When Monsters University was announced, nearly every generation rejoiced. People who were kids twelve years ago when Monsters Inc. came out were excited to see their favorites come back. Today’s kids were excited for the creator of some of today’s favorites to produce another. Parents and grandparents were ecstatic to have another movie to add to the rotation of constants in the DVD player. Cinema buffs were interested to see what Pixar could come out with as its first prequel, as opposed to a sequel.
None of these people will be disappointed in Monsters University.
Monsters Inc. was a huge boost to Pixar’s stable of talents. They figured out new ways to realistically animate fur and cloth, a result of nearly 6 years of work between when the concept was developed to when the movie was released. With Monsters University, the techniques have been refined even further. The monsters and humans, as well as the scenery, take on such realistic looks that the viewers can at times forget that this is actually an animated film and not live action.
The main characters of the first movie Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) are back in this prequel. While audiences are familiar with Mike and Sulley’s best-friends-forever relationship, they didn’t start out that way. University is a tale about how the two overcame a rivalry to become inseparable, as well as be the monsters they truly are deep down inside.
When we arrive on campus with Mike’s wide-eyed and innocent self, we see how excited he is to do whatever it takes to be a scarer. Sulley, on the other hand, is a typical too-cool, show-off jerk who thinks all he needs to succeed is a solid roar and his dad’s legacy. The two butt heads from the first day of class on, with Sulley impressing everyone at first with his showy ways, while Mike quietly toils (and angrily simmers) in the books. The moviegoers get to see that Mike’s roommate was Randall (voiced by Steve Buscemi), the villain from the first movie.
At the end of the first semester, Mike and Sulley have a scare-off with each other during the important final exam and end up ruining the scare school’s Dean Hardscrabble’s (voiced by Helen Mirren) record breaking scream canister. As a result of the incident, the two are rebuffed by the Dean and told that Sulley is an embarrassment to his family and Mike is simply not scary. The young monsters are kicked out of the scare school and subjected to the less attractive canister development course of study.
Mike remembers the school’s Scare Games are coming up and goes to register, but finds he needs to be part of a fraternity’s group of six in order to enter. He makes a deal with the Dean that if his team wins, they all get re-admitted to the scare school. If they lose, he will leave M.U. forever.
This plot gives the director, Dan Scanlon, the opportunity to introduce new characters in the O.K. fraternity that Mike and Sulley join for the Games. We meet Squishy (Peter Sohn), “older student” Don (Joel Murray), two-headed Terri and Terry (Sean Hayes and Dave Foley, respectively), and Art (Charlie Day). The rest of the frat brothers provide a lot of comic relief, but the film is driven by the character development of Mike and Sulley.
Throughout the games, the O.K. team are bullied and overlooked by Johnny (Nathan Fillion), Chet (Bobby Moynihan), games hostess Claire Wheeler (Aubrey Plaza), and the rest of the Monsters University campus but refuse to give up. The film’s message about standing your ground even when the odds aren’t in your favor is perfect for its young target audience, and even throws in a good amount of jokes for the adult crowd.
The film is an excellent amalgamation of the best of all worlds and definitely something to take the whole family to. Everyone from Mom and Dad to sullen teens to little tykes will be able to enjoy this funny and sweet coming of age tale.
Monsters University is a Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures film, rated G for brief and mild spookiness. The running time is 110 minutes.
