They made a prequel to Monsters, Inc. Ignoring that it's so much better than ruining the sheer brilliance of that film's ending with a sequel, that simple fact about Monsters University's existence was enough to have people chalk it up as another misfire from Pixar. It's probably this attitude that meant MU didn't even get nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, the biggest snub in the category since its predecessor lost out on the big prize to Shrek. Those who went in to Dan Scanlon's feature debut with more of an open mind, however, got a funny, heartfelt movie that operates both as a Pixar send-up of college (or rather, college movies) and a logical prequel to one of their earliest classics. When introduced, Mike and Sully are entirely different beasts to the best friend duo of the later movie, but the story isn't just about getting them to the start of Inc - it understands that both movies are just stories from their wider lives. In fact, there's very little in the way of overt winking to the later events at all (Randall's arc aside, everything is gleefully self-contained). Where the film really wins, though, is in its sombre, realist message. Mike is a hard-working student who dreams of being a scarer, but even trying his absolute best he can't make the cut. Rather than scarring kids for life though, it's twisted into an optimistic show of how realising your limitations is actually the real route to success.
