MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

MONSTERS UNIVERSITY Review

By Darin Skaggs

     For a long time Pixar was king.  They made instant classics like Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc.  They then made their three masterpieces which are Ratatouille, Wall-E and Up.  After that they made lesser films and went downhill in quality.  So when I went into Monsters University, a prequel to Monsters Inc., I was trepidations.  To my surprise the film is incredibly entertaining and full of laughs.

     In the beginning Mike, the small round creature, wants to become a Scarer which is a monster that scares children to create energy for the town due to their screams.  No one believes in him including a giant bear like creature named Sully who spends the film slacking off because he got into the college because his father is a top Scarer.  They eventually gather a band of misfits that compete in the Scare Games which is a competition of random scare themed events.  They then learn who they really are and what they are good at.

     The film is kind of a return to what Pixar excels at, which is having a big heart while always being funny.  Throughout the film people are saying Mike cannot be a Scarer because he is too small but throughout the film it shows what he is good at.  That is the theme of the film, finding out what you are good at.  That is why the film has to be set at college because that is when a lot of people come to find what they want to do and what they are able to do.  Not just Mike finds out what he is good at, many other characters find out what they can do as well.  This includes the new characters which are enjoyable and you get on board with them right away. 

     The one thing that stood out about this film is that I found myself laugh a lot more than I have in a recent Pixar film.  It is the funniest Pixar movie since Up.  The last few Pixar films have not been very funny including Brave and Cars 2.  I did not find Toy Story 3’s jokes funny even though the themes in the film affected me in a big way.  They give the new characters some great funny lines.  They also give lots of call backs to the first film that usually will make you chuckle.

     Monsters University is a wonderful surprise.  It is a nice film that gives you an optimistic feeling.  It is great for adults and children alike.