Let me know what your thoughts on Monsters University are? Do you think it's a masterpiece all the time? Do you think it's another Pixar sequel that shouldn't have been made? Or do you think it's just okay like most people seem to?
Someone made a comparison to Mike not being scary to those of us who may disabled or neurodivergent. Putting us at a disadvantage. And sometimes no matter how much we work, we may not be able to fully achieve what we want. It can feel pretty disheartening. And, it's easy as a person with ADHD to see where that idea comes into play. And makes Mike relatable for people like us.
I enjoyed it a lot, bu I agree that there were a lot of characters and plot threads that weren't fully utilized. Honestly? It probably should've been a TV show.
I will say, one thing I do like about Johnny is he never resorts to cheating. That feels way too obvious to a college movie, and instead giving it to Sully, the deuteragonist scared of failing, made it a lot more interesting.
@@Pundit07 They probably felt nobody would care if they changed him, to be honest. But yeah, it's a shame his more agreeable traits were left out. It's not like it would have changed much. He could have still been an antagonist as he was, after all.
@@Pundit07 the way I see it, is that he’s the antithesis to sully. They’re both from monster university, and are CEO’s of their respective company. But instead of trying to change the system of how they gather energy, he thought of doubling down and seeing how to gather more screams. In the way of his character, he’s become more one note, but I think that’s how he’s slowly grown into a worse character, opposing Sully’s growth of him becoming more empathetic. Idk maybe I’m thinking too much about this lol
@@qwacktrap Probably, but it's a far more interesting interpretation than 'nobody cared so they changed him up a little', & builds on the themes of both movies so, roll with it anyway
I caught onto a very interesting detail that Monsters University added in. When Dean Hardscrabble tries to give Sully his test, he roars, which then prompts her to say that he failed because he didn't even listen to the information, which is when he's told that the boy scared of snakes, so a roar couldn't make him scream, but rather cry, which would then potentially endanger monsterkind. Boo's monster, Randall, is very snake like, which implies that Boo at least has a fear of snake like creatures, or even snakes (assuming that her monster is based off of her real fears). So Sully's roar didn't make her scream, but rather cry. Monster's University honestly was being extremely clever with their callback references when they wrote that
@limespots: Thinking about it now, perhaps the reason why Mike is more adamant about getting rid of Boo than Sulley is at the beginning of Monsters Inc is because he has PTSD from his experience at Camp Teamwork. One important thing to remember is that he was very close to being touched by not just one kid, but an entire cabin of kids. Being raised to believe that children are toxic, this event probably traumatized him. By contrast, Sulley never ran into any kids in the Human World until he meets Boo in Monsters Inc, hence why he doesn’t have as strong of a fear for her as Mike does. This, in turns, makes it easier for Sulley to recognize Boo’s humanity than Mike initially.
Its still a ridiculous assumption. Just cause youre scared of snakes doesn't mean that nothing else can make you scream. Nice Easter egg though I guess
@AJJesko It's a ridiculous assumption, however they likely deducted that from scaring a lot of kids and seeing that at least a good chunk of them do end up crying from being roared at because of their fear of snakes
I always liked that this move said: "You can work as hard as you want and want something so bad, that doesn't guarantee you are gonna get it. But you might learn something new about yourself along the way." Mike wasn't good as a 'scarer', but he was an EXCELLENT scarer teacher and motivator.
What I really really love about this movie is that it tells a message that's never been told in kids movies before (afaik). Instead of the usual "keep dreaming and you'll achieve your goals", you get a much more realistic approach to that idea. It's perfect too since fans of the first movie would have likely gotten older by the time the second one came out, and so probably would be more mature and understand the message.
one thing you forgot to mention, the credits scenes in which mike and sully work their way into monsters inc through the mail room resonates pretty well with me. you dont have to take the perfect path to get to do what you want to do in life, you could always find another way in through other places. a good message especially for university
Dean Hardscrabble’s job is to train the best of the best students and sees Sulley as a spoiled brat with no skill and Mike as a determined student with no talent. That’s the genius of her arc, she learns that ANYONE can be the best in different ways.
I just like how much it retroactively makes monsters inc feel more realistic. The ONLY thing mike cares about until the very end is getting his normal everyday life back, and once you know how absolutely hard he worked to get it, it makes him feel more real. Like imagine going through all this iwth your best friend and finally achieving your dreams and your best friend who you both agree has had it easier than you from the beginning throws it all away and says none of it matters. And he reacts how anyone in his circumstances would. Hut within probably just a few hours, mike is able to look at things from sullys perspective, like he always does for mike, and actually back him up, like sully ALWAYS does for mike. They are the bestest of pixar best friends and this movie was what cemented that for me.
My only real issue is how little mike and sully seem to keep up with their brothers from OK bc they really became close by the end. And as a kid I felt bad that they all become scarers only for that to be a defunct job in like a decade, but the creators DEFINITELY made them goofy and light hearted on PURPOSE so that you can rest easy knowing they not only got to keep their jobs, but do one they probably are better at and enjoy a lot more.
