Monsters University
Monsters University
G | 21 June 2013 (USA)
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A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University — when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.

Reviews
Exoticalot

People are voting emotionally.

Teringer

An Exercise In Nonsense

Tobias Burrows

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

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Curt

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

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adonis98-743-186503

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. "Monsters University" unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends. Monsters University is the prequel to the 2001 Monsters Inc. and for those who might expect something as good as that film might be left a little bit disappointed. But that doesn't mean that this is a bad movie no it's actually very fun and the voice acting excellent alongside the story and the animation plus loved young Mike he was pretty adorable. Definitely recommending it.

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ElMaruecan82

Monstres Academy (2013) The first "Monsters Inc." had an exciting premise both on a visual and story level, it created a parallel universe with monsters of various forms, designs, sizes and bodies: Mike Wazowsky (Billy Crystal) looked like an alien, James Sullivan (John Goodman) was a conventional grizzly-looking monster and then there were animal-like creatures like Randall Boggs (Steve Buscemi). The most 'fun' aspect of these monsters was less their differences than their similarities with us humans. So we had to see it to believe they were monsters and then came the whole plot centers on the Monsters, Inc., the door system and the encounter with a little girl named Boo. You know the story.The plot was simple although not devoid of a few contrivances here and there, but the charm lied in the simple things, in the sweet relationship between Sulley and Boo, something that felt like an early version of "Masha and the Bear" and the friendship between Sulley and Mike, served by great vocal performances from Goodman and Crystal. The ending where they realized they could obtain the same energy power by making kids laugh instead of screaming was a nice resolution that only left as a cliffhanger the slight possibility or visiting Boo again, but that's not the approach the sequel took. "Monster University" as its title indicates is a prequel to all the aforementioned events and answering to the questions that kept our mouth salivating for 16 years: how did the two monsters get their jobs? How did they become friends?There's a bit of sarcasm in my introduction but it's not mean to diminish the merit of the film, which can be summed up as great entertainment with a wonderful gallery of colorful and colored characters once again, driven by a plot so rich it's a real credit to the intellectual dedication of the screenwriters. This is perhaps its greatest blessing and its greatest curse. At first, I was just thrilled to see little Mike being too funny-looking and enthusiastic for his own good, we all know Disney movies have always been about believing in your dreams, but when our little green Cyclopes says "I want to be a scarer", not only we don't take him seriously but we know he won't succeed, because we saw the first film.So we know it's not exactly the destination that will matter but the journey. I liked the journey but I didn't expect it to be so technical? So we follow Mike as a first-year student in the university, discovering his roommate Randall Boggs, following the scare program, having his first course in the amphitheater and undergoing the mockeries of more credible monsters and the popularity of Sullivan who belongs to a prestigious family of scarers, not to mention the no-nonsense authority of Dean Handscrabble, voiced by Helen Mirren. I could relate to Mike and the film is perhaps the first animated feature to realistically portray the universe of universities. It also had its share of action and it carries that "underdog"' team aspect with the Oozma Kappa misfits and Mike being perfect in theory but not scary enough while Sulley relying on his looks like the hare on his fast legs. Still, I was surprised by the attention given to the contest, the graduation, being expelled or admitted. I liked the film but I wonder whether the script shouldn't have taken a much simpler and less convoluted path.The plot is well-written but a tad over-written, even if we accept that this is a universe that is exactly like ours (though it doesn't play with the same rules), it's just too grounded on a bureaucratic and institutional reality, too real for its own good. And it just takes for granted that because it's monsters, we'll get more excited by its series of twists and revelations. There are some great moments but they're lost in a double-character's arc that doesn't inspire much escapism or dream-like animation, something that really wows you at the end, it's fun, it's a nice buddy movie but maybe we got too blasé when it comes to animated pictures and it takes some really inventive material to blow you away. Grade 7, I guess it passes the test but it's one of these Pixar movies I wouldn't want to see again and again.

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Mihai Toma

Since he was a little monster, Mike wanted to go to MU (Monsters University) in order to become a top scarer for his kind. His only problem was that he wasn't scary at all. Despite this "minor" issue, he's determined to work hard in order to achieve his dream, although his only hope apparently lies in winning the famous Scare Games. Together with a team a misfits and a self-centred enemy, he must do everything in his power to succeed or face expulsion.It's a movie which bases its story way before the events from Monsters Inc, presenting the beginnings of Mike and Sully, how they got along in college, how they managed to overcome their condition and differences and ultimately become the best friends we saw in the first instalment. It's also funny as its predecessor, but unfortunately, it misses the idea of the first movie, one that made it really good. It lacks the thrill, the emotion and the soul. It feels unpolished, made to be a laugh, much more superficial I might say, fact which lowers the overall quality quite significant. It focuses way too much on those games but doesn't manage to involve the viewer as well, to somehow make him care about what's happening, especially when considering that the two compete together although they are bitter rivals and are "helped" by the only fraternity that was left in the campus. And, not to say that the finale is more or less known, having seen the first one. It redeems itself a bit towards the end with a couple of twists but it simply falls into mediocrity, without anything to make it stand out.Overall, it feels like a sequel (although it's a prequel) which was made just to profit from the name the first instalment made for itself, ditching key aspects which made it great, inexplicably choosing another path, ending up an average movie. You can watch it out of curiosity but don't expect the same quality, or you'll be disappointed.

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Prismark10

In the prequel to Monsters Inc Mike and Sully are students at Monster University but are unlikely to graduate and both cannot stand each other. Sully is too much of a jock whose talent is one scary facial expression and a family name and Mike is not scary enough.Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) expels them from the scaring course. That is until Mike comes up with a plan to win the Greek Council Scare Games and thereby his fraternity will be accepted into the College of Scaring.The plot is a mixture of the failing student needing to pass their tests in order to graduate. Think Billy Madison, Back to school, Revenge of the Nerds and Animal House as Mike and Sully's fraternity are full of nerds and outcasts.Mike and Sully learn to value each other and recognise the importance of teamwork but the film's message is an uneasy one. Are Pixar saying talent is something you are born with and cannot be acquired?In various studies it has been show that the US Marines have consistently turned people from a lower working class background, involved in petty crime, having minor drug problems into leaders of men in the battlefield.

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