Rating of
3/4
A Rare Quality Prequel
Looneymanthegreat - wrote on 06/22/13
Pixar was once a huge deal. They were huge innovators in the field of feature animation, and their early films, especially Toy Story, reinvented how studios look at family films. Nowadays, unfortunately, Pixar is a brilliant innovator in name only; they still present awesome visuals, and occasionally above par stories, but they are no longer going were no animation studio has gone before.
Monsters University may not be a new American classic, but I really like it. The movie, despite its prequel status and occasionally predictable script, works surprisingly well. It tries to hard to create tension despite these facts, and often succeeds, creating an interesting duel character study and showing how Mike and Sulley became friends.
What really tips the scales in Monsters University’s favor is the movies themes. It deals with complex issues, issues that kids do not get enough of. In the movie Mike wants nothing more then to become a scarer, but he isn’t scary, and no matter how hard he studies he simply isn’t scary. The characters have to learn that sometimes you can’t get everything you want in life just by trying really hard; that’s a lesson that we don’t teach nearly enough.
Monsters University is one a rare quality prequel, showing that 2011’s X-men First Class wasn’t a fluke, and that Prequels can actually be good. If you’re a fan of Pixar's catalogue (especially the original Monsters Inc) then this is a must watch for you; even if you aren’t a huge Pixar fan, you still might want to see it.