It also turns him becoming a comedian to make kids laugh for the new power source into an arc. Connecting the end of the original movie and the character arc of the second makes both so much sweeter. Because Mike DOES get the job he always dreamed of. He IS in the roll of the “scarer,” and not only did he never have to be scary in the first place, he has EXACTLY what the monster society needed the whole time.
It really makes Mike feel less like a jerk who's just riding on Sully's coattails. Being a scarer isn't everything to Sully and he grows a little tired of it over the years, but Mike is living what he considers to be a perfect life and is baffled that his friend would do anything to ruin that.
@matti.8465 and then when he thinks about it, he realizes that if sully was willing to do that, then whatever reason he was doing it was IMPORTANT to sully. Like even when they make up, he's not on the same 1-1 page wirh sully, he still tells him, admittedly a lot more maturely and calmly, about how risky and dangerous this is but still is willing to put it on the backburner to help him. And I think it's less of being a scarer and more just Mike genuinely wanting something to be proud of and on top of that to do something that everyone considers super important bc nobody thinks Mike wazowski can DO anything important. He was content being the guy who got the guy at the top TO the top, and yet, because of his good deeds and ability to look past his own desires and think about his friend who does the same for him, he gets rewarded with the position that REALLY gives him purpose AND the writers do it in a way that makes sully fine with the change bc like you said he's grown tired of it, gotten what he wanted out of it and actually sees that as harmful now. They all get exactly what they want bc they did the right thing and then the people who tried getting what they want the wrong way suffer HARD. up until the sequel I thought Randall was EATEN by the humans. But it's sweet that the two friends who are truly selfless and put everything they worked hard to accomplish on the line for a good reason and get compensated for it, despite that not being the reason they were risking it to begin with. Saying it out loud seems pretty cut and dry for movies in general but this is done in such a subtle and very grounded way for such an off the walls premise and main characters
15:12 Not just full grown adults, but full grown adults that are sheriff deputies. They've probably been through a lot of terrifying stuff dealing with criminals, and yet Sully and Mike managed to be the scariest.
My understanding of why the monsters were told kids were toxic was because Boo’s situation wasn’t the first time a monster got emotionally attached to a child, and it put the monster world at risk of losing their power source if it got out that humans and monsters could get along, or if the kid started telling other kids not to be afraid if they see a monster cause they’re actually nice.
I think it was to keep control over the monsters. It placed an irrational fear of children into them that would make it harder for monsters to look deeper into children and realize they're not what they seem
If you follow the Pixar Theory interpretation, it's a lot bigger than that: the Monster World is _the far, far future of Earth,_ long after humans are gone (or evolved _into_ monsters, as suggested by a bonus animatic on the first movie's DVD), and Closet Doors are _time portals_ between the two historical eras. So, it's entirely possible that they're trying to minimize the adults of the Human World from finding out about the Monster World (Hardscrabble even mentions it as being a risk if a child _cries_ instead of screams, and the parents come running... but, why wouldn't the parents come running for a _scream,_ then???), out of fear of _changing history_ such that the Monster World never comes to exist...
@@WackoMcGoose The scream is literally absorbed by the canisters, so when the child screams in fear the sound is muffled by the canister absorbing it. When a child cries however, their cries aren't pure fear, they are part sadness which doesn't get absorbed well by the canister and therefore is heard by people nearby. I think the Pixar Theory expansions that relate Monsters Inc with Inside Out cover that topic in more detail. It also explains that the child's happiness being 10 times more effective than fear isn't an absolute fact but rather a product of the time that emotion was produced. It is theorized that when monsters started using the closet doors, they actually started scaring children back in the middle ages, when fear was the strongest emotion. This also explains the toxicity, because maybe children were actually toxic during those times due to the bulbonic plague, which may have caught on the monsters and caused some epidemic.
@@flydrop8822 ...Huh. So cultural inertia, secrecy to avoid pime taradoxes, and thinking things through. Guess it _has_ been a while since I watched a Pixar movie (still haven't seen Coco, or TS4, etc)...
Admittedly this is one of the few expansions of a Disney movie i enjoy. Not every sequel/prequel can be Toy Story, but i think it's the right movie for people who deal with impostor syndrome. What do you do when you love something but aren't the best? What do you do when someone is better at it than you but in a different way. A lot of artists deal with that and it's usually in college where that reality check comes in.
I really do have to give Pixar credit for Monsters University. It's an incredibly ambitious and mature message for a movie aimed towards families and kids.
Same feelings I have about toy story 4. Too many discounted, as if it invalidated TS3. It’s a great movie, and love the message it brings about purpose, especially considering the point in our lives many who grew up with these movies are
Mike's ending in Monsters Inc is completely recontextualized in University. He goes from wanting to be a scarer, to realizing he really can't be and coming to terms with that, to having his strengths in comedy becoming even more valuable in the end. University is genius where Mike is concerned
I also like that the two movies show how versatile and flexible Mike is. I think it’s a great message to show that you can’t stay stagnant and do the same thing over and over and over again. You’ve got to change with the world (because the one thing you can count on life is change).
