Monsters University

A prequel to one of Pixar's most beloved films, Monsters Inc. In all honesty, I wasn't looking forward to this one too much. A sequel would have been a better option. Like the Toy Story movies, it should take place a long while later, and Mike and Sully should meet back up with a teenage Boo or something. Boo was the soul of that movie, and, of course, in a prequel, Boo can't exist. Instead, we get the story of how Mike and Sully met in college. The story is made up of a ton of college movie clichés in the Monsters world. And it's fine. Not great, nothing really special, but it's very enjoyable and the animation is gorgeous. The last time I revisited Monsters Inc., the animation seemed a little primitive, but Pixar has more than perfected it now, and I loved seeing the wonderful monster designs. Steve Buscemi, the villain from the first film, is prominent in the cast again. Other famous cast members include Nathan Fillion, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Aubrey Plaza and Alfred Molina. The most memorable new character is Dean Hardscrabble, played by Helen Mirren. The design, kind of a centipede dragon, is extremely cool and actually pretty creepy.

The first Monsters Inc. came out when i was just 7 years old and immediately became one of my all time favourites from the day I saw it. With extremely high expectations in mind and excitement especially for Pixar's close attention to relevance (as I am actually at university now myself) I went to see the new one as soon as it came out.

The film is a prequel following closely to our much loved earlier Characters, Mike and later Sully as they present to us their lives prior to the first movie. As well as an adorable new cast of monsters which are equally lovable as the old ones.

To my delight, the film exceeded most if not all my earlier expectations. The plot is well written, funny and most of all extremely heart warming especially to long time fans like myself as well as those younger viewers that might not have even seen the first one.

The nostalgic element of the film is perhaps the most well written. Every twist and turn reveals a huge or tiny explanation to the events and habits of the characters that I previously saw in the first film. Questions I never even asked myself, like why Randall's eyes are so squinty or how Sully and Randall's rivalry originated.

Although i absolutely loved the movie, perhaps its because I've waited for 12 years but at some points it left me slightly unsatisfied and I'd have loved for some parts to be explained more thoroughly.

Regardless of my only criticism, the movie made me laugh, cried with tears of joy, almost actually cried and was both heart warming and action packed. What more could you ask for? I urge those fans of the first film as well as anyone that just wants to have a good time at the cinema to see it. It'll be well worth your time!

Monsters University is the prequel to Monsters inc., a wildly popular animation by Pixar. It's basically a college movie set in the monster world, but with a nice deviation from the standard.

The good. Still the same incredibly interesting world with all its colors, fantastic creatures, and quirks. Interesting story, especially for the twist. Great animation, as usual. Easily enjoyable by adults. Perfect ending. Excellent voice acting.

The bad. Lots of college movie, underdogs, and jocks versus nerds clichés.

The ugly. Nothing.

The result. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one too.

The cruddy trailer hardly filled me with hope for this belated prequel to Monsters, Inc., and the relatively laugh-free first thirty minutes did little to change my mind; however, once Mike and Sully and their Oozma Kappa fraternity brothers enter the Scare Games, the film really picks up and the laughs start to come thick and fast. By the time the end credits were rolling, Monsters University had given me lots of giggles and even a few genuine belly laughs and I'd completely altered my opinion: the oft-used 'under-dogs do good' plot may not be as fresh as the original, but overall I reckon the film is well worth watching.

Some of the best moments are clever one-liners and subtle fleeting visual gags which could go unseen, or over the head of younger viewers, but that gives the film repeat value; I hope to catch even more funny stuff the second time around after I proudly add the DVD to my Pixar collection.

A very respectable 8/10 (If there had been more funny moments in the first half-an-hour or so, this would have been right up there with Pixar's finest).

Pixar is the source of some of the most deep, thoughtful and meaningful CG films and have created a great name for themselves. Personally i love most of their films. I almost joined the naysayers prior to this films release before reminding myself that Pixar has never really let ME down. And as expected excellence reigned supreme. This is in my opinion a really good film. Perhaps not at the level of Up and Wall-E, but it is certainly not bad either.

Animation: A+ The animation is fantastic, then again what else can be expected from Pixar. Top quality CG that is detailed and yet so brilliantly original. Sully and Mike look fantastic as do all the other characters. And if you see the detail of the university, Mike's room and many other portions such as that in the human world, you will be flabbergasted by how amazing it looks. The cuteness of the characters is an added bonus. Pixar is one of those rare studios that pay the greatest attention to surroundings as well as every other aspect, making you want to take notice of everything from posters in the dorm, headlines in newspapers and the sheer workmanship of the great environments whether they are the university, the living room, the bedroom or any other setting.

Story: B+. OK i agree there were parts that had resemblance to Revenge of the Nerds and Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire and it got quite to close to situations in college movies of years past. Though the originality of the scare games and what they signify to Mike is really quite sweet and pretty original if you think about it. I like the youthful characters of Mike and Sully but the change in personality is way too drastic when comparing to how they turn out in Monsters Inc. Also they at some points feel like characters from similar movies and this tends to make the film feel tired. So it is best not to make comparisons if you want to have a good time.

You don't get your usual ending and the pretty true-to-life messages elevate it from being just ordinary. The reality of their situation and the hard life lessons that are thrust upon them give a picture of the pitfalls life gives us in real life and the effect it has on character. These are just some of the major, resounding themes. And yet even through it the positivity and depth still resonates. You will no doubt smile all through and have several genuine laugh out loud moments that add to this pretty great emotional mix.

Yes a college comedy does not need to be PG or R rated to be funny and this one succeeds in triumphing over other college movies. And as someone who understands and has been through what Mike's character faces in this movie, that added extra resonance and heart. A twist on the similar films, heart(as with all Pixar), depth, resounding mature themes, life as we know it, witty humor and smiles galore, what more could you ask for? There are some minor continuity errors between the prequel and the original but those are minor and the story more than makes up for it. All in all a good effort. Monsters Inc is a great film, and one of the absolute best from Pixar. Monsters U may not be at its level but it nevertheless a very good film.

Music: A. The score is good, really good. Though i felt so much similarity between it and the Toy Story trilogy as well as The Princess and the Frog. Then again they too were works by Randy Newman and those scores were great too. Perhaps it is just me but i also noted similar music to Up in this awesome film.

Overall: A great film that can be seen as a family, a group of friends or individually. A film that will be appreciated especially by college student. Pixar once again does a good job.

As a small note, look out for great references to Monsters Inc. It will add to the smiles.

8/10.