Monsters University

Where dropping LSD is a commonplace...

                                                              ...I told you

DIRECTOR: Dan Scanlon

CAST: Harry Burns, Walter Sobchak, Mr. Pink and some crazy old woman going skits at some drummers outside a theatre...

PLOT: Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are back, but this time they are younger versions of themselves attempting to work their way towards graduating from the famous Monsters University!

I imagine that I wasn't the only person who had doubts when they heard the announcement from Pixar stating that they were going to make a prequel to 'Monsters Inc.', incidentally my favourite film from Pixar, telling the story of how the little one-eyed green dude met his big, blue, furry friend (submit your dirty euphemisms in the comment box at the end of this review). It's a prequel that I'm sure very few people were asking for and the amount of sequels and spin-offs coming out of Pixar at the moment is a worrying sign that they may be struggling to come up with new and original ideas. Perhaps it's time that they began to accept scripts from writers that don't already work for the famous animation studios?

However, any scepticism is quickly forgotten about in a mere amount of minutes into the opening of 'Monsters University'. The beautiful animation, bright and attractive colours, and the sheer inventiveness of this parallel universe to our own, full of weird, wonderful and wacky monsters is so immersive I just couldn't help but transform back into the excitable little shit that I was when 'Monsters Inc.' was released in 2001. 

When you think about it, if any Pixar film (except for maybe the 'Toy Story' franchise) is to spawn more adventures, this universe is the sensible and best choice. You have 'Sulley's' and 'Mike's' world, and then you also have our own boring world that supplies the screams - two destinations to find adventure. Also, the characters can look like any mental creation that the animators dream up. There's no rules and anything goes. This makes every shot rich and immensely interesting, as your eyes scour the frame trying to take in all of the slimy and hairy beings. And despite the fact that these characters are often covered in slime or hair, you still manage to see yourself in a few of them despite the fact they are monsters, as you notice the extras rushing to their exams, one with multiple eyes reading multiple books held by its multiple limbs, another with multiple limbs drinking multiple cups of coffee. Chances are if you have taken any exams in your educational life (and assuming you cared about them) you will be able to associate yourself with one or the other, maybe even both.

Which is a good job, because there are plenty of interesting characters to fill the shoes (if monsters even wear shoes) of your old favourites from the previous outing as they don't all feature again. And even then you'll still have fun spotting the cameos of a few familiar faces. New main characters including those of the fraternity are all lovable in their oddball way, a stand-out perhaps being the one who is, adults will spot, an obvious stoner; which continues to prove that Pixar caters to old'uns as well as children. And Helen Mirren puts in a great performance as the horrifying Dean of the university - a monster even the monsters are afraid of.

But it's still the brilliant voices of Billy Crystal and John Goodman that steal the show, which is not to be seen as a surprise. Their characters' relationship and chemistry is flipped over from 'Monsters Inc.' as they both rival each other, but the light entertainment is never lost and it adds a welcomed new dimension to the friendship that you thought you already knew.

                                   Shed the skin of an Oxbridge student and this is what you get      

Faults are few and far between, and they're quickly forgiven due to the fantastic quality of the film as a whole. The plot is a simplistic one which treads down familiar paths, but then again it is easy to forget that this is a film for kids. Plus, it's often hilarious, thanks to clever sight gags and glorious characters - full of heavy metal loving mother monsters (try and say that quickly), goth monsters and a nerdy Steve Buscemi monster - so who the hell cares?        

Plus, without the presence of 'Boo', we aren't really given a bridge between our own world and this fictional one. But in saying that, their world is a whole lot more interesting - so who the hell cares? 

After having a bad day, I soon forgot all about my troubles and once the credits began to roll I couldn't wipe the big stupid grin off my face. This is escapism at its very best and 'Monsters University' will be welcomed to sit alongside the marginally superior 'Monsters Inc.' We might still be hoping that Pixar returns to giving us more stand-alone titles in the future, but nobody can claim that this isn't pure Pixar. A wonderfully imaginative story with endearing and hilarious characters has always been the name of the game for them. This is monsters incredible.

* * * * ½