Mike and Sully are back and this time they are in college. Instead of a sequel, we get to see how they came to be the monsters we saw in Monsters Inc. Sequels are a tricky thing. Prequels are much trickier. Surprisingly, Monsters University delivers one of the best prequels I can remember. It avoids the prequel pitfalls and although not as fresh as its predecessors, it does a good job creating a worthy back story for the characters you enjoyed from the first without relying on too many references to the original that could have made it stale.
Where most followups (both prequels and sequels) jack up the volume of jokes, effects, etc., the story is here is much smaller and safer. That is a good thing, we are spared a parade of familiar characters (that have no reason to be in the film) and the lazy repetition of gags we have seen before. Bigger doesn't always make it better.
The film really does play like a first entry and can completely stand on its own. If you have never seen either Monsters film you can easily start with this one and not miss a beat. There are plenty of laughs, some heart felt moments and its full of great visuals from beginning to end. Even though the climax does not meet the same level of enthrallment and as a whole it does run a little longer than it needs, it is satisfying and should entertain all audiences
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7 out of 10
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