Monsters University

Voices of: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, Bonnie Hunt, John Krasinski, Bill Hader
Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Rating: G
Genre: Animated, Adventure, Comedy
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Sully (John Goodman) and Mike (Billy Crystal) clash while attending Monsters University.

Review:

Tim: Now, I recognized some of the strengths of Monsters, Inc., but I just couldn't bring myself to like the film. It was fine, but nothing special, and certainly not in the same league as some of the best animated films coming out of Hollywood. I know lots of people loved the original film, but I didn't. Fast forward twelve years, and we're once again in the same boat. Monsters University is a clever, funny, entertaining animated film. And yet, I still couldn't bring myself to like it. I just believe these movies are of a lower level.

I get that these cute, likeable monster characters sell merchandise, but I can't really see how they are relatable to kids or adults. These are monsters whose purpose is to frighten little children and get them to scream. How is that a fun concept for kids? I just honestly don't get it. This film puts our heroes in college. Prequels are rarely great ideas, because we already know where the characters will end up. It can be somewhat fun to see the journey of how the characters get to where we know they'll end up, but it's rare for a prequel to surpass the original. This film was mildly fun and entertaining, but again, there's not much suspense or intrigue because we already know how it's all going to work out.

The film's story is predictable for long stretches, but it did throw in a few unexpected twists. The bulk of the story is an underdog tale of a ragtag fraternity surpassing all expectations and learning how to work together as a team. This isn't anything we haven't seen before, but of course, there's the humorous monster spin to it. The movie is decently entertaining, but nothing in the entire film was especially cool or memorable. Kids will like it, adults may feel some small level of entertainment.

I really didn't care all that much about the characters. While John Goodman and Billy Crystal do great voice work, both their characters were somewhat unlikeable. Sully is an arrogant slacker who wants to coast through life. Mike is a know-it-all who thinks he's better than everyone else. And these are our two protagonists. I just don't find either character especially compelling. The voice actors were great, the characters were not.

I thought Helen Mirren did a good job and was a nice addition to the voice cast. I'm glad Steve Buscemi returned- I like the guy. Alfred Molina was fine in a small role, as was Sean Hayes. Everyone did a good job for the most part, but outside of Mirren, I didn't think there were any standouts. Everyone was solid, though, so the film scores points for a good voice cast.

The story was entertaining enough, although it borrowed heavily from fraternity movies. Pixar put their unique spin on it, but I didn't think the story here reached their usual heights of creativity and genius. Pixar went on an incredible run for a number of years, but with films like Cars 2 and Monsters University, I'm worried that they are losing their edge.

I get that this movie made a ton of money, got mostly good reviews, and kids love it. I understand all that. However, for me, both this movie and the original are vastly overrated films. I thought this was an okay movie- it didn't do anything bad, but it really didn't wow me at all. It felt a little long at 104 minutes. For whatever reason, I just don't connect with these characters. I'm actually hoping Pixar doesn't make this into a trilogy.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Monsters Inc., Sleeping Beauty, The Lion King, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Cars, Cars 2