Twelve years ago Pixar released Monsters, Inc., which was an interesting and entertaining divergence from their Toy Story films.  I liked Monsters, Inc., though I didn’t love it.  Now comes its prequel, which tells how one-eyed Mike Wazowski meets big, furry John P. Sullivan as they attend the title school together as student scarers.  All in all, I like this one better, even though it may not be quite as good.

Dan Scanlon takes over as director, and his biggest accomplishment is to recreate the human college experience in a setting with monster characters.  It’s a little bit Harry Potter, a little bit Revenge of the Nerds and a moment of Carrie, all blended together in a breezy, fast-paced romp.  The plot spins past in montage-like style, only slowing for Pixar’s trademark sentimental moments of truth telling and character redemption. Randy Newman’s jazzy score helps move things along and the familiar voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Helen Mirren bring their characters to vivid life.

Monsters University lacks the stunning originality of some of Pixar’s better works, yet that isn’t a flaw.  We already know this universe, and this prequel does a fine job of setting the stage for the earlier film, remaining true to the original concept and revealing character origins while still managing to be funny, insightful and poignant. By focusing largely on the college setting, Scanlon has a solid milieu in which to base his characters and express their emotions in a manner both relatable and fresh.

Would that all Hollywood studios took this much care when revisiting — and initially establishing — their franchise properties.  Pixar has dedicated an incredible amount of hard work to animated entertainment, and has succeeded to an astonishing degree. Other than the disappointing Cars 2, every other Pixar project has been at least pretty good and some have been great.  Monsters University isn’t great, but it is pretty good, and well worth seeing for yourself.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  23 June 2013.