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.

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.

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.

" Monsters University" is a new film from Pixar that is a prequel to their film "Monsters Inc.". In addition to the two main characters, a whole lot of new characters are introduced at the college that Mike and Sully attended. The plot involves Mike trying to become a 'scaring major'—something quite unthinkable since he isn't the least bit scary. There's a lot more to the film than this, but I won't spoil it by saying more about the plot.

My daughter was lucky enough to go to the debut of "Monsters University". She liked it but also felt the story was disappointing since it lacked original characters and the story reminded her of too many college films (like "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Animal House"). My wife saw it with me and she said that the film put her to sleep! This is all very odd, as I am usually the most difficult to please in the family when it comes to films—yet I thoroughly enjoyed the film and nearly gave it a 9. While I would agree it lacks originality, it did make me smile. It was a nice, gentle film—one that I didn't mind just watching without picking it apart (like I usually do). Much of this is because the CGI was simply gorgeous and It was a pleasure watching such a beautiful film…as well as such a nice and enjoyable film.

When Mike Wazowski is young, he visits the Monsters University in a tour of his primary school. A senior student gives his hat to Mike and he plans to become a scary monster.

Years later, Mike joins the Monsters University and on the arrival, he receives a flier of the Scare Games that will take place soon in the campus. Mike also befriends his roommate Randall. When the lazy student James P. "Sully" Sullivan, who belongs to a family of famous "scarers", breaks in his room, they start a competition in class. Their dispute ends when they accidentally break the pride and of joy of Dean Abigail Hardscrabble, a cylinder with her greatest achievement – a powerful scream of a boy. They both are expelled from the scare classes by Hardscrambble that tells that Sully is lazy and Mike is not scary, and they become enemies.

When Mike recalls the Scare Games, he sees his only chance to return to the scare course. He makes the application to participate, but he learns that he needs a fraternity. Mike joins the Oozma Kappa that is the only fraternity available with four losers, but he is informed that the fraternity needs to have six members. Sully offers to complete the team and Mike has no other alternative but accept Sully in his team. Then he bets with Hardscrambble that if he wins the games, she will accept them in the scare classes. Soon the game begins...

"Monsters University" is a pleasant story of friendship and a prequel of "Monsters Inc.". The plot is based on the American college life and despite the lack of any identification with my country, with fraternities and silly parties of American college students, the plot is funny and entertaining. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Universidade Monstros" ("Monsters University")