A few years back, Pixar built a sequel to its super popular Cars…and this attempt fell flat on most levels, from the pedestrian script to the silly story. Last year, they released Brave, a film that – while it garnered an Academy Award for Best Animated Film – was highly disappointing. The visuals were stunning, as per most things Pixar, but the story was abjectly cliché and drowned by its overzealousness and preoccupation with swooping 3D visual effects.
As Pixar’s first prequel to one of their mega hits, Monster’s University, on the other hand, atones for both of these films. Offering a glimpse of Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) an elementary school monster, we realize that the round lime-colored, one-eyed monster was always the runt, despite his genial personality and desire to connect with others. And, there is something more evident in this film than was in the original Monsters Inc. (though looking back on it, the something was always present). Namely, Mike is an island. there are no others like him. Other one-eyed creatures tower over Mike. Many have multiple eyes. Others are covered with fur. Still others have sharp fangs, nails, or other protrusions that invoke a fear that is so valuable in the role of “Scarer,” the coveted occupation among monsters.
Those who can scare, do; those who can’t scare, teach. This is something demonstrated in Monsters Inc., but the intricacies of theory versus practice are on display much more in this most recent film. Determined to become a scarer after a chance encounter with a famous monster while on an elementary school field trip, Mike enrolls in MU and enters the Scaring School, the “crown jewel” of MU.
Given the number of scarers and their inevitable secondary importance that is demonstrated in Monsters Inc., there’s certainly an allegory writhing underneath that explores educational inflation. Much like our world’s MBAs, there are an abundance of scarers, each one competing and deceiving the next to get ahead, but I digress, and there is something more important in this film, namely its message that might make Jiminy Cricket turn in his grave.
Much of this film plays like a typical children’s movie might. Mike and Sully (John Goodman) are opposites. The former is the nerd who does well in school and can recite any number of theories written about scaring. The latter is the jock that neglects to bring his books or pens to class. His father is a famous scarer and thus James P. Sullivan’s acceptance into MU and his inevitable successes are seemingly predestined. Clearly, they can be nothing short of enemies at first until a series of freak incidences force them to work together.
Having both been expelled from the Scaring School, Mike and Sully must find a way to gain re-entry. The opportunity comes in the form of the Scare Games, wherein teams of six complete in various challenges for a trophy – and in Mike and Sully’s case, acceptance back into the Scaring School. To compete, they must work with four less-than-stellar scaring monsters whose fraternity Oozma Kappa is located in the spare rooms of Squishy’s house.
As if it were a film straight out of the eighties, the second half of the film sends the message that hard work will pay off, no matter what the odds. And, truthfully, these moments lost me a bit. To its credit, the six rejects don’t overpower the other teams. They use a combination of wiliness and intelligence to work their way into the championship match, but there is an improbable moment that occurs about fifteen minutes before the end of the film that – as it rightfully should – would make any viewer over the age of eight wonder why so much time was wasted on something so cliché. And, in this moment, I felt the same disappointment I felt during the final few moments of Brave.
But then Monsters University redeems itself. A minor twist coupled with a deception removes the cliché, and Mike and Sully are once again at odds, though this time they are understanding friends at odds. There is no miraculous gesture of benevolence from Dean Hardscrabble, the frightening centipedal ruler of the Scaring School. Mike and Sully aren’t handed what we presume they will be.
Their route to the scare floor of Monsters Inc. is laden with challenges and time. And this might be the most important message throughout the film: attaining your dreams is much harder than just proclaiming your desire. As Mike and Sully learn, acceptance is not a byword for education. Monsters University doesn’t proclaim that dreams are dead, but it does encourage its audience – and maybe some of the adult audience as well – to consider their capabilities. And, in order to attain certain dreams, adjustments need to be made along the way.
In effect, Monsters University provides an addendum to the archetypal American Dream. Dedication and hard work do not guarantee absolute happiness and success. These cases, particularly in today’s world, are few. We need to think on the fly. And, we need to work with those who we once saw as competition.
Not only is this film profound in its message, it’s also refreshing.
