MONSTERS UNIVERSITY

On Sunday I had the privilege of attending an advanced screening of the Monsters Inc prequel: Monsters University (Or 'Monsters College' depending on what side of the Atlantic you are reading this from). The fact that I willingly woke up at 7.30am on a Sunday morning in order to make the 10am screening is representative enough of how excited I was to be seeing this film. Despite liking Monsters Inc it isn't one of my favourite films from my childhood - i always watched it when it was on TV and thoroughly enjoyed it but to me it is no Toy Story and it is not even a film that i feel compelled to add to my 300+-strong DVD collection. I do enjoy it, i just don't love it - if you know what i mean?

Director Dan Scanlon introducing the film

The prequel really appealed to me because it is set in a University and i thought that they would be going down the Toy Story 3 route of appealing to the original film's audience at the age that they are now. Monsters Inc came out in 2001, a scary thought but that is now 12 years ago, much of the original audience will be either at University or have already experienced it and i thought that just as we said goodbye to our toys and our childhood when Andy did, we would be going to University with Mike and Sully.

Although i think this was, at least in part, the intention of this particular plot I am a bit saddened to say that it does not succeed on the level that Toy Story did. Sure, as a post-grad i could relate to the look of the campus and the experience of going off to find yourself but i didn't feel the same nostalgic connection that i did when Andy said that last goodbye to his childhood. I promise i will now try to keep the Toy Story comparisons to a minimum, i just wanted to get across what i was expecting from this film in the hope that as you read on you can understand why I was a bit disappointed by it.

Mike & Sully introducing the film

I've realised I have not sold this film too well in those last couple of paragraphs and that seems pretty harsh, don't get me wrong it is good. There is plenty going right for it - the way the University references (registration, meeting your new roommate, sororities etc.) were worked into the script were very clever and witty and the friendships and basic storyline of how Mike and Sully became the Mike and Sully we know and love was truly heartwarming. We are introduced to some fantastic new characters, my personal favourites being the band of misfits that Mike and Sully eventually join forces with and there are scenes with these characters that are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. The personal highlight for me though was the inclusion of other characters from Monsters Inc. The brilliant Steve Buscemi reprises his role as Randall and we actually get an insight into why he is so mean and bitter towards Mike and Sully in the first film and  i thought this was a very welcome nod to the original. Other well-known characters also make cameos and this familiarity gave the film some heart and warmth, even though the children in the audience will not understand the sentiment.

I miss Boo :(

One character who was sorely missed was, of course, little Boo. Obviously as the film is a prequel to Monster's Inc it would be totally implausible to include Boo but as she is mine, and many others, favourite character you really did feel her absence. I feel the inclusion of sweet and innocent Boo in a World where monsters thrive on scaring children is what makes Monsters Inc so great, no children play a central role in Monsters University and although if they did I would probably accuse them of being unoriginal, it did seem like something wasn't quite adding up.

I was also shocked to find out that Monsters University is only 110 minutes as it felt like a lot longer. I think because so many twists and turns are crammed into the basic narrative it makes the film drag - at the end of the day, it is a children's film and it is simply not necessary to include so many sub-plots. There were a lot of instances where i thought the film would be ending yet it somehow managed to carry on and the children in the cinema were becoming restless (which ultimately makes watching the film a much less pleasurable experience for the grown-ups!) As well as the constant changes in the plot being inappropriate for children, there is a sequence towards the end of the film that had near enough every five-and-under child in the audience sobbing and screaming out that 'they don't like it'. With all the wit that the film contains it is sometimes easy to forget that the basic premise of Monsters Inc is pretty much terrifying for children; it's an institution where monsters sneak into children's rooms at night in order to scare them! There was a scene where monsters were scratching along the bedposts and jumping out of shadows to make the children scream as loud as possible as well as other scenes where the monsters are being as creepy as possible because this time they need to scare adults... When you think about it there is no wonder younger children were getting so scared and with the absence of Boo, a child just like the children in the audience who is cared for and safe with Mike and Sully, the monsters lack the compassion seen in the original film.

I was also disappointed that the scene i remembered most vividly from the film's trailer, where Mike is turned into a disco ball, was cut from the final edit. That scene intensified my presumption that the film was going to be about Uni pranks and parties and all the fun and mayhem that comes with it, although there were glimpses of some parties the Uni essence was nowhere near as prominent throughout the film as it's trailer made it out to be.

This band of misfits make the film

All in all, I do think it is worth watching as i did enjoy it there just seemed to be something really off-point for me and I can't exactly figure out what it was. There were definitely some really great, funny moments but i think all of the subplots that are squeezed in means that the great moments get mixed in with the not-so-great moments, eventually making the whole film underwhelming. The script is reasonably strong and the characters are well rounded, i think introducing the misfit monsters a little earlier on would have benefited the film greatly as they carry most of the humour and when they are not onscreen you can feel their absence. Definitely be prepared for some fidgety children towards the end of the film and be wary about taking under five's or sensitive children as the last thing you want is your kids having nightmares about the scary monsters hiding under their bed!

 Monsters University is a watchable film, definitely miles away from the rubbish side of Pixar sequels (Cars 2, i'm looking at you) but not even close to the realm of Toy Story 3. Maybe someplace in the middle alongside Toy Story 2... I wouldn't watch it again but i'm glad i did watch it, and if they make a third Monsters Inc I will give it a go, but only on the condition that they include Boo!!

All in all I award Monsters University: ★★★✯ ☆
                                                                                 (three and a half)

Monsters University is out nationwide from July 12th!

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Love,

Amazing Randall balloon