The Age of Commercialism

Instant Favorite.

A Disappointing Continuation

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

We don't get a lot of prequels to animated movies. There are tons and tons of animated movies sequels out there and it's most likely that more sequels are coming, but prequels to animated movies are something you very rarely see. Now, we have one to "Monsters, Inc." known as "Monsters University". The film where we get to see Mike and Sully go to college, meet each other and how they ended up in the positions we know in the first movie. And in my opinion, I think it's pretty good. It may not be as good as say the "Toy Story" sequels or the first "Monsters" movie, but it's nowhere near as bad as "Cars 2" which is an automatic plus given to the movie. Why does it work you may ask? Well, let me tell you.Inn the world of Monstropolis, monsters not only have jobs as scarers in power plants, but also have colleges were they can learn about scaring and one of them is the famed Monsters University. A young Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) has been waiting all his life to go to the college in hopes of becoming one of the best scarer ever. While there he even bumps into his roommate a young and nerdy Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi) and even the laid back James P. Sullivan or Suley for short (John Goodman). However, contrary to what you may think, Mike really hates Sulley's laid back attitude as he doesn't study, do his homework and even fails to bring a pencil to his first day of class. However things get messy for the two when they are kicked out of the scare program by the head of the scarer program, Dean Abigail Hardscrabble (Hellen Mirren) after they accidentally destroy a prized trophy of hers while in a fight. After being unsatisfied with the can program, Mike and Sulley then enter the scarer games with a misfit team called Oozma Kampa in hopes to get back into the scare program if they win or face expulsion if they fail. So can they help pull together the misfit team while sorting out their differences? Well, I won't say because I'll let you guys see the film for yourself to help you decide.The film's story may not be as fresh or as funny as the original "Monsters, Inc" was, but as a prequel to a fun film, I think it was pretty good. I liked seeing Mike and Sulley start off as enemies at the beginning and see them mature into the characters we know now in the first film. Not only that, I will also admit that the ending which I'm not going to spoil kind of took me by surprise and was actually quite original for Pixar quality. As for the animation, I can easily say it's once again great. I really looked seeing the characters designs improve after twelve years and seeing the colorful landscapes once again brought to life in grand and glorious detail. Even the characters were quite refreshingly different compared to the originals. I really like seeing both Mike and Sulley kind of flip roles in a way with Mike being more on top of things and Sulley being more laid back compared to the original. Even Randall was pretty funny to see in a different way with him being more geeky and shy compared to his sly and pretty nasty personality in the original. As for the new character, there also a lot of fun. I like the misfit Oozma Kampa team whom I won't talk about to much as I think you should see their personalities themselves and really liked how slightly menacing Dean Hardscrabble who was played fantastically by Hellen Mirren with her performance being top notch like always. As far as flaws, I think it was a little to predictable at times and maybe a little too rushed. The film should have slowed down scenes touch a tad so we could get more invested in some moments of the film. I think that's about it though."Monsters University" may not be as great as the first film, but as a good prequel, I think it works. It has some good story elements, great animation and some funny characters to boast which is about enough to give a good recommendation to. It's an animated prequel that actually surprisingly works, and I can happily say that I have plans for watching it in the near future.

The question you have to ask yourself is "did we need a prequel to 'Monsters Inc'?". In my opinion no, but here we are anyway. Detailing how Mike and Sully met at university, they participate in the "Scare Games" in order to be taken forward in the "Scare Program". Not all is plain sailing though, Mike wishes to be a "Scarer" but ultimately is too cute for the job. It's a story about proving people wrong, proving yourself right and coming to terms with the realisation that dreams may not be necessarily fulfilled. Let's start with the good. John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprise their unique voice acting roles again, they are simply irreplaceable. The animation was vibrant, colourful and included a glossy aftereffect to enhance the youth of our characters. The story was engaging, although slightly unfocused, and moves along at a consistent pace. The inclusion of past characters will put a smile on faces albeit felt occasionally forced for the sake of fan service to the original. There is one scene that blew me away and that was the conversation between Mike and Sully in the human world by the lake. Monochrome filter, moody atmosphere, tense discussion...I felt it. The overwhelming realisation that Mike isn't scary, the script could've milked that scene into melodrama but instead it was kept light yet powerful. Maybe it's just me, I like me a good dark scene in a child-friendly animation. The problem with this film lies with its characters. What made 'Monsters Inc' so captivating was the dialogue between just two characters. In this we have far too many supporting monsters thrown into the fray which blurs the focus from Mike and Sully, the latter being sidelined to a supporting role. This story is purely focused on Mike, personally I think that was the wrong decision. It should've been balanced. There really was no antagonist, any threat or danger levels were completely omitted. It's a fine prequel, just feels unnecessary.

This movie really makes me laugh,I've never been into the college films,they usually leave me wanting but this really is an exception. The film is bursting with color and lots of amusing sight gags,the monster designs are mouth watering eye candy,every bright color,shape and texture is here,amazingly rendered,a true cartoon reality that's a joy to view. But best of all is a story with unexpected conclusions,which shows that really wanting something does not mean you will get it as you imagined,there are other ways to get your dreams. Endlessly entertaining,one of my favorite Pixar movies.

Dan Scanlon directs Pixar's sequel to MONSTERS, INC. That cuddly one-eyed monster Mike Wazowki (Billy Crystal) and his eccentric pal James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) discuss their underdog fraternity days at college. The mismatched combo started off as bitter rivals, but slowly become best buds in an inseparable friendship. This is a high quality animated romp with top notch cinematography. Maybe fewer belly laughs than the original, but absolutely nothing objectionable, albeit the youngest of viewers might be scared by some of the images. Nonetheless, even grandparents can find enough to enjoy. How can you find time to be scared, when you're laughing!Crystal and Goodman get help with other talented voices like: Steve Buscemi, Bobby Moynihan, Dave Foley, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Bonnie Hunt and Charlie Day.