Review of Monsters, Inc. (2001) by Whitney W — 04 Oct 2013

We know they are Best Friends, but how did they meet? We get a new adventure with Mike and Sully, but not how we know them. This time we are going into their past and joining them for College. Mike Wazowski has dreamed of being a screamer since his elementary school visited, and he is old enough to attend Monster University (MU) and pursue his dream of being a scarer. Quickly things fail to go as planned for him, and he loses his spot in the scaring school because of an arrogant big wig named James P. Sullivan. Enemies since they met, Mike and Sullivan have to learn to get along and win their spot back in the scaring school. Watch and enjoy the journey of how Mike and Sullivan went from enemies to the amazing scare team we met back in 2001.

Many sequels fail to make us go back to that day we watched the original for the first time. They miss the mark almost every time, but for the first time in a long time, I think that's not the case. Monster's University redeemed sequels for the time being. I was a bit nervous about the movie before its release in theatres since Disney bought out Pixar, but I was really impressed with MU. It felt like the same people made it that made the original which I think is an important aspect when your audience is now in their late teens and early 20s. I loved the fact that the writers and animators made references back to the original.

The movie remains light and fun for the majority of it. While at the same time, the movie really touches on the realism of a friendship. It shows the struggle between being friends and being honest. Mike and Sully struggle through having a real relationship and afraid of hurting each other. There is a strong sense of work ethic and consequences for wrong doing.

While it may not be the best movie out there, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it stayed very true to its true nature. It strikes your heart at the core and brings the five-year-old out in everyone. This is one of the hottest movies from the summer of 2013, and in my book, it'll be hot for a long time to come.