Monsters University

Rating: 4.5 Shurikens

Pixar's release for 2013 is the sequel to the 2008 Monsters, Inc. It is a story about the monsters that are hiding under the bed when the lights go out at bedtime. Pixar is genius when it comes to making movies that are entertaining and funny, and able to be enjoyed by everyone, no matter how old or young. I am a big Pixar fan, making sure to see every single movie they make in the theater at the time it is released. Toy Story and Cars are favorites of mine, and Monsters, Inc. is another.

John Goodman plays the voice of James P. Sullivan, the monster known as Sulley. Billy Crystal is the voice of Mike Wazowski, the yellow monster with a single very large eye. Monsters University is a prequel to the original Monsters, Inc. The movie takes them back to college days, after a very cute intro of a very young Mike Wazowski going on a field trip to Monsters Inc. He is inspired to become the world's greatest scarer. Then, fast forward to the first days of school, where he meets his dorm roommate, Randy. Randy is the nerdy younger Randall Boggs, Mike and Sullie's boss in Monsters, Inc., voiced by Steve Buscemi.

Mike then encounters Sullie in the first sessions of the Scare program. He studies hard, while Sulley coasts along on his natural abilities and the reputation of his father. Mike learns that he is just not that scary, in spite of the fact that he studies hard and has really good grades in the academic aspects of being a scary monster. For Sullie, everything just comes naturally. Sulley joins a top fraternity, Roar Omega Roar, but doesn't last long. He then joins the misfit fraternity Oozma Kappa, with Mike, and they compete in the intra-fraternity competition.

Other old monsters make make appearances, and a whole slew of new monsters is introduced. There are the members of Oozma Kappa: the two-headed Terry and Terri, who doesn't always agree with himself. Slug is the member who hosts the fraternity in his mom's basement. Don is the adult student who has been in sales all his life but is going back to school in late middle age.

The movie is very entertaining, as I have come to expect from Pixar. They don't seem to be able to produce crappy movies. It is great for children, and also for anyone who has ever gone to a big college, as there are things that only adults can truly appreciate.

I give this one four and a half Shurikens for many good laughs, and a seemingly effortless but highly entertaining movie, including  decent plot and good character interactions which seem very natural, even though the monsters are completely imaginary.