Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Rating: ★★★½
It is a well-known fact that everybody loves Monsters, Inc. We’ve been waiting for a sequel for years. So as a tease, Disney Pixar decided to give us what we want… sort of.
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| The pitfalls of University include awful accommodation... |
Monsters University is a prequel, not a sequel, and although it doesn’t tell us what we want to know about Boo, it does allow us to see two of our favourite animated characters back on the big screen.
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| Mike is eager, Sulley isn't |
Monsters Universityis, of course, about a Monsters University. In the land where monsters are dependent on harvesting human screams to use as an energy source, a very young Mike Wazowski (Crystal) takes a visit to Monsters Inc. on a school trip and is so inspired by what he sees that he decides that he will one day become a ‘Scarer’- a monster who collects human children’s’ screams by scaring them.
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| Mike proves that hard work and determination can get you where you want to be... |
Years later, he is accepted into Monsters University, where he majors in Scaring, and meets the devious Randy (Buscemi) and arrogant Sulley (Goodman), both of whom he quickly dislikes.
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| Sulley is not the same character that we meet in the original movie... |
Sulley, whose father was an eminent Scarer, is lazy and relies on his family’s name to get by, whereas Mike is book smart and hardworking. The two quickly become rivals, and after flunking out after they fail their first assessment, Mike decides to enter into the annual Scare Games to prove that he is, in fact, scary.
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| Is Mike scary enough to succeed...? |
He is forced to join the Oozma Kappa fraternity, which is full of socially awkward monsters, and Sulley joins too to make up the numbers and so they can enter the competition.
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| Oozma Kappa are 'OK'! |
The rest of the film is mainly about the Scare Games- all of which are funny, inventive and exciting to watch. We also get to see Mike and Sulley becoming friends as Mike works and trains with the group of misfit monsters- Don (Murray), Terri and Terry (Hayes & Foley), Squishy (Sohn) and Art (Day)- as they all learn that working as part of a team is more rewarding than going solo.
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| The fraternity gets up to all kinds of mischief... |
Monsters University isn’t as good as Monsters, Inc. but it is still a thoroughly enjoyable and comic animation that has a whole lot of heart.
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| Squishy is a memorable addition to the movie. |
It is nice to see Mike as the protagonist- rather than Sulley- as his role from comic relief sidekick in the first movie to a fully developed character gives the film something extra. ‘Kid’ Mike is cute and you can’t help but feel for the loveable loser.
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| A young Mike dreams of one day working for Monsters Inc. |
Even though you might think you know how it will all end, Monsters University’s conclusion isn’t as predictable as you would expect, and quite a lot of the movie is downbeat as we follow an underdog who we know from the beginning (in some ways) won’t succeed. But the ending links very well to the original film in a unique and believable way.
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| One of the funniest moments is when Sulley is practicing being scary... |
As an aside, Monsters University has a short animation before it, called The Blue Umbrella, directed by Saschka Unseld. Not only does it look fantastic- as it uses photorealistic images- but like The Paperman it is powerfully tender and heartwarming, which leads well into the ‘A’ movie as the main feature is too.
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| Mike and Sulley sharing a more tender moment... |
Monsters University isn’t as funny (but it is still funny!) as its predecessor, but what it lacks in copious amounts of humour it makes up for in storytelling and adventure. The Scare Games really are the highlight of the film- especially the one set in the library- and in glorious Real D 3D they are absorbing and mesmerising to watch.
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| Mike and Sulley competing in the first of the Scare Games |
The tension building up to the final game is also very well managed- mainly because the intimidating Dean Hardscrabble (Mirren) makes a great antagonist for our heroes.
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| The creepy Dean is a great new character |
Monsters University is also very rich in its characters, and all of the Oozma Kappa fraternity are ‘OK’. The setting and story are very strong, and it makes sense as a prequel because not only do we get to see Mike and Sulley outside of Monsters Inc. we also get to see them taking part in some completely different thrills and spills.
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| Pulling pranks- all a part of University life... |
Monsters Universityis a great movie. It made me smile, it made me laugh, and it also made me feel a little emotional. It’s pure Disney Pixar escapism and, all in all, it’s a feel good summer film for all the family.
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