‘Monsters University’ Review
The first prequel to have been produced by Pixar is, put simply, a triumph. We at Skwigly are sure it will go down in history as one of the best ventures the studio has undertaken. Monsters University follows our daring friends from the original 2001 romp Monsters Inc through their formative years, their original meeting and subsequent development into Monstropolis’s top scaring duo.
Young Mike Wazowski
The film is largely centered around Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and his introduction to the scream industry; A field trip as a child to the Monstropolis power station starts the young monster’s quest to become a ‘scarer’ and show the world just what a little guy like Mike Wazowski can do. Skip forward a few years, demonstrated by an homage to the first film’s title sequence which shows Mike developing from tot to teen, acing his school exams, gaining a place at the top institute for monsters and heading for the most prestigious of careers in the monster universe as a scarer, providing energy for their entire world from the screams of children.
Student hijinx
On arriving at the MU campus Mike sets to work studying hard, getting on with his classmates (a rather nerdy Ralph) and tutors. Everything seems to be going well for Mike, but when Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) turns up in the film, the two don’t exactly hit it off, getting in one another’s way and causing havoc.
A twist of fate makes it necessary for the duo to work together in the scare games. The two have to get through a range of challenges with their Oozma Campa fraternity brothers to keep their place on campus. Like all good friends, their relationship is founded on a mixture of shared experiences and mutual respect.
oozma campa
Pixar keeps improving on its already-high benchmark for quality animation. The work on this film is nothing short of stunning, with every character design showing a real breadth of imagination, something necessary for the sheer volume of additional characters that make up the campus. Each scale, hair and fang is sculpted and developed with that PIXAR charm. The improvement in the film from the original Monsters Inc is wonderful, however the re-design of both Mike and Sulley is a little lackluster; They might have been improved as characters if they had appeared more youthful in appearance as well as attitude, but this is a minimal problem
ROR
The performance given by both Crystal and Goodman is as true to the characters as the humour throughout the film. As prequels go there are a good amount of references to the original story, with familiar cameos such as Roz (Rob Peterson) and Yeti (Voiced by Pixar staple John Ratzenberger) it’s an immersive experience that makes you want to go home and reminisce on the first film.
As part of the build-up to the release of this film there have been specialist screenings at Picturehouse cinemas up and down the country as part of the E4 Slacker Cub. Pitching itself to the student crowd – of which most were probably young kids at the time of the original Monsters Inc, said screenings proved a success. As jokes, college humor and socially-awkward characters make their way through life, it’s easy for the audience to create parallels with their own student experiences.
The film is another great success for Pixar, truly raising the bar as far as characters and originality go. If it hasn’t already made your ‘must-see’ list, I urge you to give it a watch. A great summer release and a family classic in the making.
Monsters University will be jumping on to UK cinemas on the 12th July 2013.