★★★
When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they tend to go with one of
three things: remake something, reboot a franchise or make a sequel and/or
prequel. Seeing as the vast majority of films coming out these days fall into
one of those categories, Hollywood is surely coming up short on new ideas. I
tend to roll my eyes at things like that, especially the remakes and reboots.
Sequels and prequels I can understand a little bit. Most aren’t as good because
they try to surpass the original in everyway. That’s not a good way to approach
a sequel. If anyone knows how to second film in a series properly, its Pixar. “Monsters
University” is a perfect example of a prequel gone right.
In “Monsters University” – as it was in “Monsters Inc.” –
screams from children power the city. Monsters are employed by the power
company, Monsters Inc., to sneak into the bedrooms of kids in order to scare
the daylights out of them. The monsters responsible for doing this are called
scarers. Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) has dreamt all his like to be a scarer.
The day has finally arrived for him to start fulfilling his dream. Its his
first day as a college student at Monsters University.
His roommate is a creepy chameleon-like monster named
Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), who we all know was the primary antagonist from
the original film. Here, he’s just as nervous as Mike and trying desperately to
fit in and be one of the cool kids.
On the first day of class, Mike encounters James P. Sullivan
(John Goodman), a laid back student who thinks the success he’s going to
achieve has already been handed to him thanks to his family name. He’s here for
show and to party. His name even gets him into the coolest fraternity on
campus, Roar Omega Roar, led by Johnny Worthington (Nathan Fillion).
Mike and Sulley end up competing against each other for the
whole semester and their antics ultimately cost them passing grades on the
final exam of the semester, kicking them out of the program by the chilling
Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren). Determined to still be a scarer, Mike joins a
second rate fraternity – Oozma Kappa – in order to compete in the Scare Games.
Sulley joins too, much to Mike’s disapproval. Hardscrabble agrees to let them
back into the program if they win the Scare Games.
That’s quite a bit of plot for the first twenty minutes of
the film, but its incredibly engaging. You never feel lost, confused or – worst
of all – bored at any moment during the movie. Pixar’s story department has
always been able to cram a lot of layers into their films without seeming like
its too forced. They also know what type of film they’re making. Their films
are not just meant for kids. They have many elements that the kids like, but
the story is also deep enough that it can be identifiable with an older
audience.
What “Monsters University” does well to keep its older
audience’s attention is to put small homages everywhere that will remind of
some of the great college films out there. While there might not be a direct
reference to something like “Animal House”, there are elements that sort of
remind us of films like that. There might also be a few things here and there
that might remind you of your time in college, too. So many little things, even
in the background of the scene, can help conjure up those memories. You need to
be on the lookout because they’re everywhere.
Pixar has mastered the ability to create a very strong
supporting cast of characters. First there was “Toy Story” with two main
characters and a whole room full of secondary characters. The film would have
been nothing without each and every toy in the child’s bedroom. Then there was
“Finding Nemo” with the crazy fish trapped in the fish tank. Each character
helped make that feel like a “One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest” style metal
hospital.
The secondary characters that make up the Oozma Kappa
fraternity help bring “Monsters University” to that classic Pixar level of
characters. Middle-aged founder Don (Joel Murray), two headed monsters Terri
(Sean Hayes) and Terry (Dave Foley), loveable geek Squishy (Peter Sohn) and the
crazy Art (Charlie Day) make up the fraternity characters. They’re so well
written that it gives the film the additional humor to go along with the
natural humor that derived from the screenplay. And they’ll probably remind you
of someone you might have known at that time of your life.
“Monsters University” is entertaining enough for everyone to
enjoy. I don’t think it’s quite as good as “Monsters Inc.” but that was going
to be a tough film to follow. The idea for making it a prequel was a smart
idea. Mike and Sully were fun to watch in the original, but it had a definitive
ending. The only way to show us more of these two was to go back to their
youth.
Pixar won’t be breaking any new ground with this film like
the did with masterpieces such as “Up” or even “Toy Story 3.” Its not designed
to work on that same emotional level. But what it does provide is an enormously
entertaining way to spend a couple hours. Pixar continues to prove that they
are the standard bearer for animated filmmaking these days. They are one of the
very few production companies out there today that understands good
storytelling. If they’re not the best, they’re certainly up there.
On a side not, the Pixar animated short film the precedes
“Monsters University” is called “The Blue Umbrella” and it is magnificent. Its
only six minutes long, but every frame is beautifully told. What caught my eye
was how very realistic the cityscape was animated. There were moments when it
didn’t even look like a cartoon. It should definitely generate some interest in
what Pixar has in the pipeline. Particularly their June 2015 release “Inside
Out” which is set inside a girl’s mind (that’s all they’ve said about it) and
their June 2016 release which will be about Dia de los Muertos. Of course,
there’s also the fan favorite: the November 2015 release of “Finding Dory”, the
long awaited and highly anticipated sequel to “Finding Nemo”.
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