7:55 well not every character can be deep and complex but they can serve their purpose in the story. But the Oozma group may be one note and flat but they do change throughout the story where they realize that they can use what makes them different and use it to their advantage.
i think the kids being toxic thing was a play on the “you’re scared of them but they’re probably more scared of you” speech that parents tell kids when they’re scared of like spiders or whatever? i don’t know if that’s the actual reason why, it just makes sense to me
Sulley’s characterization in Monsters University really makes you appreciate his character growth in Monsters Inc even more, as it is very clear that the Sulley we see in Monsters University would have treated Boo very differently than the Sulley in Monsters Inc. Without his college experience, he probably would have abandoned Boo in the Monster World or turned over to the authorities. Another detail I noticed in Monsters University is that Mike and Sulley’s personalities are inverted. In MU, Mike is a hardworking student while Sulley is a slacker. But by the time we get to MI, Sulley is a humble, hardworking individual while Mike is a scheming Ladies Man. At this point in his life, Sulley has grown to scoff at developing a romantic life outside of his job, while Mike has grown to take life less seriously and loosen up for a change.
What I appreciate about this movie is the fact that mike doesn't succeed against all odds. It's a hurdle too big for him to jump, yet that's not the end of his time in the scaring industry. I liked the realism in the idea that there are just some things that aren't meant to be, but all that effort was not ever wasted.
I really love this movie as a kid and even as an adult. It’s a special part of my childhood, and teaches me that sometimes I’ll never achieve my dreams or goals and that’s ok. You might not succeed but it doesn’t make you a failure.
I legit love this movie because it shows Mike just cannot scare. He tries and tries and tries, but ultimately it is something he’ll never be able to do. I like that the movie showed Mike accepting that and then finding another avenue for his talents. I think that’s a great message and not something shown in a lot of media.
MU is genuinely a work of art, and one of the best movies i’ve ever see (my opinion ofc). it’s so beautiful aesthetically with all the different colours and textures of the different monsters, and variety in how everyone is modeled, rigged, animated, and textured differently. literally never a boring moment to look at. the opening sequence is my second favorite part of the movie actually, with how it perfectly sets up who the main protagonist is, the kind of world he lives in, his hardships, his goal, the thing that drives him to want to succeed, and gives world building by showing off how artistically beautiful and mesmerizing the scaring process can be, while also being emotionally heartfelt, touching, and realistic (given the confines of the Monsters universe). genuinely a beautiful 10/10 opening/scene that i wish more people talked about, but i will digress. most of MU takes place outside, so the scenery is constantly changing (as opposed to Monsters Inc, which took place mostly in a factory and got kinda boring to look at tbh). people who say MU’s scale is boring bc it’s a college campus and “smth we’ve seen before” i truly believe are just looking for reasons to not like this movie. MU does a fantastic job at embracing the college atmosphere in a rated-G family friendly way. the scale ironically feels more open and bigger than that of Monsters Inc (which again, 90% was in a FACTORY as if we haven’t seen a factory before 🗿), but again i digress. the ever-changing scenery in MU also allows the movie to take full advantage of using light to tell the story, which it does more often than any other animated films can think of off the top of my head. the movie is also very impressive on many other artistic levels (and as an artist myself, i LOVE this about MU friends arc is my favorite of this trope in how it was slowly developed and realistically executed given the circumstances. “antagonists” like Hardscrabble and Johnny i don’t think can be considered villains tbh. you can label them simple stereotypes, but i feel that undersells who the actual characters are. Hardscrabble was clearly never challenged in her authority before Mike, and her vendetta against him and Sulley is understandable when you think about how Monsters University is one of the most prestigious scaring schools around, and they graduate people who become real Scarers, which is one of the most dangerous professions in the Monsters universe. her being a harda*s makes a lot of sense to me. (i also love how she’s always backlit or in the shadows, except for the very end of the movie when she’s 100% in the sun after coming to a change of mind.) Johnny actually has a small bit of character depth too, if you’re looking for it. he canonically fears failure, and you can see it in his facial expressions as the Scare Games go on. he never cheats, and never gets mad at other people’s success, only getting confused by Oozma Kappa rising up the ranks, and upset by his own teams failures. by the end of the movie he actually admits he was “wrong” (granted only to Sulley, but point is he took losing surprisingly gracefully and never swore revenge like Randall did). i think MU having realistic antagonists instead of cartoonish villains actually works in favor of the movie, bc MU is very grounded, character driven, and relatable on a personal level for almost everyone who watches it. a villainous presence like say Randall from Monsters Inc would feel very out of place. MU doesn’t /need/ any villain character in order to excel in telling the story or having emotionally impactful scenes. and speaking of emotionally impactful scenes… the lake scene that everyone talks about is great, but people need to stop putting it in a vacuum bc that scene is only as great as it is because the entire movie built a strong foundation for it. in other words, the lake scene was /earned/ throughout MU, and i think the rest of the movie deserves to be acknowledged for building it up ;p. MU’s