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| Courtesy of Disney Pixar |
I’m
not sure a prequel to Pixar’s wonderful Monsters, Inc. (now 12 years old, making
me officially ancient) was necessary, but Monsters University manages to be
entertaining nevertheless. It successfully executes Revenge of the
Nerds-style campus hijinks on a kid-friendly level, while also conveying a
surprisingly honest message about the world that “special snowflakes” and their
parents need to hear. For me, that aspect alone is enough to justify the film’s
existence.
Prequels
are inherently tricky narratives, because they automatically eliminate any
suspense. Anyone who has seen the first installment knows that Mike Wazowski
(Billy Crystal) and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) become top
employees at Monsters, Inc., thus removing the emotional weight of watching the
duo worry that they’re not good enough to make it through their college’s scare
program.
Fortunately,
director Dan Scanlon (who co-wrote the screenplay with Robert L. Baird and
Daniel Gerson) keeps this in mind while telling the story. The film arrives at its
expected destination, but the characters take the unanticipated routes to get
there. The first big detour is the realization that Mike and Sulley haven’t
been lifelong friends. They meet as freshmen at Monsters University and they
flat-out hate each other. Mike’s overzealous study habits and theoretical
expertise immediately clash with Sulley’s natural abilities and unwarranted
arrogance.
The
rivals are forced to work together to avoid expulsion after a careless mistake
attracts the unforgiving attention of Dean Hardscrabble (a menacing Helen
Mirren). To retain their places in the scare program, Mike and Sulley agree to
become members of Oozma Kappa – the worst fraternity on campus – and compete in
the Scare Games. The result is the friendship-building, lesson-learning plot
you expect, until the story takes the previously mentioned sharp turn in the
final 20 minutes.
As
with all of Pixar’s output, the film is gorgeous to look at – plenty of vibrant
colors, imaginative creatures and 3D that enhances the viewing experience
instead of making it annoying. It also utilizes a stellar voice cast; in
addition to the endearing Crystal and Goodman, there are memorable performances
from Nathan Fillion, Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes and Joel Murray.
What’s
missing this time around is a truly compelling story. Monsters University
isn’t terrible, but it doesn’t live up to the studio’s impeccable (until
recently) standards. Go in expecting A Bug’s Life or Cars – rather than Up or WALL-E – and you’ll have an idea of where to set the quality
benchmark. Again, better than most animated flicks out there, just not up to the
high bar Pixar has set for itself. Probably not the fairest way to judge the
film, but I respect these filmmakers too much to be satisfied when they choose
to coast.
Monsters University is rated G.
Grade:
B-
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