Movie review: Monsters University

MOVIE REVIEW: Hard on the heels of Despicable Me 2 comes another cartoon contender for that much-contested all-ages entertainment dollar.

Film Review Monsters University

MOVIE REVIEW: Hard on the heels of Despicable Me 2 comes another cartoon contender for that much-contested all-ages entertainment dollar.

Excuse me while I check my calendar. Yep. Just as I thought. Another lot of school holidays is just around the corner.

The very title of Monsters University should ring some very familiar bells. Pixar Studios have dusted off their beloved 2001 hit Monsters, Inc. and polished up a nifty little prequel.

Let's call it Mike & Sulley: The Early Years.

Yes, Monsters University spirits us back to a time when pint-sized cyclops Michael "Mike" Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and hulking shaggy-bear James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (John Goodman) were yet to earn their scaring stripes.

In case you've forgotten, the alt-universe realm of Monstropolis occupied by these kooky critters is all about putting the frighteners on infant humans. If a monster scares a child just right, the resulting screams can be turned into energy that powers the whole of Monstropolis.

To gain the necessary spooking skills for a career in scaring, Mike and Sulley find themselves enrolled in Monsters University.

This seat of learning is pretty much a Hogwarts for creatures that go "grrrrr" in the night. However, Mike and Sulley are hardly wizards of the craft.

For much of this story, the duo is forever on the brink of being kicked out by MU's non-nonsense overseer, the ever-unimpressed Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren). Crunch time arrives with a plot development not a world away from The Hunger Games. If Mike and Sulley wish to remain on the hallowed grounds of MU, their team must win an arduous campus-wide scaring tournament.

What follows is a perfectly pleasant, pastel-hued pile of shenanigans that never once outstays its welcome. The pacing of the tale is zippy, the energy levels of a clearly enthused voice cast never dips, and the humour in play effortlessly connects with kids and adults alike.

Animation buffs might be disappointed to learn that Monsters University does not see Pixar pushing the creative envelope like that fabled studio once did with every feature.

Perhaps the halcyon era of one Pixar classic after another is over?

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Monsters University [PG]

Rating: 3/5

Director: Dan Scanlon (Feature debut)

Starring: the voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Helen Mirren, Steve Buscemi, Charlie Day.

"Educating those who couldn't scare less"