pacing is fantastic. everything feels like it’s progressing naturally. the emotional beats get their moment to shine, and the less-important moments don’t get dragged out too long or boring. the movie is also chunked really well with the three acts (imo), it feels like 3 separate stories smoothly laced together into one big beautiful story. i think my favorite thing about MU though, is how EVERY event in that movie is caused bc of a character. other Pixar movies like Coco and Onward feel like the characters have little to no impact on the plot. they are punching bags for whatever direction the movie wants to go in, and the main characters are just along for the ride, while MU feels entirely caused bc of characters making decisions. that movie literally wouldn’t happen, and wouldn’t have taken so many twists and turns if it weren’t for the characters affecting the plot. and nobody ever feels “out of character” either. every action someone does makes perfect sense with how they’ve been characterized since the begenning. and every emotional beat is thoroughly earned bc of it. very VERY good stuff there, things every movie should strive to live up to. MU isn’t perfect ofc. Oozma Kappa being underdeveloped, and Randall’s backstory being lazily handled are my two main complaints. but the movie manages to excel in many areas, and is genuinely one of the most well rounded works of art i’ve seen. it’s better than Monsters Inc in almost every aspect, and tbh a top 3 Pixar movie (it’s #1 for me, but i may be personally biased bc MU is my favorite movie overall lol). thanks for reading if you read allat! :D
I agree, I watched it recently, and I think it might have the most pleasing asthetic of any Pixar movie. The vibrant greens and yellows of early fall give it so much color
True but it's a line of dialogue that you could cut and the plot would still function just fine. I'll agree that it gives a little context to Randall's motives in Monsters Inc but I wish we could have seen more of that. I can understand not giving a huge role since he was already explored pretty well in Monsters Inc but he has such little presence in the overall plot of University that he feels pretty superfluous... In my opinion, anyway.
When Mike said “you’ve been scared of my good looks since the 4th grade” I always thought he was exaggerating and he was thinking to back in collage when Sully was the best scarier monster
One thing i heard in another review of the movie that specifically focuses on mike and his character was, that this movie does a great job at portraying how it is to be different and that not every dream can become reality. And that even when the happy end where Michael succeedes in becoming a scarer is missing the film still has a happy end despite basically throwing him out of his dream school at the end a thing the movie was as a whole building up to kinda not happening. In that sense i think it is a great story that highlights that life doesn't go as planned but always finds it way ti resolve a matter. That wanting something enough isn't always enough
Regarding kid toxicity, I seem to remember a line from Roz, as the head of the CPA, about how they also know kids aren't actually toxic. It's been a while since I watched, but I recall taking from this dialogue that the CPA have always known children are safe, but deliberately spread the toxic misinformation as it keeps children safe from the kind of crap Waternoose and Randall tried.
It also isn't known at that point that laughter can provide power, so maintaining the perception that children are toxic to monsters keeps things in line and the power on.
I watched the movie a couple nights ago and I can assure you such a line doesn't exist--perhaps it's in some sort of deleted scene? I do remember hearing something like that in my youth
@fntthesmth423 I think maybe I just read it into the fact that they knew there was some evil, child related scheme they were investigating, and her total nonchalance to Boo's presence.
Dean Hardscrabble does not enforce a rule. Mike was kicked out of the scare program and bet her that if he won he’d be let back in and if she won he’d have to leave the university. Not a huge difference but definitely frames here character in a different way
I have a theory on where the toxic kids thing came from. The common cold. One time a monster contracted the common cold while scaring a kid who had a cold themselves. This lead to a very intense pandemic in Monstropolis as the common cold was a new virus for them. Kids end up copping the blame, kids are now seen as insanely toxic.
To me, monsters university is also a story about disability and acceptance. Mike has yet to accept that no matter what he does, he will never have the physical abilities his peers have, and he needs to reevaluate his goals, despite always hearing the positive messaging of “you can do anything you put your mind to”. As a disabled person, seeing this movie brought me to tears watching it the first time.
i just love how it shows with the main characters, the difference between someone being gifted in physical abilities vs someone being gifted intellectually, mentally.
I've loved this movie since it came out. Its nice to see someone talking about the good in it, while still recognizing its short comings. There's certainly a lot to love here!
Very content to see more Monsters University praise. Regardless of some minor shortcomings I’m glad to see deep analyzing of how effective the movie was with its themes and recontextualizing everything we knew prior along with how much it focused on Mike and broke down his arc, which makes us like him more than his initial appearance.
11:43 Unless we're talking about the Terries. Their scaring method of looking like a regular human at first, but revealing their extra appendages one by one was always sick to me
I grew up with so many movies where the lesson was literally just to believe in yourself and you can do anything, you’re special no matter what (Kung Fu Panda comes to mind). While those movies are amazing and I do love the message, this lesson is more fine tuned to reality, telling kids to not just blindly believe they can do whatever they want, but to find their niche and excel at that.
