 In Pixar's first (and so far only) prequel, they expand the Monster World (Monstropolis) we got a glimpse of in 'Monsters, Inc.' by showing us the educational process it takes to become a "Scarer". Just for a quick recap, it's a Scarer's job to go through doorways that lead to children's closets so they can collect the "Scream Energy" needed for what's basically their electricity. This is all learned from a young Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) while on a field trip to Monsters, Inc. He then takes a great interest in becoming a Scarer, and makes the choice to work very hard to get there.
After a quick but thorough intro, we are taken eleven years later to the main stage of the film, Monsters University, where Mike is now a teenager. Here, he meets James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) - a cocky student who relies on his natural talent and family name to get through things easily. Sulley manages to join the most exclusive fraternity on campus as well, headed by the brutish Johnny (Nathan Fillion). Soon, however, it's all taken away when Dean Hardscrabble's (Helen Mirren) record-holding scream cannister is ruined during a fight between Mike and Sulley. The Dean fails them both, stating Mike isn't nearly scary enough, and Sully is too lazy and too dependent on his family name. This further prompts Roar Omega Roar (Sulley's new frat brothers) to kick him out. Wanting to prove himself, however, Mike enters the University "Scare Games" with underdog fraternity Oozma Kappa, which introduces new, friendly Monsters; the sensitive Squishy (Peter Sohn); mature student, Don (Joel Murray); Two-headed Terri and Terry (Sean Hayes and David Foley, respectively); and the fuzzy, almost Sesame Street-esque Art (Charlie Day). Being told they are one short, as the two-headed guy doesn't count, Sulley decides to step up and join, giving them a much better fighting chance. If they win, Sulley and Mike will be reinstated into the Scare Program, but if they lose, they have to leave school. Considering 'Monsters, Inc.' came before this, we all get that they eventually made it. But one thing this film does well is tell you how they made it in the end which, to the film's credit, was quite creative. This is one of Pixar's titles that doesn't necessarily hit on a deeper level, so there's not much to say for it as far as that goes. However, regardless of that, it's still a solid film for what it is. I enjoy seeing an expansion of the Monster World, furthering the overall lore, and it's interesting to have a Pixar prequel instead of a sequel in which they totally could have capitalized on Boo's potential return. It could have been a real money-maker. Instead, the film wanted to tell us the story of Mike and Sulley's history together. Honestly, I think they do a very good job of it here. Randall (Steve Buscemi) shows up as well, and we get to see why his eyes are constantly squinty - that kind of thing isn't for everyone, but it does it subtly enough that the movie doesn't make it a big deal - it's not like how we see Indiana Jones get his lucky hat. The one thing that may be missing for some here is the overall heart that 'Monsters, Inc.' had to it. This movie was done on a much more fun level. I like to say it's 'Animal House' as Pixar might see it. I wouldn't say it's aimed more at kids or adults so much as family, and it's actually an interesting follow-up to 'Monsters, Inc.' in that way. 'Monsters, Inc.' is the warm-hearted family movie whereas this is the family comedy. It's silly enough for the kids, but adults will appreciate the whole college fraternity side of it - especially when it comes to the games themselves. There's a few solid laugh-out-loud moments here, and to Pixar's credit, I had a lot of fun with it. It's a good movie to throw on if you need cheering up, but really don't feel like getting deep. Unlike 'Monsters, Inc.', this isn't really gonna make the eyes water. As far as those Oscars go, this didn't go on to receive any nominations, making it the second Pixar film on that list. But in all honesty, it never really was Oscar material. It's more or less just a frat movie for kids, and to see it win, much less get nominated, would have been a bit of a surprise. I do enjoy this movie, but it is still a part of the era when Pixar wasn't at its strongest. This would be the third film on that list, and while these films are all enjoyable in their own right, that Pixar name just wasn't glowing like it used to. The overall heart Pixar once showed was starting to feel like it might not come back. However, that would all soon be fixed with the release of another one of my Pixar favourites a couple of years later. 3/5
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 I'm not going to lie; when this first came along, I wasn't entirely interested. I thought it was playing too much on cuteness, and there wouldn't be much more to it. Upon finally watching it at a friend's house, I turned out to like it more than I thought I would. I've come back to it a handful of times over the years, it grows on me with every viewing. At first it was cute and fun, but nowadays I see it as one of the most creative Pixar films in the entire library. It's seldom that I go into a movie with low expectations only to have me come out of it saying "that was actually pretty awesome."
