Monsters University
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A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University — when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.
What critics thought
Monsters University lands as a competent, often charming Pixar prequel that most critics found enjoyable but clearly beneath the studio's best work. The central debate was whether its warm performances and visual craft were enough to compensate for a story critics widely described as safe and unoriginal — with defenders arguing it works as breezy fun, and detractors pointing out that Pixar's own extraordinary track record makes 'merely okay' feel like a disappointment. The emotional depth and inventiveness of the original Monsters, Inc. was the benchmark almost everyone reached for, and the consensus was that this film doesn't clear it.
“Monsters University feels not like the work of artists eager to express something but like that of likable pros whose existence depends on getting a rise out the kids. It's like the scares Sully and Mike spring on those sleeping tykes: technically impressive but a job un-anchored to anything more meaningful.”
Alan Scherstuhl·The Village Voice
“Monsters University, the weirdly charmless sequel to the animated 2001 Pixar hit Monsters, Inc., is no better or worse than the average (and I mean average) time-filling sequel cranked out by other animation houses.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“Both the originality and stirring emotional complexity of Monsters, Inc., with its exquisitely painful and touching parallels with the human world, are missing.”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“It has enough of the right stuff to haunt the imagination long after the immediate buzz of its fluffy-furred cuteness has melted away. For a mere prequel, that's a result.”
Trevor Johnston·Time Out
“Pixar has raised the bar for animated features so high that when they turn out a film that's merely good instead of great they have only themselves to blame for causing critics to damn them with faint praise.”
Leonard Maltin·IndieWire
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Cast & Crew
Dan ScanlonDirector
Billy CrystalMike (voice)
John GoodmanSullivan (voice)
Steve BuscemiRandy (voice)
Helen MirrenDean Hardscrabble (voice)
Peter SohnSquishy (voice)
Joel MurrayDon (voice)
Sean HayesTerri (voice)
Dave FoleyTerry (voice)
Charlie DayArt (voice)
Alfred MolinaProfessor Knight (voice)
Tyler LabineGreek Council VP (voice)
Nathan FillionJohnny (voice)
Randy NewmanComposer
Daniel GersonWriter
Robert L. BairdWriter
Jean-Claude KalacheCinematography
Matt AspburyCinematographyFrom the studio
Monsters University
A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University — when they weren't necessarily the best of friends.
What critics thought
Monsters University lands as a competent, often charming Pixar prequel that most critics found enjoyable but clearly beneath the studio's best work. The central debate was whether its warm performances and visual craft were enough to compensate for a story critics widely described as safe and unoriginal — with defenders arguing it works as breezy fun, and detractors pointing out that Pixar's own extraordinary track record makes 'merely okay' feel like a disappointment. The emotional depth and inventiveness of the original Monsters, Inc. was the benchmark almost everyone reached for, and the consensus was that this film doesn't clear it.
“Monsters University feels not like the work of artists eager to express something but like that of likable pros whose existence depends on getting a rise out the kids. It's like the scares Sully and Mike spring on those sleeping tykes: technically impressive but a job un-anchored to anything more meaningful.”
Alan Scherstuhl·The Village Voice
“Monsters University, the weirdly charmless sequel to the animated 2001 Pixar hit Monsters, Inc., is no better or worse than the average (and I mean average) time-filling sequel cranked out by other animation houses.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“Both the originality and stirring emotional complexity of Monsters, Inc., with its exquisitely painful and touching parallels with the human world, are missing.”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“It has enough of the right stuff to haunt the imagination long after the immediate buzz of its fluffy-furred cuteness has melted away. For a mere prequel, that's a result.”
Trevor Johnston·Time Out
“Pixar has raised the bar for animated features so high that when they turn out a film that's merely good instead of great they have only themselves to blame for causing critics to damn them with faint praise.”
Leonard Maltin·IndieWire
Genres
Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Cast & Crew
Dan ScanlonDirectorBilly CrystalMike (voice)John GoodmanSullivan (voice)Steve BuscemiRandy (voice)Helen MirrenDean Hardscrabble (voice)Peter SohnSquishy (voice)Joel MurrayDon (voice)Sean HayesTerri (voice)Dave FoleyTerry (voice)Charlie DayArt (voice)Alfred MolinaProfessor Knight (voice)Tyler LabineGreek Council VP (voice)Nathan FillionJohnny (voice)Randy NewmanComposerDaniel GersonWriterRobert L. BairdWriterJean-Claude KalacheCinematographyMatt AspburyCinematographyFrom the studio
Stream
Rent & Buy