You might give it a passing grade, but as a comedy it fails.

Rating: 6/10 (30 June 2013)

Maybe because we know already from Monsters, Inc. that Mike and Sulley go on to work as a team on the scare floor of the powerful energy company, there is little drama in the conflict this prequel establishes. That would be less of a problem if the film were non-stop funny, but the humor in Monsters University is sadly lacking. In the past, when Pixar films have fallen short on the story level, they've been jam-packed with business and jokes -- like Mater's confrontation with a bidet in the underwhelming Cars 2 -- and breathtaking visual artistry. With Monsters University, it's possible that audiences may begin taking Pixar's continued state-of-the-art technical mastery for granted; people aren't as easily impressed if they don't care about what they're watching.