Monsters University

I adored Monsters Inc, it was one of those surprise movies you go into with no expectations and are blown away by. It took years for me to get round to this due to my endless watchlist but I'm so happy I can say that it's worth of the the franchise.

Charming, well written, full of laugh out loud moments and undeniably loyal to the original movie with tie-ins around every corner.

I especially liked Helen Mirrens character, part monster, part bat, part centipede? I like centipedes, I wanted to be an entomologist once upon a time, obsessed over bugs, learnt all about them then learnt about these things called university, qualifications and effort and thought against it. I'll leave entomology to those with motivation, you enjoy your bugs and I'll enjoy women, movies, video games and various other fun stuff.

I digress, Monsters University is a sweet heartfelt movie and makes me hope they make a final part to make a monsters trilogy. Maybe touching upon certain events that happened in this as opposed to it's sequel.

Sadly I don't see this happening, I think we have more likelihood of a Princess Bride 2, Brave 2 or a movie where Zac Efron doesn't play an arrogant douche who likes to take his shirt off.

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.

Having really enjoyed Monsters Inc when I was younger, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that there was going to be a prequel released.

It was interesting to see how all the characters had met and what their friendships were like in the earlier days. The film has a good simple plot and is perfect for the whole family to enjoy as there is also some funny parts as well as heartwarming moments. It was great that Mike and Sulley (the two main characters) had the same voice-overs as the original film, this made it feel more authentic.

Overall I really enjoyed this film, but then who doesn't love a good Disney Pixar film?

8/10

Monsters University: the prequel that no one asked for, but everyone will watch. It would appear that Pixar has recently run out of original ideas and has resorted to making sequels and prequels of older more successful movies (Cars 2, Planes, Monsters U and Finding Dory). That being said, the film was actually pretty decent and was rather watchable and enjoyable. The film had multiple unexpected twists, which avoided having an all too predictable ending. It also explained many of the features of its sequel, like Randall's rivalry with Mike and Sully and the Abominable Snowman.

Reviving the voice talents of Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi and adding Helen Mirren and Charlie Day, amongst others, this film stayed within the universe that the original movie had created, however in comparison failed to live up to its predecessor's greatness.

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).