Monsters University (2013)

Directed by Dan Scanlon

 

"A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University -- when they weren't necessarily the best of friends." - IMDB

 

So after waiting for over half my life for this to be released, I had to go and see it! And no I didn't use the "I'm taking my little brother" excuse, I went with my boyfriend (who is older than me, for the record) so yeah! No shame... I've also bought the mugs from Disney store... Yeah.

 

Anyway I was pleasantly surprised! I expected the film to kill the first one (Monsters Inc. 2001), I was a bit worried actually, but it really didn't! Obviously nothing is going to beat the classic and this prequel is nothing like it but it is still an awesome film. It's funny and cute and there's bits in there that link to Monsters Inc. which make your inner child pop out (yes I got a little bit giddy).

 

They didn't kill the characters either, especially Mike and Sully, who we all love in some way. I think because they merged in to the characters that we know from the first film towards the end, we weren't let down by the difference at the start. It was actually done really well; it was good to see what the characters were like before we got to know them so well and how they changed into what we do know.

 

The plot itself was quite interesting; it wasn't like Monsters Inc. but then it wasn't like your average teen, college movie. It was a perfect balance between the two - what it says on the tin 'Monsters University'.

 

We went to see it in 3D and I'm not a fan of 3D anyway but it was purely at the convenience of showing times. I wouldn't say it was a waste of money going to see it in 3D but it wouldn't have changed anything about my viewing experience if we hadn't gone to see it in 3D. It wasn't amazing and like I said, I'm not really a fan of 3D movies anyway, especially animated.

 

The only negative thing I would say is that the bad guys weren't bad enough. Randall actually scared me in Monsters Inc., but the baddies in this weren't very scary at all, and they weren't really played enough. I don't think it's because I'm older, because I'm still a wuss! There was the head of the scare school, Dean Hardscrabble, and a bunch of popular guys, Roar Omega Roar, and neither had a particular scary part in the film which made you shudder a little.

 

So if, like me, you've been waiting 12 years for this to come out then you won't be disappointed. And if you haven't and you didn't like Monsters Inc. then you should still go and see Monsters University because it's still a really good film on it's own. You might even like Monsters Inc. a little more!