Scary good.

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2013)

Those marketing whizzes at Pixar have done it again. Making a great film- which Monsters University undeniably is- is really only half the battle these days. The studio has again showed tremendous patience and foresight to release a follow up to Monsters Inc. only when its original target market was at a stage to fully appreciate it. Think Toy Story 3, but a lot less subtle.
Before they were fully-fledged scarers, Mike and Sully (Billy Crystal and John Goodman, who both slip back into their characters seamlessly) started off just like everyone else: wide-eyed freshmen at the prestigious MU. But while Mike has had to work every day of his life just to gain entry, Sully is less battle-hardened, having ridden the coattails of his family name for years. When a squabble between the pair results in the destruction of a priceless university artefact, Dean Hardscrabble (a wonderfully scathing Helen Mirren) has no choice but to kick them out of the program, and their only hope for re-entry is teaming up with a bunch of rag-taggers and winning the Scare Games.
The beloved animation studio has again served up an excellent mix of child-friendly slapstick and more adult humour, facilitated by a colourful supporting cast and punchy script. Charlie Day's Art, in particular, is a brilliantly crafted character, giving the kiddies plenty of laughs while hinting, ever so deftly, at the stoner culture that comes packaged with the university experience (we all knew one). He is a perfect example of this balance Pixar has built an empire on while elsewhere, newbies John Krasinski and Joel Murray flawlessly complement welcome returnees like Steve Buscemi and John Ratzenberger.
For the keen-eyed viewer, the film is a walk-in wardrobe of Easter eggs and allusions. As soon as you start to get the feeling that an opportunity to bring in an old favourite has gone begging, they pop up in the most unexpected places (wait for the reveal of crusty favourite Roz). The fluidity of the narrative is masterful, too, as MU covers a lot of ground in less than two hours, but never feels flustered, instead taking time to flesh out backstories and relationships in impeccable detail.
The film misses the emotional gut-check of Toy Story 3 and doesn't quite plunder our sympathies like Up, but that isn't the intention here. Tonally, this is a more reserved and, in many ways, more affirming tale; one that assesses the weight of friendship and carries a nice message of determination and believe in oneself trumping all.
*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*