Oh, Mike Wazowski, you little green ball of eye. You have such big dreams, and I applaud you for reaching higher than anybody thought you could. But in the end, you are just an adorable little eye-ball and… well, you’re not that scary.
This is the set up for Disney and Pixar’s 14th feature film, Monsters University, the follow up prequel (I hate having to type that) to 2001’s Monsters Inc. As the film opens, we meet young Mike Wazowski (voiced by Noah Johnston at this age, Billy Crystal going forward), on a field trip with his classmates to the legendary Monsters Incorporated to see how monsters make human children scared. Mike is bullied by the bigger monsters at school, and ignored by just about everybody else. But it doesn’t deter him and soon, he finds himself going through a closet door on the scare floor with a seasoned professional scarer, Frank McCay (John Krazinski) on a job. After a harrowing ordeal in the real world, Mike comes back unscathed, and even the professional scarer is impressed. He gives Mike his Monster University hat and inadvertently inspires the young eye-ball to become a scarer himself.
Flash forward to a seventeen year old Mike, on his way to Monsters University to begin his education to become the best scarer in the business. Still wearing the beat up old cap given to him by Frank McCay, and now sporting a retainer, Mike has waited for this moment all his life. His dreams are right before him. He is finally poised to become something that no one else thought he could be. And then the reality of college hits him like a ton of bricks.
The usual “college comedy” tropes are all explored: the awkward first day of classes, montages with ample amounts of studying, fraternity rushes, parties, run-ins with authority figures like the Dean of the Scare School, Abigail Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), an insect-like vision of terror who holds the record for the highest level of fear ever recorded, and of course, the biggest of them all, a contest of sorts between the frats and sororities for the title of Monster University Scare Champions!
Friendships are made and broken, and the supporting cast of monsters — many new to the mythos — are very well done. When Mike is denied access to the most popular frat because he isn’t scary enough, he makes do by dedicating himself to studying. By the time the Scare Games come around, he has to join a frat to participate and he hooks up with the guys at Oozma Kappa, the worst frat on campus.
It works here because the writers, Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon — who also directs — keep the cliches tied to the world established in the previous film. Nothing feels forced and the audience doesn’t have to reach to find entertainment. The creators know what they are doing with these characters and situations, and Monsters University is better for it.
Monsters University is a coming of age story about one’s dreams and what it takes to achieve them. Sure, we get to see how eventual best friends Mike and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) meet, and we see plenty of other character ties to Monsters Inc., including Mike’s first roommate, Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi), the conniving lizard-like monster that learns to make himself invisible thanks to Mike’s suggestions. Mike is “book smart” when it comes to scaring, and that becomes his greatest strength. He becomes a natural leader, while Sulley is more “street smart” and a natural at scaring the beejeezus out of children with a mighty roar. They are in constant conflict with one another.
Oozma Kappa consists of throwaway students and Mike works hard to whip them into competitive shape, even as Sulley obstructs him at every turn. Only after learning to work together can the team solidify itself to become real challengers for the title.
As with most Pixar films, there is an underlying emotion to the scenes that play out on screen. In fact, you could say that wielding these themes as they do is Pixar’s greatest achievement. A lot can be said by how they seemingly make films for kids, but have enough jokes and situations for adults to enjoy as well. At the end of the day, it’s the common theme of the film that resonates, and Monsters University delivers big time.
The voice cast is incredible with the talents of Aubrey Plaza, Nathan Fillion, Charlie Day, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, and of course, John Ratzenberger (among many, many others) joining Billy Crystal and John Goodman to bring these beloved characters to life. A special shout out goes to Joel Murray (Bill’s younger brother) for his portrayal of Don, a 40 year old ex-salesmonster who goes back to school to start a new career. Murray’s voice is spot on perfect here and the writing for the Don character (along with his running gags) are some of Monsters University’s finest moments.
Also, the 3D animation technology has leapt and bounded in the twelve years between films, and the character models look incredible now. The hair that covers Sulley, for instance, has never looked better, and the textures at work on the character models is some of the best ever conceived. Pixar has truly turned visual storytelling into a science.
And speaking of 3D, Monsters University looks great in the third dimension with the depth of field working to make the colorful monsters pop off the screen without resorting to gimmicks.
Monsters University is a fun film that reintroduces audiences to two of the most beloved partners in animation history and gives them a history. Mike Wazowski and Sulley Sullivan are the perfect team, and seeing how that team came to be is an enjoyable experience for the whole family. Disney and Pixar have once again proven that dreams can come true if, and for little Mike Wazowski, who just wanted to scare children, he finds something more; a lifelong friend.
Monsters University is rated G and opens nationwide on June 21, 2013.
