Monsters University
Directed by Dan Scanlon
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The creative minds at Pixar Animation Studios have come out with a prequel to the beloved movie Monsters Inc.—aptly called Monsters University.
When two enemies, Mike and Sully, are both kicked out of the scare program at university for failing to meet the requirements, they must team together and train a group of unlikely scarers to be the best in the business. If this band of misfits can win a scare competition—and if these two foes can work together—they will be let back into Monster University and live out their dreams of becoming top scarers.
Given Monsters University is a prequel to the well-known story of Monsters Inc., the Pixar team had little material to work with in terms of surprising their audience. This made the material slightly predictable, which meant the movie dragged, lasting far longer than necessary. This isn’t to say that the movie had no surprises at all, but simply that they were few and far between.
The humour in the movie is also geared more towards younger audiences and at times tries too hard to reach the older audience members with blatant student stereotypes.
We are greeted with our familiar characters and watch how their relationships, both good and bad, develop into what they are to become as workers at Monsters Incorporated. The audience also gets brief cameos and nods from very memorable characters from its original, while also meeting new characters who each bring their own set of interesting characteristics to the monster world.
The movie’s setting is the most well done aspect of the movie.
Monsters University‘s campus fits the stereotype of a typical prestigious school but adds its own flare, making it a school for monsters. The environment is also continuous with the original Monsters Inc., connecting the two in interesting ways for the audience to watch. The use of similar theme music from the original furthers these similarities.
While Monsters University falls short in comparison to the original, it still has its charms and quirks.
It has humourous, heartwarming, and bittersweet moments, just as any good family movie has. And while it doesn’t compare with Pixar’s previous works, it still manages to find brief moments of originality in adorable ways.
With morals of friendship, hard work and remaining true to who you are, this movie will leave you smiling up until the very end—especially if you’re looking to relive your childhood.
