Monsters University

Produced by
 Written by
Robert L. Baird
Dan Scanlon
 Starring
John Goodman
Steve Buscemi
Helen Mirren
Peter Sohn
Joel Murray
Sean Hayes
Dave Foley
Charlie Day
Nathan Fillion
 Music by
 Editors
 Cinematography
Jean-Claude Kalache
 Studios
Pixar Animation Studios
 Distributors
 Release date (s)
(BFI Southbank)
June 21, 2013
(United States)
July 6, 2013
(Japan)
 Language
 Preceded by
*Brave* (2012)
 Followed by

“*Before they were incorporated, they had to be educated.*”

―Tagline.

***Monsters University*** is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Dan Scanlon is the director and Kori Rae is the producer. It is the fourteenth film produced by Pixar and is the prequel to 2001's *Monsters, Inc.* John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Bob Peterson, and John Ratzenberger reprising their roles as Sulley, Mike Wazowski, Randall Boggs, Roz and the Yeti, respectively.

The film was released in the US and Spain on June 21, 2013. Despite what was said in the *Monsters, Inc.* trailer and in the scene when Mike and Sulley were walking to work, the two might've gotten separated during middle school or high school. This marked the first prequel Pixar has ever produced. The film was accompanied by a short film titled *The Blue Umbrella*, with a score provided by Jon Brion.

## Plot

The story starts with six-year-old monster Michael "Mike" Wazowski on a school field trip to Monsters Inc., a scaring company. At Monsters Inc., the class meets Frank McCay, an employee of the company who works as a "scarer", entering the human world to scare children at night and harvesting their screams as energy to power the monster world. As Frank prepares to enter a door to the human world, the children notice that Mike has slipped unnoticed to Frank's door, which he then enters before anyone can stop him. Mike watches Frank's scare performance, then follows him back through the door to the monster world. Frank scolds Mike, but is impressed with his ability to have sneaked quietly in and out of the room, and gives him his Monsters University hat as a souvenir. The teacher reprimands him as well, but Mike is happy and inspired to be a scarer when he grows up.

Approximately eleven years later, Mike is a scare major and is starting his first day at the prestigious Monsters University. On his first day, Mike befriends his roommate, the nerdy and shy Randall "Randy" Boggs, who desires to be popular and has difficulty controlling his camouflage power. During the first class of the scare program, as Mike is answering a question, he is interrupted by another scare student, an arrogant large blue monster named James P. "Sulley" Sullivan. The entire class is also informed by Dean Hardscrabble, the stern Dean of the scare program, that they must pass their final exam of the semester in order to continue in the program. While Mike is studying one night, Sulley inadvertently barges into his room in order to hide the pig mascot of a rival college. While the two bicker, the mascot steals Mike's treasured MU hat and escapes. Mike and Sulley chase the pig outside and struggle to capture it, but when Mike finally manages to do so, Sulley gets the credit, and is invited to join Roar Omega Roar, the elite fraternity on campus. Mike wishes to join, but is denied, magnifying the rivalry between the two.

Mike studies hard and repeatedly answers questions in class correctly, while the privileged Sulley, convinced all he needs is his natural scaring ability, begins to falter. At the final exam, Mike and Sulley's rivalry gets out of hand, resulting in Dean Hardscrabble failing them both and dropping them from the program, which prompts Roar Omega Roar to kick Sulley out of the fraternity. Unhappy in his boring new major, Mike decides to enter the Scare Games, an extracurricular competition involving a series of physical challenges that tests a monster's scaring ability. As the participants must be members of a fraternity or sorority, Mike joins Oozma Kappa, a small fraternity of misfit monsters. Mike tries to enter Oozma Kappa into the scare games, but is told he needs one more member. Sulley, seeing the competition as his ticket back into the scare program, offers to join, which Mike eventually reluctantly accepts. In the process of joining, Mike makes a deal with Dean Hardscrabble, the founder of the games, to re-admit their entire team to the scaring program if they win, whereas if they lose, Mike must leave Monsters University. Sulley expects to carry the team himself, but Mike believes that with enough training, the team can succeed. Meanwhile, Randy becomes a member of Roar Omega Roar and breaks off his friendship with Mike.