'Monsters, Inc.' could be considered a sort of electric company, located in the Monster World. A few monsters known as "Scarers" harvest "scream energy" by going through a system of doors that lead to closets of children all over the world. This "scream energy" is essentially their version of electricity - it's pretty much what makes their world run. However, a problem had arisen in recent years involving a world full of children who are much harder to scare than they used to be. This is largely due to various media violence and horror largely desensitizing them, and as a result, the Monster World experiences things like rolling brownouts. 'Monsters, Inc.' looks for a solution, but the best they really have is to just continue scaring, and hope things can get better. The top Scarers are Sulley (John Goodman) and Randall (Steve Buscemi). Randall is a strong competitor for Sulley and his assistant Mike (Billy Crystal), but Sulley and Mike seem to always come out on top. Late one night, Sulley finds a door in the "ready" position. Curious, he opens the door to see if anyone is doing some late-night scaring, accidentally letting in a toddler who Sully would eventually name "Boo" (Mary Gibbs). Children are known as being extremely toxic in the monster world, so Sully and Mike soon find themselves having to hide her until they can get her back through her door. In the meantime, Randall is working on a project that could improve upon scream energy, and since Boo is running around the Monster world now, she could very well be in danger. Due to Sulley's newfound feelings towards Boo, the film becomes something of an "Escort Mission" - get her to her door while dodging Randall and whatever his plans may be. While I wasn't exactly wrong about the movie playing a lot on cuteness, there's much more to it that I seemingly took for granted when I first saw this advertised. My appreciation for this movie largely goes towards the concept of the Monster world and how it runs. It's a simple enough idea when you think about it (and to be perfectly fair this is after 'Little Monsters'), but certain details about how things work are super creative. For example, I like the idea of the real world's mystery monsters (Bigfoot, Nessie, etc.) being monsters who have been banished from the Monster World. The example is done here with the Yeti (John Ratzenberger, now at four Pixar movies and counting). I also really enjoy the idea of the world's closet doors in a factory setting. Think something along the lines of a gigantic warehouse of dry cleaning racks, but holding closet doors instead of suits. In 'Little Monsters' it's just a super cheap looking set of boxes and stairs. Funnily enough, another highlight of the film is the very thing I was worried would ruin it for me - Boo. Anyone who has ever seen this movie can agree that she is one of the most adorable characters ever created. Boo is the heart and soul of this movie, and despite the fact that she's just a little gibberish speaking toddler (voiced by a real one), Sully and Mike actually end up learning a whole lot about humans through her. You get a lot of good laughs from her, but you end up really feeling for her all the same. She's not JUST put there to be cute, as I thought she might be. She's put there to represent children in general. She finds solace in one monster while being terrified of another, and a lot of this is, as you may have guessed, about overcoming fears. The catch here is that the fear works in two different ways. Kids can watch this and relate to Boo's experience in that she simply fears the monster in the closet. Generally speaking, a kid's first fear will probably have to do with something that goes bump in the night, leading them to imagine something under their bed or in their closet. That makes the film universally relatable to children. On the other hand, adults can see the fear the monster society has about Boo and the rest of human society and, I daresay, could stand to learn a thing or two as well. A part of what makes this such a solid movie is that even though it looks like a kid's movie on the surface, there's a certain depth to it that speaks to a more grown up audience as well. It's not just a movie you'd watch with your kids to have fun with, this one actually has something to say, and it does it pretty subtly as well. My takeaway from this film is a positive message about understanding the unknown instead of fearing it, and it's timing or release was impeccable. This just so happened to be released the November after 9/11, so may very well have been seen as one of the first family movies trying to teach kids and adults alike that a society as a whole isn't something to be feared, but in some cases it doesn't hurt to be cautious. Sulley and Randall make the perfect characters for that message. This was the first of many Pixar film get an Oscar nomination for 'Best Animated Picture', and with good reason (beyond the fact that the category hasn't existed until now). It may have lost to 'Shrek', but the results must have been pretty damn close considering the underlying subject matter in "understanding" was very similar. Personally, I'd consider 'Monsters Inc' to be just a touch more timeless. 5/5 |
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