I've been very busy lately, so unfortunately I was not able to review this movie immediately after I saw it nearly two weekends ago, but this was a solid entry in Pixar's library which definitely deserves a review, no matter how late.
Now, I love most Pixar movies, and a lot of other animated feature films from their competitors as well, because they are able to speak to my inner child, but most of the time, Pixar stands head and shoulders above its competition because it is able to address the adults in the audience as well, on a variety of themes, from mortality (Toy Story 2 and 3), to the challenges of single parenthood (Finding Nemo) to middle age (The Incredibles). Monsters Inc., was, surprisingly, one of the less "mature" Pixar hits as it posed the interesting hypothetical question -- "What if the monsters in our closet were more afraid of us than we were of them?"-- which basically captivated anyone who had ever been a kid dreading the bogeyman in the closet or under the bed. It was also one of Pixar's bigger hits over time, as it gained an enormous amount of goodwill over the years on home video and cable TV. While the decision to make a prequel was not something I, personally, welcomed as much as I would the decision to make a sequel to The Incredibles, I was reasonably enthusiastic about watching it the new installment, Monsters University, just the same.
While Monsters, Inc. was primarily about bigtime "scarer" James "Sully" Sullivan (John Goodman) and the relationship he formed with a little human girl, as well as his partnership with Michael "Mike" Wazowski (Billy Crystal) MU focuses primarily on a young Mike and how he chases down his dream of becoming a top-class scarer someday. Of course, he does what anyone aspiring to be a professional would: he goes to college, in this case, the scaring school of renowned Monsters University. He faces several challenges there, such as bullies, headed by alpha-male Johnny J. Worthington III (Nathan Fillion), head of the Roar Omega Roar, a legendary but extremely strict Dean of the School of Scaring, Abigail Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), and, surprisingly, the scion of a renowned clan of scarers, the talented but lazy James P. Sullivan. He also finds himself befriending several misfits such as Squishy (Peter Sohn), Don (Joel Murray), Art (Charlie Day) and two headed monster Terri (Sean Hayes) and Terry (Dave Foley). Mike soon learns that, if he wants to pursue his dream of being a scarer, he will have to learn to work well with others, including those with whom he has seemingly insurmountable differences.
Even more than its predecessor, this film tackles decidedly adult subject matter as it takes a swipe at the formal education system in the United States, particularly among the so-called "Ivy League" schools. Basically the adult subtext for this particular film is that the top universities in the United States, as represented by Monsters University, do not truly recognize nor can they properly nurture certain types of genius. It's pretty daring subject matter for a Disney movie, especially one geared largely for schoolchildren, to whom Disney is undoubtedly selling cuddly stuffed versions of these characters. The delivery of the message is a little heavy-handed here, and not quite done with the panache of Pixar's earlier movies, but this movie is still a fine return to form for Pixar after the debacle of Cars 2 and the slightly wobbly narrative of lats year's Brave.
Of course, in terms of character design and visuals, Pixar is still very much at the top of its game. In addition to familiar characters like Mike, Sully, and Randall (Steve Buscemi) from the first film, director Dan Scanlon and his crew have introduced a number of interesting new character designs which effectively straddle the line between cute and creepy, though my personal favorite of the bunch, the stern Dean Hardscrabble, basically made my skin crawl while not looking altogether terrifying. The hallowed halls of academe are not quite as interesting as the ocean floor in Finding Nemo, or the exotic jungles of south America depicted in Up, but Pixar does great work here nonetheless.
All told, this was a prequel that was worth making, and worth watching.
4.5/5
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