Movie Review: 'Monsters University'

By Leslie Combemale
aka Cinema Siren

They're back! Sort of…actually it is the long-awaited prequel of Pixar's highly inventive and successful feature, Monsters Inc. 

It is perfectly timed for those summer vacations with the little ones, who have vivid imaginations, and little fear of things that might pop out from under their beds at night. 

Fans of Monsters Inc. know superstar scarers and BFFs Mike and Sully, but how did they get to be tops on the Scare Floor of the company that keeps the power on in the city of Monstropolis? 

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They started out at Monsters University, where they were anything but friends.  Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi return as vocal talent, and are joined by Helen Mirren, Sean Hayes, and Dave Foley among others, to tell the story of how they became friends.  

This is no groundbreaker. Think of it as Revenge of the Nerds in cartoon fur.  It is the kid-friendly equivalent of a frat comedy, albeit with the genuine heart  of a coming of age buddy pic.  

There are the inevitable mistakes made, as life lessons are learned, the requisite college bully (Verse-alert! He's played by Nathan Fillion!), and the tried and true plot where one plucky weakest link leads the underdogs-in-training toward their goal of lasting college glory.  

Still, the heart wins, and this well-defined, charming collection of misfit monsters will keep you entertained, amused, and audiences will be cheering them to victory for all of the hour and 47 minutes. 

It also has the subversive willingness to say not everyone who wants something can always have it, no matter how hard they try. That's fearless territory for a cartoon.