Monsters University (2013)
Monsters University is a tricky one, because as a film I think it’s real good, but it doesn't unfortunately match up to the brilliance of Monsters Inc. which I think affects my enjoyment of it. I don’t dislike it, by any means, but I’m not sure if it’s entirely necessary.
This having been said, it’s always nice to see more of characters I like so much as Mike and Sully. The development of their friendship in this story is believable and extremely well done. I like that the characters are already very much the guys we know from Monsters Inc. but with the kind of insecurities that tend to turn us into idiots when we’re around that age. Their friendship develops very organically too, meaning that by the time they start their life-long partnership, you are totally onboard. Of course this is helped by the fact that John Goodman and Billy Crystal are so brilliant and likeable in those roles - they probably save the film from being a bit forgettable.
The rest of the characters are really good too, especially the members of Oozma Kappa. Squishy (who is the voiced by the guy who voices Emile in Ratatouille interestingly) is adorable, and probably my favourite.
As far as plot goes, I feel like we’ve seen this underdog story before, so it’s not super original, but it has a splash of Pixariness that makes it more interesting. Where other movies (especially Disney movies) would have had the school losers win the final competition and become the big men on campus and live happily ever after, this movie wants you to know that you have limits, and that’s OK - sometimes happily ever after looks different than you thought it would.
The animation of the film is of course brilliant, but not anything we haven’t seen before from Pixar. The score is again good, but not as memorable as the first movie’s score. It feels unfair to gripe at small things like this, and as I say, it doesn't mean I don’t really like Monsters University, but when Pixar churns out innovative, inspiring hit after innovative, inspiring hit, when they present something that’s merely very good, you find yourself a bit less lin love with it.
Overall Monsters University is a funny, heart-warming film with brilliant central characters that you could enjoy at any age. Pixar might not have broken any new ground with this one, and it may not be their best, but sometimes it’s OK to be OK.
P.S. See what I did there with the OK? Because OK is the Oozma Kappa symbol...I’ll just go.