MONSTER UNIVERSITY 3D (2013)

Cast: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Steve Buscemi

Direction: Dan Scanlon

Genre: Animation

Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

Story: In this prequel to Monsters Inc, find out how Mike Wazowski and James P 'Sulley' Sullivan became buddies while in college and eventually, scarers.

Movie Review: Mike (Crystal) and Sulley (Goodman) weren't always the best of friends. Before landing up in their jobs as professional scarers at Monsters Inc, they were two very different individuals. One was the enterprising bookworm who wanted to go places while the other was a legacy (the child of a famous ex-student) who everybody wanted to hang around.
In fact, there are certain traits of the main characters in this film that stand out as reminders to their older selves seen in Inc. While a stern headmistress (Mirren, pulling off a Maggie Grace a la Professor McGonagall) doesn't think the pea-shaped Mike can't scare a child even if he wanted to, he sets out to prove her wrong after being kicked off the scaring course. A scarers' contest follows (Revenge of the Nerds or Student of The Year coming to mind, anyone?) where fraternities face off each other.

What follows is a fight to stay "on course". An unlikely ragtag team slugs it out against the best of the lot for pride and a chance at glory.

The film starts out while Mike is in school and on a field trip to the Monsters Inc facility. A chance meeting with a legendary scarer has him chalking out career plans which hit the reality speedbreaker when he crosses paths with Sulley.

The sorting of friends and foes and the actual discoveries of what's real and what's not is what makes up the rest of the story.

Crystal and Goodman retain the chemistry that made the first film such a good buddy flick. Don Scanlan takes over the reins and shows a confident touch. The animation is as realistic and top-notch as ever.

But what really is striking is the fact that a lot of the things that made Monsters Inc such a beloved film are missing here. The sharper dialogues, crisper editing and the more layered story and characters that were the highlights of Inc don't exist in the world of University.

What remains is a predictable college caper that you have inevitably grown up with or endured over the years. The cliches, the stereotypes and other banalities of a film of this genre are magnified and made annoyingly kid-friendly.

It's not a bad film. Far from that. It is actually quite enjoyable when watched for its own merits and with the entire family. It's endearing in parts. But compare it to Monsters Inc, and it falls quite short on charm.

Note: You will not like this film if you do not like predictable college-based stories.