Pixar returned to the Monster World in 2013 to tell the origin story of Mike and Sully when they first met in college. The general public seemed split on whether this movie was another Pixar home run or a complete disaster. Instead of Pete Doctor, this movie was helmed by newcomer director Dan Scanlon. I remembered loving this movie when I first saw it in theaters as a teenager. This movie may not reach the lofty standards set by some of Pixar's most beloved classics, but it still turned out to be a pretty good offering with excellent worldbuilding and a great message.
Mike Wasowski (Billy Crystal) has always dreamed of being a scarer, even if, despite that, many Monsters around him consider him too cute and tiny to be one. Later he gets his chance to prove himself when he enrolls at Monsters University in the scaring program. There, he meets Sully (John Goodman), a slacker and a natural-born scarer who gets by just by him being related to scarers who came before him. On the day of the final exam, Mike and Sully mess up while out-besting each other and get kicked out of the scaring program by Dean Hardscrabble (Dame Helen Mirren). All seems hopeless until Mike wagers with Hardscrabble that if he can win in a competition called the scare games, the dean will let him and his fraternity team into the scare program. This catches the attention of Sully, and he joins Mike's fraternity team Ozma Kappa despite his initial reluctance. The only downside outside of Mike and Sully's arrogance towards each other is that the Ozma Kappa team does not know anything about scarring. It's up to Mike to take charge with his knowledge of scarring and lead their fraternity team to victory.
The story plays more for laughs than it does for sentiment, but that can be acceptable if the comedy is good. While the comedy will seem too simple for many audiences looking for more edgy humor, the wit is cute and enjoyable, and a lot of the jokes, while not all hit bullseyes, nevertheless work to get a chuckle out of kids and even adults. However, the movie knows to let the comedy take a back seat and tell a story with some weight and genuine emotions, even if they are not as strong as in the original movie. The world-building was one of the highlights of the original Monsters Inc. Monsters University picks up what the original movie started by delving into how the education for becoming a scarer works. On top of that, the messages are very timely and relate well to the college setting. This is especially true with the message near the very impressively crafted 3rd act. It hits hard and is so relevant and authentic that it brings the movie from a good film into a really good film. I’m not going to act like this film is better or even more groundbreaking than the original Monsters Inc, but this movie offers a swell welcome back into a world we’ve all fallen in love with.
The Characters are fun and likable; some return from the original Monsters Inc, and others are new and have new personas to spare. Mike and Sully are played by Billy Crystal and John Goodman. The roles are reversed, with Mike being the laidback wide-eyed dreamer and sully as the overconfident self-absorbed. These two are still entertaining even before they become best friends. The members of Ozma kappa are a lot of fun and purely adorable, with some well know Pixar voice actors making a comeback, such as Terry, played by David Foley, who played Flick in A Bug’s Life, and Squishy, played by Pete Sohn. He is most well known for playing Emile in Ratatouille. The big show stealer in the entire movie is Dean Hardscrabble, played by Helen Mirren, whose authoritarian personality is played out almost perfectly, and her dialogue is beyond comprehensible. These characters won’t replace what has already been done in Monsters Inc, but they are entertaining and enjoyable to follow.
The Animation is ironically more colorful and vibrant than the previous movie, which shows how far Pixar has come in making smooth and lively animation. The backgrounds feel very inviting and bright except when they need to be dark and uncertain, and the animation team handles those aspects very well. The college setting is very well managed, and the details, such as spikes on all the buildings, show that we are in a different college environment filled with monsters. Sully and Mike's character designs look much younger and pudgier, and the rest of the main characters, such as the ones from Ozma Kappa or Dean Hardscrabble, have so much life and creativity that show in their final designs. The only thing that could be a little better is some background character designs; some of them feel like copy/paste versions of other background characters. Regardless, this is stellar animation that I would not expect less from an animation juggernaut like Pixar.
The Music is composed by Randy Newman, who wrote the original music for Monsters Inc and pulls out all the stops to create an endlessly fun and passionately crafted score. This by far makes Newman's 7th collaboration with Pixar Animation studios, and his score takes much inspiration from college band tunes usually heard at College sports events which helps to evoke the nostalgic and fun feeling that comes from being a college student. There are also subtle callbacks to previous tracks from Monsters Inc, which are more than welcomed and bring back a level of nostalgia from remembering the first film.
Director Dan Scanlon created a worthy addition to the Monsters Inc universe. It doesn’t have the heart or sharp humor like its predecessor, but this prequel defies odds and turns itself into a well-crafted origin story of one of the best Pixar duos. It's not a homerun like some of the studio's most well-crafted pieces of art, but it's still a fun movie with a great message, colorful animation, and tons of personality. Some people don’t like this movie all that much. While I can concur this isn’t Pixar at their greatest, this is still a pretty good effort that anyone at any age can enjoy and get something out of.
(Final Grade: B+)