5. Monsters University
Did It Succeed?: $637 million (more than the original film's gross), and 78% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Why It's Disappointing: Expectations are unavoidable when watching a follow-up to a classic Pixar film, and for my money, Monsters Inc. is by far one of the best films in their back catalogue. The prospect of a prequel certainly sounded more compelling than a hamfisted sequel, though given that Pixar's seemingly unstoppable winning streak was derailed by both Cars 2 and Brave, I was in two minds as to whether they still had the creative spark necessary to make this film work. Is Monsters University cute, fun and beautifully animated? Of course. It's just not the film that Monsters Inc. was; the Scare Games competition in the middle is incredibly padded, and it's not really until act three that the film takes itself anywhere interesting. Will I watch it again? Absolutely, but it won't be getting the same mileage out of me that the studio's very best films do.