Monsters University

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2013)

I knew there was going to be a follow up to the highly successful and entertaining Disney/Pixar film Monsters Inc., whether it be a sequel or a prequel, and I think it was a great idea to take the characters you know and see their origins. Basically little green one-eyed monster Michael 'Mike' Wazowski (Noah Johnston) is on a field trip with his class to Monsters Inc., the energy company that powers the city of Monstropolis with human screams, and he dreams of one day being a scarer himself when he grows up. Eleven years later Mike (Billy Crystal) is starting as a major at Monsters University, sharing a room with nerdy Randall 'Randy' Boggs (Steve Buscemi), but his knowledge of scare tactics may be overshadowed by intrusion from arrogant large blue monster James P. 'Sulley' Sullivan (John Goodman). Dean Hardscrabble (Dame Helen Mirren) informs the students that they will only continue studying the scare program if they pass the final exam of the semester, Sulley with his bragging ways gets invited into the Roar Omega Roar fraternity, while Mike struggles to get anywhere and sees Sulley as his rival. Mike studies hard and gives correct answers in classes, but Sulley does not feel the need to study thinking that natural scaring ability is all you need, and their bickering during the final exam causes them to fail and be dropped from the program. Mike wants to find a way back onto the program, so he decides to enter the extracurricular scaring competition the Scare Games, but the only team he can get into is being part of the fraternity of misfit monsters, Ooza Kappa, and he is annoyed that with a member short Sulley is the only choice when he volunteers. Mike makes a deal with Dean Hardscrabble that if they win the games the entire team will be readmitted onto the scaring program, but if they lose they will be forced to leave Monsters University, Sulley thinks he can help the team to win, but Mike insists they need more training to succeed. The team that rank the lowest on the board will be eliminated, they lose the first round, but are put back in when another team is disqualified for cheating, and they are not accepted by the other competing teams, being pranked and humiliated, but Mike gets them to visit Monsters Inc. to get their spirits up, and they are successful in the proceeding rounds. Ooza Kappa manage to reach the final round, along with rival fraternity team Roar Omega Roar, despite now being friends Sulley does not think Mike has the true potential for the final round, to scare a child in a simulation, especially with the settings for the equipment being high. Mike is overjoyed to prove himself as a scarer in the simulator and win the Scare Games for Ooza Kappa, but he is heartbroken to find out that the equipment was tampered with by Sulley, and upset he is desperate to prove he can scare people he activates a working door to the human world in the university laboratory. Mike is on the run from humans when the door led to a summer camp filled with children who are not scared of him, Sulley goes in after him and the pair reconcile, but when they try to get back the door is deactivated, but the friends reactivate it with almighty scream power from scaring human adults. Sulley confesses to Dean Hardscrabble of the cheating, and while the rest of Ooza Kappa are accepted the scare program for the next semester, Mike and Sulley are expelled, the Dean outside Monsters University gates wishes them luck for the future, having surprised her, they find jobs in the mail room at Monsters Inc., and slowly work their way up to become a successful scare team. Also starring Alfred Molina as Professor Knight, Dave Foley as Terry, Sean Hayes as Terri, John Ratzenberger as The Abominable Snowman, Nathan Fillion as Johnny Worthington and Bonnie Hunt as Mrs. Graves. As with the original Goodman and Crystal are delightful voicing the loved characters who bicker but of course become best friends, the fresh environment for the characters in their younger guises is good, the special effects are fabulous for all visuals, and the jokes all work well to entertain all ages, a funny and fantastic family animated comedy prequel. It was nominated the BAFTA for Best Animated Film, and it was nominated the BAFTA Children's Award for BAFTA Kids Vote - Feature Film. Very good!