Samantha Morrison begins her coverage of the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013…
Monsters University, 2013.
Directed by Dan Scanlon.
Featuring the voice talents of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Dave Foley, Sean P. Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Charlie Day, Nathan Fillion, Frank Oz and John Ratzenberger.
SYNOPSIS:
A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University — when they weren’t necessarily the best of friends.
This year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival is as vibrant and varied as last year, though perhaps with fewer films pitched for wider box office releases. The biggest of these is Monsters University, the prequel to the very successful Monsters Inc.
In this film, we see Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) enroll at “Monsters University”, where he dreams of studying hard to become a world-famous scarer. His classes are disrupted, however, when the arrogant, lazy James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) arrives, riding on his father’s coattails. Their two approaches to scaring clash, with deep consequences for their futures.
While I have great faith in Pixar productions, I must admit I was apprehensive about this particular project. I thought the premise was one that could easily become gimmicky and shallow, with the added disadvantage that as a prequel, the audience already knows exactly how the story must end. So, I am happy to declare that Monsters University was a pleasant surprise.
The relationship between Mike and Sulley is just as gripping, if not more so, than in Monsters Inc. Their bitter rivalry drives the plot forward, in a way that is utterly genuine and relatable. This dynamic is one that can be seen in every class in every school across the world: the hard-workers against the popular charmers.
The villain of the piece is truly spectacular. Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) is deliciously terrifying, with her scuttling insect legs and her penchant for sweeping her wings open unexpectedly and swooping into the sky. Despite knowing that Mike and Sulley must win out, Mirren’s monologues and threats made me feel that such an outcome was truly impossible, and such suspense held in a prequel defeated all my negative preconceptions.
Mike and Sulley’s rag tag fraternity fitted exactly with the stereotype within all ‘college’ films; the mismatched collection of the unwanted. Don, the ‘mature student’, is the one who is best developed on screen, but the rest of the group seem to serve no purpose except as comedic devices. It was an unfortunate failing, though with a premise that necessitated so many characters, a lack of depth in places is perhaps understandable.
The other fraternities and sororities also followed unwaveringly from cliché: the jocks, the cheerleaders, the goths, etc. Not having attended an American college, I can’t say categorically that such groupings are unrealistic, but I personally felt that it was a cheap shortcut. I got especially cross with the cheerleader sorority: not one monster is alike to another in the world of Monstropolis, and yet here we had six or so identical monsters. There may have been a point about cheerleaders being mirror images of one another, but I felt this would have been made much better if we had six different-looking monsters with identical hair, clothing, etc.
However, that is the sum and total of all the flaws of the film, which makes for a very entertaining 110 minutes. The pace is excellent, the characters are endearing, the threat to their futures is very real, and all in all Monsters University delivers the fun family film I had hoped for, with more heart than I hadn’t dared expect. An excellent addition to the list of Pixar greats.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★ ★
Samantha Morrison
Originally published June 24, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
