Film Review: Monsters University

As much as I love all of the Disney Pixar films, my favourite is Monsters, Inc. I think I saw it in the cinema twice and I just loved the magic of it. Plus Boo is utterly adorable. It's so clever. So when I heard that they were making Monsters University as a prequel to the original film I knew that I had to see it, and I really wanted to see it in the cinema. Luckily Mr Click managed to get last minute tickets at our local cinema and we saw it two weeks ago.

This film follows Mike as he starts University to train for what he has dreamed of his whole life; to become a world class scarer. Once there he meets Sully, his rival. Whereas Mike spends all his time studying, Sully comes from a family of scarers so doesn't really feel that he has to put any effort into his studies. And then their competitive streaks cause an accident which results in them getting thrown off the scare programme, which prompts Mike to enter the Scare Games to try to win back his place on the course, but to have a chance at winning he needs Sully on his team.

And it was everything I expected from this film and more. Whereas during the first film I was a firm fan of Sully, this film had me rooting for Mike from the start (even though I knew it couldn't be that simple given the events of the original). It's really clever how they made the familiar characters appear slightly younger as well as other subtle little changes (like the technology you see) to hint at this being set at a slightly earlier time period.

It was fun to see characters like Randall in their youth, as well as getting to know new characters. I especially liked the Oozma Kappa crew. They were all kind of cute in an unfortunate sort of way. It was also cool to see a little bit more of the Monster World as well as where some of Mike's little tics seemed to have come from.

I think it's one of those films which I'm going to need to see more than once to actually formulate a proper opinion on. There was so much going on that I was trying to watch both the background and foreground of every scene as well as keeping a look out for little bits and pieces like the Pizza Planet truck and Pixar ball. You really need to see it more than once to take it all in. Luckily Mr Click has got it pre-ordered with Amazon, so hopefully I'll not have to wait too long before I get to see it again.

 

I love how vibrant it is as well as all the clever little modifications to buildings. The monsters themselves are interesting and I bet it must have been really fun coming up with all the different designs. I think I'd rather watch them the way round that they were made, particularly if I'm watching it with someone who's never seen them before. Though it's a bit of a problem because no matter which way round you watch them, one is going to spoil the other.

 

Again it's got that standard Disney Pixar message of being yourself and doing your best at whatever you do. And I think it's got plenty that will appeal to both adults and children. There's the visual gags and remarks which kids will get, then there are bits which will go completely over their heads but which mums and dads and other grown-ups will enjoy.

 

On the way out of the cinema kids were being handed posters (the one at the top of this post). I was thrilled when the woman handing them out said 'grown-ups can have one too'. It's pinned up on the cupboard door in the living room and I can't help but smile every time I go past it.

 

I can't wait to see the film again!