Monsters University (2013)

Rating: 4.5/5

Twelve long years ago, I watched Monsters Inc. on the big screen, eager to experience the wonder that Pixar had been spreading ever since Toy Story. This morning, I had twice the excitement to contain, as my Pixar-crazy daughter was along for the ride. Having recently made the rounds of Wreck-It Ralph and 3D reruns of Monsters Inc., we were both ready and rearing to go, and needless to say Pixar delivered. Yet again.

Is there anything Pixar can't do? That distinguished crew of geniuses raises their own bar time after time, and consistently fail to disappoint. In usual form, the movie opened with a joyous short film entitled The Blue Umbrella, which I can only say had me smiling throughout. A busy, rainy rush hour in the big city is brightened by a blue umbrella among a sea of black, who ventures after a beautiful red umbrella who catches his eye. Visuals are wondrous - I still can't tell if backgrounds are live action or animation - and as ever, the sweet, simple story line is glorious.

Monsters University is full of all the boldness, humour and creativity its predecessor displayed, and gets the laughs going right from the off: a pigeon on the street cocks its head so fast we see two, only for the angle to turn and reveal a two headed bird, nodding in turn.

We see a young, even smaller Mike Wazowski in monster elementary school, where he is teased and excluded for not being a scary monster. But a field trip to Monsters Inc. sets him on the dream of becoming a professional scarer (if you haven't seen the first installment, the monster world is powered by children's screams, which the monsters provoke and harness) and years on, he is a determined freshman at Monsters University.

Mike (voice by Billy Crystal) gets into a scuffle with the class timewaster Jimmy Sullivan (voice by John Goodman) - whose family name has gotten him far in life with complete lack of effort on his part - and both are soon threatened with expulsion by the serpentine Dean Hardscrabble (voice by Helen Mirren). Their only chance to keep their places on the Scaring Programme is to prove themselves worthy by competing in the campus Scare Games.

In order to compete, the boys join the only fraternity that will take them, Oozma Kappa, and in doing so, allow for Pixar to tick another of their standard of excellence boxes: a great ensemble of secondary characters with discernible personalities. In the fraternity we have 'mature student' salesman Don, who sports the frumpy polo shirt and bald spot; Terri and Terry, a two headed creature that unfortunately only counts as one team mate; young tubster Squishy, whose mum owns the 'fraternity house'; and furry hippie biped Art. They make a wicked little team, just as Sid's mutated toys and the Dentist's tank of fish did in previous Pixar adventures.

I guess the overall product is missing a little of that magic drive because it is a sequel, and we are not blown away by some creation that's completely new to us. And to be honest, the quality of the animation hasn't changed, but I rather think its due to Pixar being so ahead of its time and so top of its game, not lack of progression.

It was a fun ride, with plenty of the great slapstick gags. I was disappointed to see one from the trailers didn't make it to the cinema, in which Mike is covered in mirrors and lit up like a disco ball. I was joyed to see a brief cameo from my favourite character of the original, Ros, whose slow, raspy voice tickles me to the very core, and the boys' slimy opponent Randall (voice by Steve Buscemi) makes his debut also, as bright young student turned bad boy Randy Boggs.

With Monsters University, and the upcoming Planes and Finding Dory, it seems like Pixar are going through a sequels, prequels and spin-offs phase. I do hope that this is just recovery time to come up with some really great original material, because although these efforts are brilliant and entertaining, we know there's still so much Pixar have got to give.