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Reviews WesternAnimation / Monsters University

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TT454 Since: May, 2014
08/05/2014 16:12:56 •••

I expected mediocrity, but I was really surprised.

Monsters, Inc. was the first movie I saw in the cinema, and I loved everything about it; it's my third favourite Pixar film after The Incredibles and the flawless Toy Story 2 (my favourite film ever). After the disaster that was Cars 2 - the film which instantly signified Pixar's inevitable decline - I expected this film to be merely passable direct-to-DVD material. Boy, was I wrong. Monsters University is absolutely fantastic, in my opinion. Not perfection, but a very strong flick.

Despite a simple plot - Mike goes to university, meets Sulley, and they become rivals but then are forced to work together - the personality of this film is irresistible. This is because the writers made sure to make almost every scene a joy to watch. There's so much colour, detail and liveliness in it, so many kooky and cleverly-designed monster characters to meet, and some really interesting twists throughout it. It's a goodie bag chock full of zany delights, bursting with charm and good humour.

It also takes the hilarious duo of the original and switches their personalities: Mike becomes the clever, sophisticated character, and Sulley becomes the egocentric, bumbling college bum. And the results are just fantastic. These characters are just as hilarious and fun as they are in the original, and they develop beautifully. There's also a really heartwarming scene where the duo look into the Monsters, Inc. factory and see where they'll work in the future, knowing the road to get there is long but also knowing that it can happen. That scene was divine to me; only Pixar can truly inspire such magnificence in animated film. A truly brilliant scene.

Are there flaws? Well, a couple of nitpicks can't hurt. I think that the film is a little bit mean-spirited at times. Some examples: Mike being pushed away by his classmates during his childhood, Sulley stealing a mascot pig, Mike and Sulley's team, "Oozma Kappa" being humiliated during the "Scare Games" and a cruel comment towards Mike from one of the jock characters during a pivotal scene. Also, I do think that the film's pace is a tad slow. It's always funny and full of interesting elements, but at times I felt the film needed to move along a bit faster.

Overall though, I think this film is spectacular. In my opinion, it tops A Bug's Life, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Cars 2, Brave, and Toy Story 3.


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