV channels like Disney Channel and Disney XD, in addition to streaming platforms. Sources