I love Monsters, Inc. It’s one of my favorite Pixar movies. The interactions between Mike, Sulley and Boo were just perfect and the emotion carried the story throughout the entire picture. So, I was a little worried about the prequel, Monsters University, especially since  Pixar’s last few movies were not at the same level of their earlier films (and Cars 2 was just plain mediocre). The movie is…decent. It’s not a bad movie, but it’s certainly not anyway near the level of Monsters Inc. Let’s check it out.

Mike Wazowski wants to be a scarer. Ever since his class field trip to Monsters Inc., that’s all he’s wanted. So he is thrilled to be accepted into the scarer program at Monsters University (that’s the name of the college, not just the name of the movie). His roommate in the dorm is Randall (who’s much nicer for most of the movie) and Mike is easily the smartest in the class. But, he’s overshadowed by James (Sulley) Sullivan. Sulley comes from a legacy of scarers and easily has the most natural talent. But, he’s lazy. Sulley doesn’t study and relies on his natural talent to carry the day. When a classroom fight in front of Dean Hardscrabble (the dean of the scarer college) gets both of them kicked out of the scarer program, Mike comes up with a workaround that involves him leading the least of the campus fraternities (Oozma Kappa – OK). Meanwhile, Sulley’s expulsion has cost him a spot in the elite fraternity (Roar Omega Roar- ROR), headed by a wonderfully hammy performance by Nathan Fillion. He reluctantly joins Oozma Kappa, because that is his only way to get back into the scarer program.

Needless to say, the rest of the movie shows Mike and Sulley move from enemies to friends as they have to work together, so they can both get back into the scarer program. Sulley realizes that his talent alone isn’t enough and he needs Mike’s intensity and determination to become a great scarer. And Mike has to come to grips with the realization that he just might not be scary enough to be a scarer. The movie ends on a slightly surprising turn (although it did go on a few minutes too long) that leads our characters back to where they were in the beginning of the original movie.

Overall, it was decently funny with some good characters. The plot was mediocre at best although there were some good laughs. This was a lot more of a kids movie, even with the college setting, with a simple storyline and a clear path of good guys and bad guys. I don’t want to leave people thinking that I disliked the movie. It was fine. I just have no desire to see it again. Mildly recommended.