I think this movie is important if you look at it from a disability standpoint too. Mike knows everything there is to know about scaring, but because of his physical attributes hes fundamentally not up to the task. And when you're disabled (physical or not) there are somethings you just... can't do. You can try hard but sometimes it doesn't work out. I LOVED this movie as a kid, because I had undiagnosed autism and felt like something was wrong with me. I never connected well with my peers, and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't interact "normally" with them. I would scroll on the family computer for hours looking at small talk tips or conversation starters, but it never made a difference even though I knew HOW to carry a regular conversation, my brain just wasn't wired in a way that LET me. I wanted to be a therapist. I wanted to help people by providing them someone to talk to, but I couldn't do that without the ability to actually hold a conversation normally. I wanted to help people but lacked a fundamental attribute to do so. I'm better off now in the communication department (still not great) and I never actually went off to do therapy, you know what I did do however? I found a different career path that will let me help in a different way. Im in school to be a library technician. Learning the message that you can't always achieve your dreams, but its okay to change your direction in life to something better suited, was really important to me. I remember watching this in theatres and just lying awake in bed that night thinking about it. I hope Mikes/Sullys story resonated with other kids like that, and I think the movies got a really mature and nuanced message about it that people need to see.
I believe that Mike and Sully are both insecure because they might have come from families that extol different values: Sully must have come from a long line of scarers, and so he's under pressure to live up to the Sullivan name. Mike, on the other hand, must have hailed from a family that was very studious, and that's why he values hard work so much. Except their families are never mentioned, in either movie. And there could've been more explanation, in the first movie, as to why children are believed to be toxic. Is it possible the monsters had negative experiences with them, in the past? In any case, both Mike and Sully had discovered that it was their insecurities that bonded them, since both of them were being pressured to succeed.
This does actually beg the question of how did they get the energy from children's scares if a door needs to be powered to go to scare a child in the first place 🤔 Real chicken and the egg situation here.
@@DropsOfMars Maybe in the Monsters world, 'normal' energy options exist, but Scream Energy outpaces them by miles (while also being 'green'), thus their infrastructure became built around how efficient of an energy Scream was and now they're stuck in a situation where say the Grand Monster Dam couldn't keep up if something went wrong
I love this movie. To me, it's such a mature story and that's exactly what i like to see coming from Pixar. It's so real and deep even tho the characters are fantasy creatures and I think that is the best
There was an idea early on in the pre production stages of the film where the director Dan Scanlon wanted to show Mike and Sulley knowing each other in the fourth grade and hating each other, but he and the writers team started to realise that by being respectful of the line from the original film, it was changing the type of story that they wanted to tell with this film. The simple answer would've been to show that they had a relationship in Elementary, but the problem that the writers were noticing was this idea of them meeting a long time ago, having a relationship and then reintroducing that relationship again in another setting, so they decided to drop the idea when Pete Doctor and John Lasseter told Dan that he needed to do what was right for the story.
I liked the movie. I didn’t watch till I got Disney plus but I still thought it was fun addition to the background of Sully and Mike. I loved the line “when you lose no one will remember you.” “Sure but if you lose no one will let your forget about it” (paraphrasing)
I only have such a high fondness for this movie because whenever i would go to this one friend’s house we would ALWAYS watch this and i genuinely have no idea why.
I always thought kids were said to be toxic so as to protect them. If monsters are made to believe that children are toxic, it would make it to where monsters were RARELY going to touch anything belongings to or even a child itself, this, keeping children safe and the monster world from being discovered
Monsters thinking humans are toxic wasn’t explained in either of the movies but there is a popular theory that Monsters Inc made up the rumor and spread it in order to create fear around the harvest of scream energy, leading to scarcity and increased profits for Monsters Inc.
It is no Toy Story 2 or Inside Out 2, but it's actually a pretty solid prequel. My only complaint is that maybe Mike and Sully could have been familiar with each other at the beginning. They wouldn't even have to be friends
In fairness to the 4th grade line, they theoretically could've just... attended the same school together, but not really been forced to interact until college. If anything, it kind of suggests their relationship may not have been a good one. This is a bit of a stretch, but from what I remember at least, not an implausible one.
