Reddit Is Cracking Up Over This Monsters, Inc. Pumpkin At Trader Joe's

It's monster season, and we're all in a mood. If you're not quite feeling it yet, a great place to feel fall feelings is at Trader Joe's, where the flowering mums, pumpkin displays, apple cider, and even a fall ice cream will get your mind right. Winning the season so far is the Hastings Ranch Trader Joe's store in Pasadena, California, where a stout-looking squash (we want to say a pumpkin, or could it be a butternut?) proved to be inspirational for an artistic team member. 

While some of us would have just seen an oddly-shaped vegetable, this TJ's employee saw Roz. You remember Roz, the slug-like character from the Pixar animated films Monsters, Inc. and Monsters University. Inspired by the squash's shape and the stem, which resembled the shape of Roz's 'coif, this team member got out their sharpies and filled in Roz's facial details, down to the chin mole, the red lipstick frown, her horned-rim glasses, and every last line and wrinkle.

The hilarious likeness was found and shared on Reddit by redditor u/vaenzu, who wrote, "The artists at my ... Trader Joe's leave me in stunned silence." And it really is amazing! They did a great job not only capturing Roz's appearance, but the overall grouchy vibe of the leader of the Child Detection Agency at Monsters, Inc. It's easy to imagine this squash warning Mike (the films' green, one-eyed protagonist): "I'm watching you, Wazowski. Always watching. Always," (via Disney).

As you might have guessed on visits to your local Trader Joe's, each location employs its own artist (via Food & Wine), whose main job is making all of those impossibly neat, hand-made signs you see throughout the stores. But instead of the usual paper or chalkboards, the artist at a TJ's in Pasadena was inspired by the seasonal squash.

Like Redditor u/vaenzu, commenters on the subreddit were pretty impressed with the likeness of Roz on a vegetable. 

"Oh my gourd! That's fantastic," wrote happyainer.

Other Monsters, Inc. fans on the subreddit left various comments. "I can hear 'MIKE WAZOOOWSKI' in my head," wrote shrimpfriedrice2. "This is the best thing I've ever seen," crazycarrotlady opined. "Tbh the Monsters Inc. movies are so underrated." "I would bet that they don't forget THEIR paperwork," said one commenter, in reference to one of Roz's more memorable lines from the films.

Some redditors heaped praise on talented and creative Trader Joe's crew members. "Only Trader Joe's can have a store clerk staff that talented," effused qbertproper. A former employee, aschelle, wrote, "The sign artists I worked with always had a great sense of humor. Love to see it."

We do, too. We're watching you, Pasadena TJ's. Always watching.