Monsters University

A prequel to 2001’s Monsters, Inc., Monsters University follows Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) as they meet at the title locale and take an immediate disliking to one another – with the pair forced to put aside their differences after they agree to participate in a scare-themed competition. It’s a fairly pedestrian premise that’s employed to shockingly run-of-the-mill and middle-of-the-road effect by director Dan Scanlon, as the movie, virtually from the word go, comes off as a routine prequel that rarely deviates from the formula one associates with stories of this ilk. The charm of the characters and the superb quality of the animation simply cannot compensate for a narrative that’s been suffused with eye-rollingly hoary tropes, with the screenplay’s paint-by-numbers nature exacerbated by a midsection that couldn’t possibly be less interesting (ie it’s impossible to work up any enthusiasm for Mike and Sulley’s efforts at whipping a ragtag group of one-dimensional figures into shape). Monsters University‘s arm’s length atmosphere, which is compounded by typically horrible 3D that drains the movie of its brightness and color, persists right up until the admittedly unpredictable third act rolls around, with the effectiveness of this stretch ensuring that the film, for the first time, begins to resemble the original in terms of heart and forward momentum. Despite the last-minute turnaround, however, it’s ultimately impossible not to walk away from Monsters University feeling awfully disappointed – as one has come to expect much, much better from the folks at Pixar (although, given the less-than-stellar quality of the studio’s last few releases, perhaps not).

**1/2 out of ****