Save your venom for Toy Story 4 or Cars 3 or something,
because Monsters University has all of the heart and humor we've come to
love from Pixar, and is easily their most enjoyable film since Toy Story 3.
While it'll surprise nobody to learn that the studio was capable of making the
best animated feature of the year so far, what's truly remarkable is that they
did it in a story nobody was aching to see. Prequels are notoriously difficult
by nature, and in this case there was the potential to ruin that unique
chemistry between monster work buddies Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James
"Sulley" Sullivan (John Goodman). 
When we first meet Mike, he's just a kid with a dream of becoming a
"scarer" someday. A field trip to the Monsters Inc. scare floor only
motivates him further, after he meets one of his heroes and proves his mettle
by venturing into the world of humans. From that point on, Mike's goal is to
attend Monsters University and become the best, but there's just one little
problem: He's too cute to be scary, and everybody seems to know it but him.
Thankfully skipping his formative high school years, we meet Mike during
his first day on the college campus, a brace-faced newbie with hopes of
excelling in the prestigious Scare Program. 
It's as Mike makes his way around the campus grounds that we see just how
much effort Pixar and director Dan Scanlon put into this film. It looks
absolutely gorgeous, colorful with literally hundreds of different monsters of
varying shapes, sizes, and social order. Monsters, Inc. was quite the
technological achievement twelve years ago, but now we see just how far Pixar
has progressed in imaginative breadth and scope. We see monster versions of all
the expected college social cliques: stoners, art nerds, jocks, underwater
students...it's quite remarkable. And at the top of the college food chain are
the born scarers, who are destined by their sheer size and terrifying visage
for a career haunting little kids.
One of those who think he has a free ticket to greatness is Sulley, a
slacker coasting on his family name and natural ability to frighten. He has
everything Mike will never have, and the two are immediately rivals. Sulley is
content to depend on his roar, using it to get a sought-after spot in the Roar
Omega Roar frat, while Mike is technically brilliant and studious, using his
brains to excel. Not that it matters to the winged Dean Hardscrabble (Helen
Mirren), who recognizes immediately that Mike isn't scary, and that Sulley is a
loser. When both are kicked out of the program, their only recourse is to enter
the Scare Games and win back their spot. 
If people were upset by Cars 2, it's a wonder what
they'll think of Monsters University, which becomes Revenge of the Nerds
meets Animal House at this point. Not that the little kids going to see
it are going to get all of that, but parents will recognize it right away. Rest
assured there are no panty raids to be found, though, just plenty of geek vs.
Greek action. Forced to join the dorky Oozma Cappa frat, Mike and Sulley's
teammates leave a lot to be desired. There's Terry and Terri, a two-headed
monster constantly arguing with itself; Don Carlton, an older student going
through his own personal Larry Crowne crisis; Art (Charlie Day), a spacey
philosophy student; and Scott Squibbles, a good-natured blob whose mother
(Julia Sweeney) always seems to be around. 
What happens next is predictable stuff, as Mike and Sulley learn from one
another while teaching their hapless crew to believe in themselves and triumph
over their detractors. In the process, they also figure out an important lesson
about having dreams, and how working hard towards them isn't always going to be
enough, while being gifted isn't an excuse to be lazy. It's probably not the
lesson parent's will go in expecting their kids to learn, but it's an important
one nevertheless. New layers are added to Mike and Sulley's friendship without
ruining the dynamic we all love, and we even learn a few new things about their
future nemesis, Randall J. Boggs (Steve Buscemi), who starts out in an
unexpected position. There are plenty of under the radar gags about college
life that adults will catch on to, but in general this is a film that will
please everyone regardless of age. Many will argue that Monsters University isn't Pixar's most ambitious film, and maybe that's true, but they deserve a ton of credit for successfully melding their heartwarming formula with frat house comedy. For a variety of reasons Monsters University shouldn't have worked, but it passes with flying colors.
