Dir. Dan Scanlon
104 Minutes
Rated G
Watch Trailer
As of late Pixar's critical scorecard has been disappointingly low, with its last two movies, Cars 2 and Brave, being obvious low points in the company's filmography. With so much competition in the animation marketplace, and the recent merge between Disney and Pixar, some people believe the hit-making mega-studio could be on the decline. As they announce more and more sequels, which is no doubt a move to make a bigger profit in merchandising, that amazing string of original films from Ratatouille to Up seems like an unrepeatable achievement. But of all their properties, Monsters Inc has one of the biggest, untapped worlds to delve into. Monsters University, despite not having that factor of originality, is the Monsters prequel you didn't know you wanted.
Mike, the little one-eyed green dude, has wanted to be a scarer since his younger days (as we find out through a brilliant first scene that immediately lets you know the film is going to work), and his dream school is Monsters University. Once enrolled, he is ridiculed for not being scary enough, while Sully, son of a legendary scarer, can coast by the class on his looks alone. The two must ultimately work together during the annual Scare Games however, with the lamest fraternity on campus no less, and we get to see their budding friendship. Although the majority of the plot is a typical Revenge of the Nerds underdog story, there are a lot of genuinely funny and heartfelt moments that earn that relationship by the end. The "Inc" world of doors and scream canisters is set on the back burner in place of this very vibrant monster-ified college setting, where there are so many gags and jokes right after another it never really drags. They just hit the tone completely right with this one, and while I wouldn't place it with the upper-tier Pixar films, I'd put it right in the middle, maybe right below Toy Story 2.
The character design in this film, as they are in most Pixar films, is so clever and creative. Every character is unique and oozes with personality (sometimes literally). Everybody, from the ominous headmaster who looks like a dragon and a giant caterpillar had a baby, to the one-note side characters, look really spectacular, and even though the films may have dipped in quality, the animation keeps getting better and better (Merida's hair in Brave is kind of the best part of the movie). I'm sure the Pixar research team scouted tons of colleges around the country, because they definitely got all the little details right. Being in college now, some of the gags really hit home (one sequence where Mike walks past all the clubs on campus was hilariously irreverent). The movie maintains this chirpy college feel for most of the film, and takes a slight detour for the dark side in the final act, but I think the world they created in many ways outshines the actual story.
Being that it's a prequel, it's tough to not be predictable, but I think even non-fans of the original will enjoy Monsters University. Other than the concept of the scream-door, you're not expected to know any other future events, though it does enrich your experience. In terms of prequels it was right up there with the best, but in terms of Pixar it was a return to high quality, just not that WALL-E or Up level of brilliance. It's a solid flick, but it takes the cliched framework of a college movie and plays out how you think it would. At least until the third act which completely blindsided me. The moral is also one that turns out to be slightly controversial, but the main focus of the story is Mike learning how to follow his dreams, and knowing how to work together. This definitely does not feel like a cash-in; Pixar returned to the Monsters universe with love and delivered a great, though predictable, piece of entertainment.
Rating: B
Bonus - Related Internet Video
Here's a little behind-the-scenes video for y'all.
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