Comments on: ‘Monsters University’ Is Unexpected, Fun & The Must-see Film of Summer 2013

By: Ian Miller

Ian Miller — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 06:36:00 +0000

In reply to Morgan Stradling. She was a great character that could have used a lot more time and development. :) :(

By: Ian Miller

Ian Miller — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 06:32:00 +0000

I was more than a bit disappointed by Monsters University. The first film did three things incredibly well – build a world full of complexity, fun, and depth; build relationships between many characters (not just the two friends, but also the romance, the parent-child, the boss-worker, the rivals, etc); and have both of these two elements undergo fundamental changes for the better in one of the most powerful, poignant, and joyful endings of any narrative I’ve seen in the past two decades.

Monsters University is…a sports buddy movie. A very well done sports buddy movie, but it falls down in every single one of the ways the original stood up. The world is thinly sketched – there’s lots of detail, but little depth. The relationships are entirely focused around Sully and Mike getting together as best friends – little to no time is spent on relationships other than with the two central figures, and those two figures go through an entirely predictable route to get to where we all know they are going. Perhaps one exception might be made for the commendable lack of handwaving to get them to the scare floor, but otherwise, every single character beat is a retread.

Finally (and this is the part I was afraid of from the first time I found out the film was a prequel), the film ignores the entire moral point of Monster’s Inc: That joy is better than fear, and laughter makes the world a better place. Instead, we have clever but overlong references to horror films (much more clumsy than the many subtle homages in Monster’s Inc), and a desire to be scary – to have power over others by playing on their weakness, rather than building up their strength.

Monster’s University is not a bad movie. It is, however, a very disappointing one.

(Also, there weren’t nearly enough girls in the film. Seriously.)

By: Gabriel Green

Gabriel Green — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:24:00 +0000

I loved it!! I wasn’t at all looking forward to it because the trailers looked kinda
dumb. But then I started hearing good things about, so I went in
cautiously optimistic.
And it blew me away! Not only is it one of
Pixar’s funniest movies, it has a lot of heart and it’s so
unpredictable. While I don’t think it’s as good as some of Pixar’s best,
I liked it better than Cars, Cars 2, A Bugs Life and Brave, all of
which except for Cars 2 I think are pretty good films.

By: Gabriel Green

Gabriel Green — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:07:00 +0000

In reply to Tom. That's the main message of the film. There are some things out there that some people are cut out for and others just aren't. Not everyone has what it takes to be whatever they want.

By: Greg Slagel

Greg Slagel — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 18:58:00 +0000

I wish I had kids so I could ask them but I don’t think this is a kids movie at all. I don’t even think that kids will understand the plot since it heavily relies on knowledge of college life. That being said, I think that is what makes this such a great film. The animation is pretty enough for kids to sit through it but everything else about the film was told to adults, and not in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge-kids-don’t-get-this sort of way. The story had me laughing, reflecting, and cheering. The sound design had me quaking in my boots at times. To top it all off it was jaw dropingly beautiful from the character design to the lighting.

I wouldn’t for a second consider this a kids movie but I will be gladly throwing my money at the theaters to see it again, as I’m sure many other adults will.

By: Alexandria Lowell

Alexandria Lowell — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 23:23:00 +0000

My favorite character is Dean Hardscrabble. I literally can’t stop obcessing about her! I really could care less that Helen Mirren voiced her (I don’t care that much for live-action flicks), but I just wish Disney had more merch of her avaliable!

By: Tom

Tom — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 04:15:00 +0000

Now there’s something I didn’t get…

*****SPOILERS*****

Mike really wanted to be a scarer…but in the first movie he’s not. And in the end of this one we get to see how Sulley got to be a scarer but… what about Mike? He just decided not tot try to be a scarer anymore? At least there’s something that satisfies me: what he ended up doing in the first movie. So I don’t feel so bad watching Mike suffering in here when I see how he ended up, but still…the last part is so freaking fast!

By: Morgan Stradling

Morgan Stradling — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 00:40:00 +0000

In reply to Milan Harrison. I loved Claire too! She was hilarious. :)

By: Milan Harrison

Milan Harrison — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 23:08:00 +0000

Fantastic Movie! 5 out of 5 stars! My favorite new characters were Terry (with a y) Perry and Claire Wheeler. Can’t wait to see it again!

By: MovieMan995

MovieMan995 — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 17:35:00 +0000

I thought it was very good. Not as great as the original, but it’s one of Pixar’s funniest movies. I didn’t know how it’d work as a prequel since the original’s heart is all Boo, and a prequel removes that. However, the film still manages to tug the heartstrings along with being hilarious. It has also possibly the bravest message so far in a Pixar movie, one that is very effective and a great asset. Gonna give it an A-. 🙂