I've always liked monster university, this video was great at reminding me exactly why I like it. No, not pixars greatest, but it didn't need to be, it was good enough for me
My head cannon for why they believe humans are toxic is because they only view them as a power source, like how we view nuclear power plants as very dangerous and my reason for think that's what monsters think is because they used to use nuclear power, but then they found the power of screams and saw how clean it is and they can't go back to it since they don't have the resources for it anymore
One of my headcannons for the whole “Humans are Toxic” thing is that perhaps one of the pioneer scarrers had a severe human allergy, and had accidentally been touched by a human during a scare and died due to the extent of his allergies. Seems cheap maybe, but you could probably add some depth by showing they weren’t “traditionally” scary, and thus they got touched by a child out of curiosity. Not only does this explain the human toxicity thing, but the inherent prejudice towards non-scary scarrers. Hope that gives you some closure haha!
i remember when this movie came out i was so confused because i didn’t know what a prequel was ( i was a kid ) so i was just like this is weird but cool
the only issue I will have is Mike said they meant in 4th grade not in college, so other than that its still a good prequel movie. (Sorry its actually 4th grade not kindergarten)
Since Toy Story 4 was brought up, I want to say that I do think its existence was warranted, even if 3 was conclusive, and regardless of actual opinions on it. It finally forces Woody to confront what *he* wants, rather than what Andy, or rather Bonnie, wants. Bonnie is not Andy, she doesn't care about him the way Andy does, and while the first three movies cement Woody's belief that a toy's purpose is to be there for their kid, this friend-like figure, 4 serves to challenge this notion, asking "What if this person in your life doesn't reciprocate, no matter how much effort you put into the relationship"? It challenges that co-dependence Woody clung to, even after he was able to say goodbye to Andy.
Back when this movie got released, it was considered mid. I just watched the movie for the first time, and I thought it was overall Great! Shows just how bad a situation we are in with movies nowadays, where 2013’s Average goes above and beyond the “good” movies of today.
What are your thoughts on Monsters at Work? It's the disney+ sequel series to monsters Inc. I think its like Monsters University in that it has a lot of highs, but also a lot of lows.
This comment is a little late but to respond to your later tangent about human objects toxicity never being explained. In the first movie we see Hardscrabble(or wtv is name was) handling boo and her belongings without freaking out. I always just believed it was a government ploy to keep the monsters in check. Disney movies were always doing stuff like that yk
1:081:14 THAT IS AN OUTRIGHT LIE! What evidence do you have that we should take that line seriously? Has the Pixar confirmed BEFORE MU that line was legit or a film that confirms it? ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY you removed all of the context for that line A why Mike said that was to boast he was more attractive B Sully teased mike about "Mike: I'm tellin’ you, big daddy, you're gonna be seein’ this face on TV a lot more often." And Sully responded with "Yeah, like on Monstropolis' Most Wanted?" And C that line "You've been jealous of my good looks since the fourth grade, pal." Was followed from a sarcastic laugh and loosely just following So it was just supposed to be funny jokey moment between them.
My biggest gripe with this movie is the character designs. When the huge crux of the story being "Mike isn't scary" it does disservice to the story when he's surrounded by characters that are much less conventionally scary than him. Like if Oozma Kampa is considered scary enough by the Scare Games, why isn't Mike? Why did Sully have no confidence in Mike and rig his game, and not say Squishy's? Ignoring the story, I think a majority of the designs don't fit in the Monster's Inc universe. Like if you put a character like Johnny, or Art, or even the professor in the first movie, they'd look extremely out of place. The only exceptions imo are Dean Hardscrabble and the librarian
I’m kind of annoyed by the contradiction in the movie that “Oh, Sully keeps doing one roar over and over and then pretending that’s a new technique,” but then when there’s an opportunity to show us a new technique the monster does a generic roar. Like, come on, they could have showed the monster climbing up the wall like a spider and then mimicking a “Ho-ho-ho!” Seasonal creep n’ crawl, but no, so the complaints fall flat.
I think this movie could've worked much better as a show, more time could be spent on character dynamics, tensions could have longer to build, characters could be more developed etc. but it's still a fun movie regardless.
The biggest issue with his movie is that it relies too much on tropes ( especially 80's one's no less) and completely retconning the history of Mike and Sulley. Though I loved the last 20 minutes of the movie. The middle part is what held it back
Reconning? How? Prior to monsters University there really wasn't any direct information about Sully and mikes past in MI. Unless there's a very serious book or 20 to 30 minute film prior to MU about Mike and Sully that people have failed to mention
@@alexandru5369 I don't recall anything where Mike and Sully confirm or deny WHEN they met And if your talking about this line 1:12 just like the person who made this video, WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU HAVE THAT WAS THE TRUTH? Has Pixar prior to MU confirmed that was the truth? and it was more than just a funny ha ha moment between Mike and Sully? along with being more than Mike just boasting he was more attractive?
Monsters University messed up by changing the back story of Mike and Sully. They talk about how they met in the 4th grade... but then in the MU, they met when they went to college. So... which is it? Why did the producers miss this?
my biggest problem with Kappa is that... they're not supposed to be there They dont know how to scare, dont know what to do, dont know their own strengths in scaring, yet they got in? while failing the things that others barely, who are scarier, pass? It feels less like a loser group fitting with mike, and more just a generic plotline to push it. Though, they were fun to have around, i like them, i just see the plothole of them even... getting in.
