Monsters University (2013) Directed by Dan Scanlon. Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi. IMDB says: “A look at the relationship between Mike and Sulley during their days at Monsters University — when they weren’t necessarily the best of friends.”
Before the film began, much like any Pixar film, there was a short film. The Blue Umbrella, directed by Saschka Unseld, runs about 6 minutes and is about two umbrellas that meet, become separated, and then reconnect in a rom-com sort of way. The story was cute, but what took my breath away was the look. The short looked insane. It’s as if they took real cameras out onto a rainy city night and taught these umbrellas to dance against the wind and personified building. Their render system got a BIG update and employed new techniques in light and overall composition that Pixar is referring to as global illumination. My mouth was open for most of the short and I was excited to see how Monsters University was going to look.
Monsters University is Pixars take on the college experience told by way of a prequel to Monsters Inc. Taking place 10 years before the events of Monsters Inc, the film shows us how Mike, Sully, and Randall meet at college and become friends, then enemies, then friends, then enemies, then ultimately… well, if you’ve seen Monsters Inc, you have an idea how it all pans out. The big event in the film is the contest to see who is the Scariest Monster is and the way they make this decision is through a series of challenges. What hurts the film, in my opinion, is the plot. It’s a story we’ve seen time and time again and the left and right turns this film makes are almost too predictable. Yes, that can be said about any film, but I was really hoping Pixar would do something different with the concept, rather than follow your typical arc. But, all is forgiven for what the film does right. The Monster world Pixar has created, the voice acting, and the overall character designs are fantastic, and most importantly, it’s funny. It’s hard not to be funny when your cast is filled with old and new characters voiced by Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Joel Murray, Charlie Day, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, John Krasinski, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, the legendary Frank Oz, and the lucky charm John Ratzenberger. You can tell the animators have studied the actors and really brought the their actions and mannerisms into the role, giving each monster, even its background characters, an incredibly unique personality. (Especially Art, voiced by Charlie Day)
The film looks like it used the same render system as The Blue Umbrella. The fur looks like you can reach out and grab it and the skin around mouths and eyes look too realistic. The updated render system adds wondrous levels of detail to training sequences and the challenges, making them brighter, and more exciting. I saw the film in 3D and while it didn’t add anything to what I was seeing, it didn’t take anything away either. No pop-out gags or anything with too much scenic depth was noticeable, so you’re more than welcome to skip the 3D and use those extra dollars on peanut M&Ms or something.
I recommend seeing the film in theaters so you can see the new render system on the big screen, but if you wait for a rental, make sure it’s an HD rental so you can truly experience the world Pixar has created.
