Four stars. Rating: G, and suitable for all ages
By Derrick Bang
Delving into the origins of
popular characters can be quite a lark — consider the fun that’s been had with
younger versions of Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and the Star Trek crew — and Pixar has uncorked a collegiate charmer with Monsters University.
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| When an extra-curricular field trip goes awry, the members of Oozma Kappa — from left, Art, Don, Squishy, Terri/Terry, Mike and Sulley — find themselves being pursued by Folks In Charge. With few options for escape, our misfits are about to learn an important lesson: Salvation comes when friends work together. |
Spending more time in the
imaginatively conceived “monster universe” is delectable enough, and
director/co-scripter Dan Scanlon has sweetened the pot by supplying the inside
scoop on how monocular-eyed Mike Wazowski (once again voiced by Billy Crystal)
first met bodaciously blue-furred James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman).
Naturally, it’s competitive
loathing at first sight. Isn’t that the way all grand friendships are born?
Although this prequel lacks
freshness and originality — try as they might, Scanlon and co-scripters Daniel
Gerson and Robert L. Baird can’t replicate the giggly, first-time awe generated
by 2001’s Monsters, Inc. — it compensates
with a warm-hearted story that extols both the virtues of friendship and
integrity, and the all-important notion that diversity is valuable for its own
sake.
Yep, even a world littered with
crazy-quilt critters isn’t immune to social pecking orders that ostracize
misfits and timid outcasts. Scanlon & Co. pull off an impressive trick
here: Even though we know the future of this realm’s scare industry — thanks to
the first film — this sparkling new adventure of Mike and Sulley sets up innovative
adversaries and challenges, while keeping a steady (single) eye on the core
message of camaraderie and integrity.
Resourceful as we might be on our
own, we’re always stronger when good buddies have our back ... and we have
theirs.
We first meet Mike during childhood
(voiced with high-pitched, little-kid sincerity, in these early scenes, by Noah
Johnston), as a teacher’s pet and correspondingly shunned know-it-all, who
nonetheless blossoms during a school field trip to the Monsters Inc. “Scream
Floor.” Little Mike is spellbound, as he watches veteran Scarers travel through
the magical doors that lead into the bedrooms of unsuspecting Earth children,
there to elicit the youthful shrieks and screams that supply the essential
power to the Monster Universe.
This, young Mike decides, is what he wants to do
in life.
Flash-forward to Mike’s first day
on the storied, Ivy League-flavored campus of Monsters University, as he
eagerly embraces life as a freshman at the School of Scaring. Alas, his book
smarts and willingness to study fail to impress the imperious Dean Hardscrabble
(Helen Mirren), a scuttling, genuinely frightful creature modeled after an
Amazonian giant centipede ... with devil’s wings. In the dean’s eyes, a
one-eyed green beach ball couldn’t possibly be scary, and she can’t wait to
bounce Mike from this particular field of study.
But the dean is equally
unimpressed by Sulley, a slacker who shows up late for class, fully expecting
to coast on the value of his family name; the Sullivans have fielded impressive
Scarers up until now. As it happens, that reputation is good enough for top Scare student Johnny Worthington (Nathan
Fillion), the condescending president of the campus’ top fraternity, Roar Omega
Roar.
Mike isn’t fazed; he’s got enough
optimism for himself and his dorm
mate, the chameleon-like Randy Boggs (Steve Buscemi). Pixar fans will remember
this character from the first film, and his introduction here is something of a
surprise: He’s insecure, uncertain and — like Mike — just wants to fit in. And
become a Scarer.
After an unfortunate classroom
incident, Mike and Sulley find their university careers hanging by the slimmest
of threads. Worse yet, they’re forced to join ranks with the campus’ most
embarrassing fraternity, Oozma Kappa, which boasts but four members:
• Scott “Squishy” Squibbles (Pete
Sohn), a sweet, naïve, gelatinous blob forever humiliated by the fact that
their “frat house” actually is the family home run by his single mother (Julia
Sweeney);
• Art (Charlie Day), a
purple-furred whatzis who resembles a discarded Muppet, and whose weird
anatomical abilities are matched by an equally off-kilter, New Age-y manner;
• Terri and Terry Perry (Sean
Hayes and Dave Foley), a two-headed preppy forever bickering with himself; and
• Don Carlton (Joel Murray), a
tentacled, downsized Midwestern salesmonster who has returned to college in an
effort to re-invent himself and find a new career as a Scarer. (Yes, this is one
of several nods toward real-world relevance: a welcome touch that grants this
script additional pathos.)
