The latest Pixar film, Monsters University released three days ago and has made $137 million to date. I named it one of my anticipated films of 2013 and I just saw it two nights ago.
First things first, with every Pixar movie, there is also a Pixar short (a tradition of theirs that has been going on since the very beginning). The short that accompanied Monsters University was called The Blue Umbrella and was one of the cutest things I've ever seen in my life. Technically speaking, it was also one of the most incredible. Over the course of it's five minutes running time (give or take), it had some of the most exquisite animation I've ever seen. I'd say, one of the better short films by Pixar.
Now about the movie itself. I'll admit, it was something of a let down, knowing that Pixar was doing another sequel. Cars 2, from a few years prior, was probably their worst film so, knowing that, I was worried that this movie would be a similar case.
I was wrong.
Monsters University is a near perfect film and I loved it. The two returning protagonists, Mike Wazowski and James "Sully" Sullivan are reprised by Billy Crystal and John Goodman, respectively. Those two actors are just as good as ever. You can never really go wrong with either of them and they do a great job in the roles. Another familiar face is Randal who goes by Randy in this film and is played by Steve Buscemi. He's good and is just as much a dick as he was in the first film but he's not actually involved in the main plot much and doesn't get a lot of screen time (not to say that's a good or bad thing).
Pixar's main appeal is generally in it's creativity and charm. The whole idea that monsters antagonize children because kid screams are the source of energy to power their world, is an amazingly clever idea and I love the way the whole thing is industrialized and made into a science. That's all still present in this prequel but it's an idea we've already been introduced to, so saying it's really original isn't really accurate.
The first scene shows Mike as a child touring Monsters Inc., the power plant from the first movie and has a run in with Jim from The Office, a scarer who inspires Mike to pursue scaring, which becomes his lifelong dream. Mike and Sully both attend a university in the hopes they will become scarers someday. Mike is a geek who gets every question right, aces every test and always has his nose in the books. Sully is a legacy, an obvious stoner, hangs out with the cool kids and doesn't try worth shit because he assumes his name means he can get everything handed to him. There's a very funny line where he first enters the class room on the first day and asks the kid next to him if he can borrow a pencil because he, "forgot all my stuff..."
The two end up hating each other and form a rivalry. It's all fun and games until the final rolls around and, suffice it to say, they both end up screwing the pooch big-time and get kicked out of class. Their only hope of redemption, is to win a big scaring event where teams of scarers compete against each other in order to determine who's the best of the best. Mike and Sully, besides having to work together with each other, also have to resort to teaming up with a frat called Oozma Kappa, aka, the losers.
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| That purple one looks like he belongs in Yo-Gabba-Gabba. |
Monsters University, isn't quite as charming as most of Pixar's other films, but what it lacks there, it makes up for in it's funny factor. The movie is absolutely hilarious and had everyone in the theatre laughing out loud multiple times with humor that appeals to both kids and adults. It's definitely one of Pixar's funnier movies.
This movie is also pretty funny in it's college life aspect. There's a scene where the cool frat throws a party and a careful eye would be able to catch the many "mysterious" red-Dixie cups littering the shots. A little joke none of the kids would get. There's even a whole .edu website Pixar made in order to make it seem more authentic.
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| http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/ |
All of the characters are likable and unique, including the "villains". While I do like the antagonists, I wish that they played a more active role, the movie sort of lacks a strong bad guy.
This movie does suffer somewhat from being predictable more than once. Yeah, it's a kid's movie but there were too many times where I could guess what was about to happen. In spite of that, the last scenes of the movie, not only had me at the peak of my interest but really threw me for a loop and I never could've predicted what had happened.
So, yeah, great movie that exceeded my expectations. Probably one of the better films this year.
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