Me And My Monster (2005 adult animated movie)

Me and My Monster is a 2005 film developed and produced by Spark Entertainment and published by Universal Pictures. The film follows Steve (Mark Wahlberg), a man struggling with his life, who accidentally unleashes a friendly monster (Bobcat Goldthwait) from a chest in his attic. Starting development in 1996, the film went through several rewrites, originally intended to be a fully-animated film aimed at children. Through the years, the film became more mature, and was changed into a live-action animated film.

Plot
Steve (played by Mark Wahlberg) is a middle aged man, struggling with a dead-end job, a short tempered landlord (J.K. Simmons), and the constant lack of a significant other. After finally gathering the funds to get his own home, Steve begins to unpack from his attic and finds a chest. When he opens it, a portal opens, and out comes Monster (Bobcat Goldthwait), a friendly, bubbly creature from "Happy-Land". In an attempt to bring Steve there, Monster realizes that he cannot open the portal again. So, Steve shows him to Earth, where the creature is amazed by the "mundane life", according to Steve.

Soon, they find a source to return to Happy-Land known as Happy Pills, which bear odd resemblances to drugs. But when they arrive, they find that the land is not the same, and that a new creature, Gralahan (Jim Cummings], had overthrown the Monster King.

Development
In 1991, Spark made a deal with Universal to produce some animated films for them; in 1995, the concept for a film about a friendly monster was developed. After presentations and pitches, the film was greenlit in September 1996. The script for the previous iteration bared similarities, but characters were rationalized more to aim to the target audience. However, test audiences were not reacting positively to draft screenings, and the budget for the film was beginning to get high. Thus, Me and My Monster was shelved in 1997.

In October 1999, the movie was brought back to be reworked. The concept of the movie as a live-action animated film appealed to the studios, so the animation was now shifted to the new style. But, test audiences and critics did not take the film to their liking, with most praising the animation, but believing it was "just another kids film." From the audience reactions, the Spark team was motivated to attempt a new idea, and developed the movie into a more adult version of itself, which went through as the final product.