"Monsters University" - Film Review

About a little over halfway through Monsters University, Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) look down into the Monsters Inc. factory we know they're destined to be employed at. They jinx eachother while seeing a supposedly famous monster saying, “He’s lost speed but his technique is flawless”.  And in that quote the two have unintentionally described Pixar. When Pixar came on the scene back in 1995 with Toy Story, it was revelatory, with its impressive CGI animation and equally impressive storytelling. Since then the studio has garnered both critical and commercial success for a number of films that are all rightfully well-praised. So it almost felt inevitable when Cars was released and it appeared to signal that the studio had lost some steam (something reconfirmed even more strongly with the release of the widely panned sequel Cars 2). Post-Cars hasn’t been bad. In fact, the studio came back with a string of their best film’s to date including Ratatouille, Wall-E, Up, and Toy Story 3. But there was still a hanging dread that the next film could be that film that shows Pixar has lost its touch (or even worst: sold out). 

There’s almost a dividing line in the filmography of Pixar that starts with Cars 2. Now the two films (including this one) produced after Cars 2 haven’t been bad (Brave was a favorite film of mine from last summer). But all the same, Monsters University and Brave feel like they’re missing something. The animation is still gorgeous. There’s still plenty of funny, fun, heartwarming storytelling that works for both kids and adults. But there’s also inexplicably something missing. It’s hard to put your finger on it, but to my mind it’s that special creative spark that sets a film apart. 

Pixar has become a brand name, and so perhaps they’ve become just a little bit comfortable. They’re not making things as ambitious or creatively exciting as they used to. Even Toy Story 3, as fantastic as it was, isn’t anything new. Monsters University is a prequel. The fact the studio is relying on sequels in itself is a little unnerving as if they’re running out of ideas and need to put out a sequel to please their overlords at Disney. Monsters University is even less of a necessary sequel than the Toy Story sequels. The story has so few places to go that it goes backwards rather than forward, setting the story back when Mike and Sully met at college.     

I don’t want to overstate my problems with the film because it’s really not a bad movie. But it’s also just slightly disappointing (which itself is a loaded term I realize) to see it coming from a studio that used to be capable of far more (and who knows, I still trust Pixar, they might still come out with something that blows me away – it’s just not this). 

The film takes us back to the odd couple, buddy comedy days of college. The two get on eachother’s nerves and eventually get themselves expelled. Sully is a lazy fratboy; Mike is a studious geek (The film does a good deal of reduction to these two characters, painting them in fairly broadstrokes). Shenanigans ensue. They begrudgingly team up (along with a bunch of losers in a lowly, nerdy fraternity) to play in a competition to regain their position in the university. They strike up a deal with the sinister dean of the school (Helen Mirren). It’s all just a little too neat and predictable. 

There’s no special premise to the film. You could easily have this film take place without the monsters. There are plenty of films set on college campuses where people get expelled and strike up some desperate deal to reclaim their place at the school (i.e. Animal House, Old School - but much less raucous). There are callbacks to the original film and they’re cute and fun, but they don’t even need to be there. This film has little connection to that first film besides the characters.

Most of the characters besides Sully and Mike are gone. We’re introduced to a number of new characters. The supporting characters become pretty fun in their own right. This is especially true of the luckless fraternity members that Mike and Sully team up with. 

There’s an ending that somewhat redeems all the familiarity. It’s a very Pixar-y mode of storytelling where they deepen the basics of the story and throw us for a turn we’re not anticipating. I won’t spoil it (not that’s it that big of a thing to even spoil) but it’s the most surprising thing that occurs in the film.   

Expectations can kill a film. We’ve come to expect so much from Pixar (perhaps too much). And if you expect too much from Monsters University it might just be a letdown. But I think it’s still worth giving a chance. It’s still colorful, funny, fun, and moving and sad in places.  

Grade: B