Review: Monsters University

Here’s the story of how monsters and eventual best buds Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and Sully (voiced by John Goodman) first met. They are freshmen at Monsters University, and it’s actually hate at first sight as obnoxious second generation ‘scarer’ Sully and wannabe scarer Mike (whom no one finds remotely scary no matter how hard he tries) both manage to flunk the scaring program. Well, actually they are kicked out of it by the disdainful Dean Hardscrabble (voiced by Dame Helen Mirren) when their rivalry causes mayhem. But they have one chance to get their scholastic scarer ambitions back on track by joining a fraternity and entering (and winning) the Scare Games. Initially reluctant to work together, Mike and Sully end up forced to team up and join a ragtag (to put it mildly) group of inept would-be scarers (sorry, ran out of euphemisms). If they lose, the entire team will be expelled. Steve Buscemi provides the voice of Randall Boggs, Mike’s college roommate, who is frankly a bit of a slimeball.

 

The original “Monsters Inc.” is my favourite of the Pixar animated films, both for its humour and beautiful, textured animation. I’m happy to report that this 2013 prequel from director Dan Scanlon (a former animator in his first full-length directorial gig), and his co-writers Robert L. Baird and Daniel Gerson. The animation is once again very pretty and nicely textured right off the bat. Maybe not on the level of “Rango”, but still the animation looks so textured you’d swear it was some kind of hi-tech stop-motion. I mean, just look at Mike’s cap, or Sully’s fur. You feel like you could reach out and touch it. And then you hurt yourself trying to reach through the TV screen and you feel like a tool. I’m not speaking from personal experience, though.

 

The film definitely brings the laughs, too, whether it’s the hilarious running gag involving the snail/slug-like creature who is late for class because he’s so damn slow, or the hilarious revelation of a nerdy frat house that is really a student’s mother’s house. They have to do their initiation with his mother loudly doing the washing in the background. Funny stuff.

 

I just love the idea behind these films. Think about it: By turning scary monsters under children’s beds into cuddly and misunderstood creatures, you’re making them not scary anymore and you’re teaching kids not to be scared…and selling movie tickets and merchandise while you’re at it. Genius.

 

I also think the voice casting of John Goodman and Billy Crystal is perfect, as anyone who knows what they look like in real-life knows that their sizes kinda match the characters, too. New addition Dame Helen Mirren, meanwhile, is spot-on if you ask me, though Steve Buscemi’s talents are a bit underused here.

 

This is a highly entertaining and never boring prequel, quite underrated actually. So long as you’re not expecting laughs in every single scene, you should have a good time with this one. I really wouldn’t mind a third adventure for these characters, I’ve come to really like them.

 

Rating: B-