Movie Review: Monsters University (2013)

Monsters University is the prequel to 2001’s hit Pixar animation, Monsters Inc, which introduced us to Monstropolis, a city powered by the nightmare screams of human children, and the misadventures of 2 monster buddies, James “Sulley” P Sullivan (John Goodman) and Michael “Mike” Wazowski (Billy Crystal), who had the arduous task of returning a human child, Boo, back to her bedroom without being discovered by the authorities. It was a tale about friendship, the qualities of being different, and of finding alternative solutions to problems.

In this new Monsters movie, we are treated to a tale about how Sulley and Mike met, and how their Chameleon-like nemesis, Randall, came to detest them. Monster University’s storyline follows the tradition of any American college movie genre except without the grotesque humour and sexual jokes, in order meet Pixar’s family oriented rating. The stereotypical characters and scenes are there – the jocks, the popular girls, the drama society, the fraternities, the goths, the geeks, the mentally challenged kids, the parties, and a contest that the protagonists have to compete in for the prize of honor and a bet. There is nothing we have not seen before. The animation could not have been better. The zany supporting characters are there to love and hate, and they are given enough screen time to entertain.

The script is great and jokes are delivered well, especially with industry comedic behemoths, Goodman and Crystal. The very talented, Helen Mirren plays the imperious Dean Hardscrabble perfectly as the authoritative figure of the university and serves as the main antagonist.

Pixar delivers yet another wonderful animated movie fit for adults and young children to lose themselves in the world of make believe for 110 minutes excluding the bonus short animation, The Blue Umbrella, which warms up the audiences before the feature. Monsters University isn’t laugh-out-loud as most comedies and probably will not reach the level of awesomeness as Monsters Inc, but the story is still touching and very fun to watch. The pacing is great and the feel good positive messages are delivered succinctly.

Monsters University enrolls in Malaysian cinemas, 20 June 2013.

Synopsis
Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.