With the last-placing team in each round of the Games being eliminated from the competition, Oozma Kappa miraculously advances through the first round and survives by sheer luck. They then attend a party at Roar Omega Roar house where initially the other competitors appear to accept them, but they play fraternity pranks and humiliate Oozma Kappa instead. The group is discouraged as they are now the laughingstock of the entire campus, so Mike arranges a secret visit to Monsters, Inc. to lift their spirits. After that, Oozma Kappa uses their wits to advance all the way to the final round against Roar Omega Roar. Even having advanced so far, Sulley does not believe that Mike can be a true scarer because of his lack of natural ability. After the team surprisingly wins the final round, Mike discovers that Sulley has manipulated the equipment so that Mike would register a perfect score. Mike is heartbroken and wants to prove to everyone that he is capable of becoming a scarer. He breaks into the door lab and uses a newly-crafted door to enter the human world, but his plan goes wrong when it turns out the door leads to a summer camp and he completely fails to scare the children.

Back at the university, Sulley confesses to Hardscrabble that he cheated, just as she is notified of the break-in. Realizing what happened, Sulley enters the door to look for Mike. After finding Mike and reconciling, the pair, now being pursued by human adults, attempt to return, but Dean Hardscrabble has deactivated the door until the Child Detection Agency arrives, trapping them in the human world. Mike realizes that the only way to get back into the monster world is to generate enough scream energy to power the door from their side. Working together, Sulley and Mike scare the investigating adults, generating an overwhelming amount of scream energy and allowing them to return to the lab. Their actions lead to their expulsion from the university, but the other members of Oozma Kappa have been accepted into the scare program the next semester as Hardscrabble was impressed with their performance in the games. They share goodbyes and as Sulley and Mike leave, Hardscrabble approaches and tells them they are the first to have surprised her, and wishes them luck for the future. Mike and Sulley take jobs at Monsters, Inc. in the company mailroom with the Abominable Snowman. Over time, they work their way up until they become part of the Scarer Team, establishing the story of Monsters, Inc.

In the post-credits, the yellow slug-like monster (who was seen earlier in the film) finally arrives at the classroom, but learns from the janitor that the school year is over. The slug student runs back which he spends his entire vacation on.

## Cast

* Billy Crystal as Michael "Mike" Wazowski
* John Goodman as James P. "Sulley" Sullivan
* Steve Buscemi as Randy Boggs, a Roar Omega Roar fraternity member
* Helen Mirren as Dean Hardscrabble, the head mistress at Monsters University.
* Peter Sohn as Scott "Squishy" Squibbles, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
* Joel Murray as Don Carlton, a middle age student and the founding member of Oozma Kappa fraternity
* Sean Hayes as Terri Perry, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
* Dave Foley as Terry Perry, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
* Charlie Day as Art, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
* Noah Johnston as Young Mike Wazowski
* Alfred Molina as Professor Knight, the teacher for Scaring 101.
* Nathan Fillion as Jonathan Worthington, president of Roar Omega Roar
* Aubrey Plaza as Claire Wheeler, Greek Council president
* Tyler Labine as Brock Pearson, Greek Council vice-president
* John Krasinski as "Frightening" Frank McCay
* Bonnie Hunt as Karen Graves, Mike's grade school teacher
* Bobby Moynihan as Chet Alexander, a Roar Omega Roar fraternity member
* Julia Sweeney as Sheri Squibbles, Scott's mother
* Beth Behrs as Carrie Williams, leader of Python Nu Kappa sorority
* John Ratzenberger as Yeti the Abominable Snowman, a Monsters, Inc. mailroom employee
* Bob Peterson as Roz, Agent #001 of the CDA
* Bill Hader as Referee, Slug
* Mona Marshall as Emmett
* Jess Harnell as Fraternity Brother
* John Cygan as Big Red
* Lori Alan as Bus Driver