1. It Adds To The Original
Thanks to George Lucas, movie fans have an instinctive response to feel skeptical of any film that's a prequel. But
Monsters University is proof that Hollywood can successfully pull one off. In essence, a great prequel should be able to add layers to the original film that was not there before.
Monsters University definitely adds to
Monsters, Inc. and makes that film even more entertaining to watch now. Sure, there are fun little callbacks to the first one. We get to see Roz in her CDA gear (and discover why she's "always watching" a certain Mr. Wazowski). The Abominable Snowman makes a cameo in the mailroom and we learn why he was banished in
Monsters, Inc. But
Monsters University also does some bigger things with its characters and makes them more rounded. Randall Boggs has a small role that could be criticized as being forced, but a tiny twist is added to his character as we see the origin behind his rivalry with Sulley (something that of course carries over into the original). This new background information give his character motivation and transforms him from a "I'm the bad guy because the movie needs a bad guy" villain to someone with concrete reasons for why he's doing these things. But of course, the meatiest character stuff deals with Mike and Sulley. One scene from
Monsters, Inc. that was already great but is now even better is the one in the ice cave when Sulley decides to sacrifice his scaring records and the future of the company in order to rescue Boo. The entire movie of
Monsters University adds so much more depth to that one scene. Ever since he was a little kid, Mike wanted to be a scarer (he even collected scarer trading cards). Obviously, breaking the record would mean the world to him. His feelings during that scene are even more understandable. Mike didn't have what it took to be a scarer and now he's seeing Sulley - someone who has what Mike wanted - throw it all away. Sulley, a legacy child with the big name, was expected to do great things and was living up to the hype but instead felt it was right to help Boo (there's a line in
Monsters University where Mike tells Sulley that he should stop being a Sullivan and just be himself).
Monsters University helped make the two characters' arcs feel more complete because now we've seen how much scaring meant to them and what they've gone through to get to this point. The prequel really was a missing chapter to their whole story. As a big Pixar fan, I thoroughly enjoyed their latest offering and I'm looking forward to what the studio has in store for us next.
Monsters University was a great rebound movie that showed Pixar hasn't lost all of their mojo. I just would have liked to have seen a montage where we find out what happened to the Oozma Kappa brothers after college because that gang of lovable misfits was one of the highlights of the movie. Minor nitpick aside, this was a job well done by one of the finest institutions in the business today.
Did you like Monsters University?
Is it really a return to form for Pixar? Let us know in the comments below!