Mike and Sully form an unlikely partnership in the prequel to Monsters, Inc.

Monsters University (2013)
Certified: U
Duration: 103 minutes
Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Voices of: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Peter Sohn, Charlie Day, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion
KRS release

Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) is a one-eyed monster that wants to be a ‘scarer’ really hard.

For those who haven’t watched any of the Monsters Inc. films, scarers are monsters that enter into children’s bedrooms through hidden extra-dimensional doorways and scare children out of their wits. The resulting screams provide enough energy to power the city of Monstropolis.

His ambition is so high that Mike enrols at Monsters University. Here he and the other monsters are told that if they do not pass the tests at the end of the scholastic year, they will have to choose another career. This point is driven home by Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren).

Mike finds that his chief competitor is James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) who is his direct opposite. The thing is that the Dean thinks that neither of them is good enough to be a scarer.

They only have one chance: the Scare Games organised by the University. Mike joins forces with Oozma Kappa, a fraternity made up of loser monsters. These include: Terri and Terry (Sean Hayes, Dave Foley), a two-sided monster; Art (Charlie Day), who is both furry and bendy; the multi-eyed Squishy (Peter Sohn); and Dan (Joel Murray) who had once worked in sales. As Mike and Sully join the group and head to the games, we see that the two start to bond despite their differences.

Animation-wise, Monsters University presents what we have come to expect from Pixar movies. Story-wise, it seems that the production has opted to recreate the stories of Revenge of the Nerds (1984) and all other losers-vs-popular-guys-in-high-school teenage movies but in a safer mode.

One of the film’s main strengths is that we are already familiar with most characters and they are quite fun

The message is still present but it is more relaxed in tone and it seems that the production just wants to have fun and let loose.

Monsters University is actually a prequel and thus we know that Mike and Sully become scarers eventually; however, it’s entertaining to watch them here as their characters are still not fully moulded.

The film is directed in a solid manner by Dan Scanlon who had previously worked as a Disney storyboard artist and had also co-directed a Pixar short movie. One of the film’s main strengths is that we are already familiar with most characters and they are quite fun. The film’s sense of humour will suprise you and the underlying themes of losers and friendship are well developed.

Whereas the usual college movie would have the loser falling in love with a girl, this time around, the relationship in question is the friendship that Mike inevitably builds with Sully. And like the romances of the genre, this is a case where opposites do attract.

Propelled forward by Randy Newman’s lively score, Monsters University is well paced and will keep its audience, young and old, smiling and attentive. All in all, a film lives up to the original picture’s standards and makes for a welcome return of the lovable Mike and Sully.