This, then, is the rag-tag bunch
that Mike and Sulley hope to mold into champions of the annual multi-round
Scare Games ... a challenge made more formidable by the fact that Mike and
Sulley don’t even like each other. Cooperate? Not likely.
The best Pixar films always blend
their core narrative with plenty of hilarious sidebar events and characters,
ranging from short verbal encounters to eyeblink sight gags and other whimsical
bits of business at the edges of a given scene. By its very nature, the monster
universe is ripe with such material, and you’ll likely go cross-eyed trying to
take in all the fun stuff.
Goodness, an establishing
overview of the MU quad is impressive enough, with literally hundreds of
monster students — no two alike — studying, kicking back, playing games or
making their way to class ... some faster than others. Point being, this film
invites — nay, demands — repeat viewing, in order to better appreciate details
large and small.
Scanlon and his fellow scribes also
replicate the nervous, all-essential college vibe, with its
confidence-shattering agitation, while granting it a monstrous spin: everything
from the hilariously cramped dorm rooms to the caste system that establishes a
gulf between Oozma Kappa and the “cooler” Greeks such as Roar Omega Roar and
the deceptively sweet, pink-garbed sisters of Python Nu Kappa.
The characters may be inhuman,
but the unsettling atmosphere will be familiar to anybody who spent time on a
high school or college campus ... and worried about fitting in. That would be
most of us, which is precisely the point.
Crystal once again romps his way
through Mike’s motor-mouthed efforts to compensate for his raging case of
Little Monster Insecurity. Mike is blind to the possibility that confidence
might not be enough to overcome physical, ah, deficiencies, when it comes to
being genuinely scary. And because Pixar’s talented animators grant this green
gum drop just as much emotional complexity as Crystal’s expressive voice — an
impressive trick, when dealing with a character who has only one eye, no nose
and no body — we easily accept the notion that he’s no different than any other
young adult trying to find his place in the world.
Goodman, in turn, is
appropriately brash and blustery as the big, handsome guy — everybody’s notion
of the ideal monster — who can’t be bothered to better develop his natural
abilities. Why bother, when he has the best roar in school? Goodman lends an
undertone of menace to his performance, particularly when Sulley (quite unfairly)
perceives Mike to be the source of all his troubles.
The fun here comes with
anticipation: our knowledge that, at some point, Sulley must start to become
the humble, sweet and mature hero of the 2001 film. This thawing occurs in
several phases, although I particularly enjoyed the moment when the worshipful
Squishy “ropes” Sulley into joining him during a fraternity dance. It’s a sweet
little scene, and one of many.
Mirren is suitably chilling as
Dean Hardscrabble, who somehow manages to be both terrifying and graceful.
Buscemi’s obsequious tones initially make Randy something of a shallow toady,
but we know that an edge eventually will appear in his tone.
Aubrey Plaza’s fans will
recognize her distinctive voice behind Greek Council President Claire Wheeler,
the rah-rah who emcees the Scare Games. Tyler Labine and John Krasinski play
the Greek Council VP and “Frightening” Frank McCay, respectively. And of course
Pixar regular John Ratzenberger pops up, albeit very briefly, as a Yeti-esque blue-collar
worker.
As also is custom, this film is
preceded by a truly charming short subject, The
Blue Umbrella, animated in a style quite unlike all other Pixar shorts.
Randy Newman contributes a
delightful orchestral score: triumphant as necessary, bittersweet during the
story’s frequent emotional setbacks.
One quibble: Although this film
was designed to be made in 3-D, those effects add nothing to the finished
product. Save your money and go for the standard version.
After the considerable disappointment
of last summer’s Brave, it’s nice to
see that Pixar hasn’t lost its magic touch. As company founder John Lasseter
always says, nothing is more important than story ... except perhaps credible
characters who work their way into our hearts.
That’s certainly the case here.
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