Getting into what exactly? The University? There are more things in this world and in the University to do than scaring. (EVEN MIKE SAYS THAT IN MI) In the scaring program? well remember oozma kappa tried hard to get through the scare games and still had some kind of talent. considering A they were a consistently winning yeam after the first challenge and B were somewhat skilled in teamwork and agility. (2 traits handy for scaring) They didn't do it flawlessly but they at least earned a chance to try the scare program. and they weren't involved very much with the Dumb $hit that mike and Sully were doing.
Thats the thing though, kids are toxic. What could just be a flu or annoying chicken pox for a kid, could be extremely deadly to a monster who is most likely a completely different species. Otherwise great vid!
My feelings towards this movie have always been if you don’t like the first movie you’ll like this fine but if you really love the first movie like I do this is a serious downgrade personally I’d rather see an actual sequel to monsters inc and I know I’m not alone
Monsters University is better than Monsters Inc and I am tired of pretending it's not. When given the choice between the two movies, I almost always lean towards the former. More going on. More of the world to see. More characters. A plot I generally like more. Don't get me wrong, Monsters Inc is good and has a touching ending but I feel like it is a lot more dated than people credit it for. Monsters Inc feels like Toy Story to University's Toy Story 2.
Dean Hardscrabble’s job is to train the best of the best students and sees Sulley as a spoiled brat with no skill and Mike as a determined student with no talent. That’s the genius of her arc, she learns that ANYONE can be the best in different ways.
Let me know what your thoughts on Monsters University are? Do you think it's a masterpiece all the time? Do you think it's another Pixar sequel that shouldn't have been made? Or do you think it's just okay like most people seem to?
Someone made a comparison to Mike not being scary to those of us who may disabled or neurodivergent. Putting us at a disadvantage. And sometimes no matter how much we work, we may not be able to fully achieve what we want. It can feel pretty disheartening. And, it's easy as a person with ADHD to see where that idea comes into play. And makes Mike relatable for people like us.
I enjoyed it a lot, bu I agree that there were a lot of characters and plot threads that weren't fully utilized. Honestly? It probably should've been a TV show.
Disgusting engagement farming,
get a job content slave
The most wholesome part about it is that Mike got his dream at the end of Monsters inc and became the main star.
I will say, one thing I do like about Johnny is he never resorts to cheating. That feels way too obvious to a college movie, and instead giving it to Sully, the deuteragonist scared of failing, made it a lot more interesting.
He takes the loss really well after the initial shock has passed, too. Outside of the trash talk and roughhousing, he's actually a pretty good sport.
@@helfire14
Makes you think, did “Monsters at Work” ruin Johnny’s character by making him a villain?
@@Pundit07 They probably felt nobody would care if they changed him, to be honest. But yeah, it's a shame his more agreeable traits were left out. It's not like it would have changed much. He could have still been an antagonist as he was, after all.
@@Pundit07 the way I see it, is that he’s the antithesis to sully. They’re both from monster university, and are CEO’s of their respective company. But instead of trying to change the system of how they gather energy, he thought of doubling down and seeing how to gather more screams. In the way of his character, he’s become more one note, but I think that’s how he’s slowly grown into a worse character, opposing Sully’s growth of him becoming more empathetic. Idk maybe I’m thinking too much about this lol
@@qwacktrap Probably, but it's a far more interesting interpretation than 'nobody cared so they changed him up a little', & builds on the themes of both movies so, roll with it anyway
I caught onto a very interesting detail that Monsters University added in.
When Dean Hardscrabble tries to give Sully his test, he roars, which then prompts her to say that he failed because he didn't even listen to the information, which is when he's told that the boy scared of snakes, so a roar couldn't make him scream, but rather cry, which would then potentially endanger monsterkind.
Boo's monster, Randall, is very snake like, which implies that Boo at least has a fear of snake like creatures, or even snakes (assuming that her monster is based off of her real fears). So Sully's roar didn't make her scream, but rather cry.
Monster's University honestly was being extremely clever with their callback references when they wrote that
@limespots: Thinking about it now, perhaps the reason why Mike is more adamant about getting rid of Boo than Sulley is at the beginning of Monsters Inc is because he has PTSD from his experience at Camp Teamwork. One important thing to remember is that he was very close to being touched by not just one kid, but an entire cabin of kids. Being raised to believe that children are toxic, this event probably traumatized him. By contrast, Sulley never ran into any kids in the Human World until he meets Boo in Monsters Inc, hence why he doesn’t have as strong of a fear for her as Mike does. This, in turns, makes it easier for Sulley to recognize Boo’s humanity than Mike initially.
@jackcapellini113 I like how consistent the characters are, and how the prequels even sort of explain things about them
Its still a ridiculous assumption. Just cause youre scared of snakes doesn't mean that nothing else can make you scream. Nice Easter egg though I guess
@AJJesko It's a ridiculous assumption, however they likely deducted that from scaring a lot of kids and seeing that at least a good chunk of them do end up crying from being roared at because of their fear of snakes
dang
I always liked that this move said: "You can work as hard as you want and want something so bad, that doesn't guarantee you are gonna get it. But you might learn something new about yourself along the way." Mike wasn't good as a 'scarer', but he was an EXCELLENT scarer teacher and motivator.
