Pixar Gets an F. The Juvenile Monster's U Shows Little Effort.

Rating: 3/10 (8 December 2018)

We all know how unprecedentedly great Pixar was in the late-90s and early-2000s. With classic after classic after classic, the CG animation pioneers redefined family cinema. Then, around the turn of the decade, they ran out of ideas. Monster's University is another of their subpar sequels, and what a sad reminder this film is of those past glory days.
Monster's university is technically a prequel to the fabulous 2001 film, Monster's Inc., showcasing Mike and Sully (voiced again by Billy Crystal and John Goodman) as newly acquainted college freshmen at a prestigious school for scaring. And now is where I ask, Who thought this story was worthy of a feature film? There is nothing of value to the whole premise, much less to the film's trite plot. The writers do their best to spice up the obligatory prequel features (callbacks, introductions to people we already know, and the like) with a manufactured "College Games" that pits several fraternities against one another in a race for a school trophy, but it only serves to illuminate the lack of interest in revisiting Monster's Inc. It's also shamelessly kiddie. For a studio that made its name with storytelling strong enough for parents to enjoy, it's almost shocking to see something as trivial as a "big game" as the movie's centerpiece. Monster's University's story barely qualifies as a Disney Junior Original, never mind a Pixar product.
The downfall of Pixar is two-fold. In one sense, they have lost the creative spark that led to Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, straining to recreate their signature blend of smart storytelling, colorful characters, and creative animation. And then there's movies like Monster's University, which doesn't even try to imitate a formula that works. It's low hanging fruit to prop up a few mildly amusing gags on a paper-thin storyline about some manufactured college competition. Monster's University will distract kids, but it won't do much else. I did not hate the film, but I was thoroughly disappointed by it. At one time, you could count on the fact that Pixar would never play it safe. If Monster's U is any indication, those days are long gone.
38/100