Pixar’s Monsters University is the sequel/prequel to Monsters, Inc. (made after Monsters, Inc., but taking place before the events in Monsters, Inc.). The film follows the story of Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) as he sets off to college in hopes of graduating with a degree in scaring.
Now, I don’t believe it’s a secret that Pixar’s latest films have not exactly been the impeccable works we’ve grown accustomed to from the pioneering studio that brought us Up, Wall-e, and the Toy Story franchise. With a resume like that, one would expect pure gold every time they walked into a theater. However, Monsters University tends to follow in line with the likes of Cars 2 as opposed to Toy Story 2. Sadly, the mark has been missed in one of the most anticipated movie franchise returns in recent years.
Don’t misunderstand me: Monsters University is not a bad film. It develops a plot, builds new and old characters and gives great graphics and animation to those characters, but that is one of the bigger problems – it does just that.
Perhaps I have been spoiled by Pixar’s previous endeavors and come to expect too much from their genius, or perhaps the studio has hit a snag in their current output. Monsters University was essentially a typical college movie dressed in Pixar clothes. The film felt as if it was presented to children with characters we either already knew or ones that aren’t memorable enough to care about.
The biggest problem I had with the latest Pixar movie was that it lacked so much of the studio’s originality and freshness. I actually felt like I was watching a replay of an already seen movie. Everything that made Monsters, Inc. refreshing and new was laid to waste here in a two-hour sea of familiarity.
The story was so basic, and it left little room for any sort of pathos. What I mean is that very quickly in the movie I realized, “I know how this ends. They go to work at Monsters, Inc.,” which would have been fine except for that it doesn’t really show the process of getting there. Monsters University covers about one year of the schooling for Mike and Sully. Since we know what happens, the ending feels forced and trite with no real dilemma involved.
Also, if one goes to this movie expecting to see a story equally dominated by main characters Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman), you will be disappointed if you’re a Sully fan. Monsters University is Mike Wazowski’s story. Sully is an influential part of Mike’s narrative, but the film relies on the green monster to drive its plot. I found this disappointing, seeing how well Monsters, Inc. balanced things between the two.
I will say that Pixar does some things flawlessly not matter what, the first of which being their animation. Textures, lights and characters all move, look, and feel exactly correct. Minor spoiler here, but there’s a scene towards the end of the movie in the human world that looks unbelievable. Pixar continues to advance technology with their films it seems.
Outside of the pristine animation, Pixar’s vocal casts are always very well chosen. Outside of Crystal and Goodman, a few of the supporting characters are Steve Buscemi’s Randall Boggs, Helen Mirren’s Dean Hardscrabble, Nathan Fillion’s Johnny Worthington, Charlie Day’s Art and Pixar animator Peter Sohn’s Scott “Squishy” Squibbles. All of these actors deliver spectacular voice acting.
What I do urge viewers to keep in mind is that I’m not the demographic this movie was made for (a 23-year-old single male). This is a children’s movie, and according to children (I ask some on the way out of the theater), it is a great one. But, I just find myself a little disappointed knowing this studio can make films that appeal to all audiences on such emotional levels (I mean, the first 10 minutes of Up… beautiful).
Monsters University’s familiar story, lack of memorable characters and drought of real dilemma keep it from joining the high-ranking films in the studio’s catalog. But, the astute casting, sharp animation and family-friendly atmosphere make it a watchable feat. I’m going to give this movie a “C,” partly because I expect much more from Pixar, but mostly because the film is just plain average.