Monsters University, the prequel to the highly enjoyable, sweet, and funny Monsters, Inc., may not have lived up to the first’s magic, but was certainly a cute and funny film. In fact if I had to describe this movie in three words it would be “cute and funny”. This time around Monsters U’s role of protagonist is given to Mike Wazowski (played by the ever funny Billy Crystal), with James “Sully” Sullivan (played by John “I've been in nearly every movie this decade” Goodman) taking the role as the deuteragonist instead. The plot is set in a 70sish past where Mike has been accepted into Monsters University where he is majoring to be a scarer with the hopes of working at Monsters Incorporated. He succeeds in doing well until an incident with the then arrogant, jock-like Sully causes then both to be kicked out of the program. In a last ditch effort to recover his dreams, Mike makes a bet with the dean of Monsters U that if he, Sully, and the Oozma Kappa fraternity can win the Scare Games (a competition aimed to see which housing is the scariest on campus) that she will reinstate the whole group back into the scare program.
So onto the funny stuff. Surprisingly, in terms of using the whole “college experience plus monsters” gag there weren't too many jokes that came from this (despite Monsters University being centered around it). Considering the film is a G rated kid’s film however, and I sort of expected the writers not to go very far with college related jokes (too many jokes could be seen as raunchy or mature). They probably had to pull back on some jokes so as to only have cleaner ones (which removes a lot of potential comedy gold). They were however, able to pull off some good college themed jokes once in a while; like when the tour guide ambassador tells the incoming freshmen that the university’s food is the best just as we see the cafeteria worker straight up put garbage on the buffet for them to eat. I will also give credit that they give a pretty vivid example of what life at a university is like without the more adult themes present.
The other non-college themed jokes throughout the film were also quite humorous. The new cast of Oozma Kappa monsters added to the film are a delight for the comedy; adding some great jokes and puns that had me laughing (such as when they initiate Mike and Sully into the fraternity). But by far the best gags came from one of the frat member’s mom, whose every appearance brought a laugh from me. I also enjoyed the surprise when Mike first meets his new roommate, (needless to say it was a humorous event).
I cannot finish this review without mentioning the other major plus of this film: its adorableness. And I don’t mean “feel like I’m going to puke” adorable, but that perfect level where even the sternest adults can go “awww, that’s so sweet!” By far Oozma Kappa member Squishy was the cutest thing in the entire film. There’s this one scene, where Squishy is dancing and tries to get a grumpy, agitated Sully out on the dance floor. At first Sully just shakes his head in annoyance at Squishy’s goofy dancing, but eventually Sully amusingly concedes after a lovable Squishy pretends to pull him with an invisible rope. This scene is both adorable and entirely enjoyable, being quite possibly one of my favorite scenes in the film.
Now, while I do believe Monster’s University is a good film, it is not in my opinion a great one, or more specifically, it’s unable to be a great one. The film’s plot and overall moral values were already dealt with in Monsters, Inc., leading this film to scamper around so as to not spoil/repeat anything from the previous one. As such the plot never is able to fully cast off on its own; leaving a mediocre tale with an underwhelming layout. However the film is still a delightful comedy; with some adorable scenes and some beautiful animation (the scene on the lake was gorgeous). It may not be as great as the first, but Monsters University definitely has its own merits and tricks to keep you entertained enough the whole way through.
{On a side note; once again the main animated film is overtaken by its animated short The Blue Umbrella (the first time I saw this was with Paperman before the animated film Wreck-It Ralph). The short six minute tale about a living blue umbrella falling in love with a red one uses beautiful photo-realistic imagery and a very soft musical score that beautifully complements it. The Blue Umbrella is a wonderful delight to watch, as I found myself transfixed by the beauty, harmony and atmosphere put into such a simple story. I wasn't the only one however, as many of the young children in the film seemed to almost hush up and watch despite the short’s quiet, almost mature feeling. Just goes to show that kids are do not always need fast motion cartoons for them to be quiet; but that they instead need to just see something different once in a while. These unique shorts at the beginning are always a double plus; as they can both greatly entertain the adults, and allow the kids to get a brand new perspective on something they perhaps never seen before.}
So onto the funny stuff. Surprisingly, in terms of using the whole “college experience plus monsters” gag there weren't too many jokes that came from this (despite Monsters University being centered around it). Considering the film is a G rated kid’s film however, and I sort of expected the writers not to go very far with college related jokes (too many jokes could be seen as raunchy or mature). They probably had to pull back on some jokes so as to only have cleaner ones (which removes a lot of potential comedy gold). They were however, able to pull off some good college themed jokes once in a while; like when the tour guide ambassador tells the incoming freshmen that the university’s food is the best just as we see the cafeteria worker straight up put garbage on the buffet for them to eat. I will also give credit that they give a pretty vivid example of what life at a university is like without the more adult themes present.
The other non-college themed jokes throughout the film were also quite humorous. The new cast of Oozma Kappa monsters added to the film are a delight for the comedy; adding some great jokes and puns that had me laughing (such as when they initiate Mike and Sully into the fraternity). But by far the best gags came from one of the frat member’s mom, whose every appearance brought a laugh from me. I also enjoyed the surprise when Mike first meets his new roommate, (needless to say it was a humorous event).
I cannot finish this review without mentioning the other major plus of this film: its adorableness. And I don’t mean “feel like I’m going to puke” adorable, but that perfect level where even the sternest adults can go “awww, that’s so sweet!” By far Oozma Kappa member Squishy was the cutest thing in the entire film. There’s this one scene, where Squishy is dancing and tries to get a grumpy, agitated Sully out on the dance floor. At first Sully just shakes his head in annoyance at Squishy’s goofy dancing, but eventually Sully amusingly concedes after a lovable Squishy pretends to pull him with an invisible rope. This scene is both adorable and entirely enjoyable, being quite possibly one of my favorite scenes in the film.
Now, while I do believe Monster’s University is a good film, it is not in my opinion a great one, or more specifically, it’s unable to be a great one. The film’s plot and overall moral values were already dealt with in Monsters, Inc., leading this film to scamper around so as to not spoil/repeat anything from the previous one. As such the plot never is able to fully cast off on its own; leaving a mediocre tale with an underwhelming layout. However the film is still a delightful comedy; with some adorable scenes and some beautiful animation (the scene on the lake was gorgeous). It may not be as great as the first, but Monsters University definitely has its own merits and tricks to keep you entertained enough the whole way through.
{On a side note; once again the main animated film is overtaken by its animated short The Blue Umbrella (the first time I saw this was with Paperman before the animated film Wreck-It Ralph). The short six minute tale about a living blue umbrella falling in love with a red one uses beautiful photo-realistic imagery and a very soft musical score that beautifully complements it. The Blue Umbrella is a wonderful delight to watch, as I found myself transfixed by the beauty, harmony and atmosphere put into such a simple story. I wasn't the only one however, as many of the young children in the film seemed to almost hush up and watch despite the short’s quiet, almost mature feeling. Just goes to show that kids are do not always need fast motion cartoons for them to be quiet; but that they instead need to just see something different once in a while. These unique shorts at the beginning are always a double plus; as they can both greatly entertain the adults, and allow the kids to get a brand new perspective on something they perhaps never seen before.}
