Monsters University
Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Nathan Fillion, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Tyler Labine, Aubrey Plaza, Bobby Moynihan, Bonnie Hunt, John Krasinski
Directed by: Dan Scanlon
Rated: G Run Time: 110 mins Genre: Comedy/ Animation/ Adventure/ Family
Opens June 21st
By Lisa Minzey of The Reel Critic.com
Also opening this week is the prequel to the Pixar animate hit “Monster’s Inc.” (2001). More of an origins story, will audiences still be enchanted by the lovable monsters in their younger years?
As a young monster, Michael Wazowski (Billy Crystal - Voice)dreams of one day working at Monsters Inc. While on a school field trip to the Monsters Inc. Scare Factory, Mike was enchanted that he follows one of his scare idols Frank McCay (John Krasinski - voice) into a child's room to witness a live scare. If he was discovered by a child, it would've been disastrous for all of the monsters. When Frank found out that young Mike was also in the scare room with him, he was impressed by Mike's agility, stealthiness and speed. As a souvenir, Frank gave Mike his MU cap, igniting the drive to attend his hero's alma matter.
All monsters who work at Monsters Inc. have to go through college to get their training. Where else would they go? They all attend Monsters University, the premier institution for training to be employed by Monsters Inc.
When Mike first met Sully (John Goodman - Voice) it wasn't the same dynamic of their partnership from Monsters Inc., but more of a competitive relationship from the start. Sully was immediately well-liked and popular on campus due to his natural scare ability and his family legacy through university. Mike, on the other hand, had to work extra hard and study every day to be able to gain entrance into the Scare Program. Mike was jealous of Sully with his lackadaisical attitude about classes and studying while Sully was jealous of Mike's knowledge on scare tactics.
When an unfortunate accident eliminates Mike and Sully from the scare program they have to find another way to regain admittance to prove their worth as scare students.
Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren- voice) will be keeping a close eye Mike and Sully as she was challenged by Mike to get back into the Scare Program. If their fraternity Oozma Kappa wins the Scare Games, Mike, Sully and their whole fraternity can gain the entrance back into the scare program. Will Mike and Sally be able to make it back into the program or where the will their differences get the best of them?
Pixar always does an exceptional job with their films, this one is no exception. The animation is gorgeous, the voice actors are fantastic, and the story is always fun for children of all ages, except this time around. Monsters University meets all the usual Pixar standards, but the story may not be too interesting for small children who may not be as engaged in the story since is deals with college life. The story is great for pre-teens and older, but younger kids may have a challenging time keeping interest. There are several scenes of slapstick antics but not enough to keep their attention long enough between those types of scenes. Overall the film is rather enjoyable but just for a slightly older crowd. Check out "Monsters University" when it opens in theaters starting Friday June 21, 2013.