I agree. Plus, it says that if you work hard, you may not achieve your dream, but you'll find what makes you happy
What I really really love about this movie is that it tells a message that's never been told in kids movies before (afaik). Instead of the usual "keep dreaming and you'll achieve your goals", you get a much more realistic approach to that idea. It's perfect too since fans of the first movie would have likely gotten older by the time the second one came out, and so probably would be more mature and understand the message.
one thing you forgot to mention, the credits scenes in which mike and sully work their way into monsters inc through the mail room resonates pretty well with me. you dont have to take the perfect path to get to do what you want to do in life, you could always find another way in through other places. a good message especially for university
Oh yeah! That's a really nice additional message that I didn't notice before.
Dean Hardscrabble’s job is to train the best of the best students and sees Sulley as a spoiled brat with no skill and Mike as a determined student with no talent. That’s the genius of her arc, she learns that ANYONE can be the best in different ways.
I just like how much it retroactively makes monsters inc feel more realistic. The ONLY thing mike cares about until the very end is getting his normal everyday life back, and once you know how absolutely hard he worked to get it, it makes him feel more real. Like imagine going through all this iwth your best friend and finally achieving your dreams and your best friend who you both agree has had it easier than you from the beginning throws it all away and says none of it matters. And he reacts how anyone in his circumstances would. Hut within probably just a few hours, mike is able to look at things from sullys perspective, like he always does for mike, and actually back him up, like sully ALWAYS does for mike. They are the bestest of pixar best friends and this movie was what cemented that for me.
My only real issue is how little mike and sully seem to keep up with their brothers from OK bc they really became close by the end. And as a kid I felt bad that they all become scarers only for that to be a defunct job in like a decade, but the creators DEFINITELY made them goofy and light hearted on PURPOSE so that you can rest easy knowing they not only got to keep their jobs, but do one they probably are better at and enjoy a lot more.
It also turns him becoming a comedian to make kids laugh for the new power source into an arc. Connecting the end of the original movie and the character arc of the second makes both so much sweeter. Because Mike DOES get the job he always dreamed of. He IS in the roll of the “scarer,” and not only did he never have to be scary in the first place, he has EXACTLY what the monster society needed the whole time.
It really makes Mike feel less like a jerk who's just riding on Sully's coattails. Being a scarer isn't everything to Sully and he grows a little tired of it over the years, but Mike is living what he considers to be a perfect life and is baffled that his friend would do anything to ruin that.
@matti.8465 and then when he thinks about it, he realizes that if sully was willing to do that, then whatever reason he was doing it was IMPORTANT to sully. Like even when they make up, he's not on the same 1-1 page wirh sully, he still tells him, admittedly a lot more maturely and calmly, about how risky and dangerous this is but still is willing to put it on the backburner to help him. And I think it's less of being a scarer and more just Mike genuinely wanting something to be proud of and on top of that to do something that everyone considers super important bc nobody thinks Mike wazowski can DO anything important. He was content being the guy who got the guy at the top TO the top, and yet, because of his good deeds and ability to look past his own desires and think about his friend who does the same for him, he gets rewarded with the position that REALLY gives him purpose AND the writers do it in a way that makes sully fine with the change bc like you said he's grown tired of it, gotten what he wanted out of it and actually sees that as harmful now. They all get exactly what they want bc they did the right thing and then the people who tried getting what they want the wrong way suffer HARD. up until the sequel I thought Randall was EATEN by the humans. But it's sweet that the two friends who are truly selfless and put everything they worked hard to accomplish on the line for a good reason and get compensated for it, despite that not being the reason they were risking it to begin with. Saying it out loud seems pretty cut and dry for movies in general but this is done in such a subtle and very grounded way for such an off the walls premise and main characters
15:12 Not just full grown adults, but full grown adults that are sheriff deputies. They've probably been through a lot of terrifying stuff dealing with criminals, and yet Sully and Mike managed to be the scariest.
damm, you are right
My understanding of why the monsters were told kids were toxic was because Boo’s situation wasn’t the first time a monster got emotionally attached to a child, and it put the monster world at risk of losing their power source if it got out that humans and monsters could get along, or if the kid started telling other kids not to be afraid if they see a monster cause they’re actually nice.
I think it was to keep control over the monsters. It placed an irrational fear of children into them that would make it harder for monsters to look deeper into children and realize they're not what they seem
If you follow the Pixar Theory interpretation, it's a lot bigger than that: the Monster World is _the far, far future of Earth,_ long after humans are gone (or evolved _into_ monsters, as suggested by a bonus animatic on the first movie's DVD), and Closet Doors are _time portals_ between the two historical eras. So, it's entirely possible that they're trying to minimize the adults of the Human World from finding out about the Monster World (Hardscrabble even mentions it as being a risk if a child _cries_ instead of screams, and the parents come running... but, why wouldn't the parents come running for a _scream,_ then???), out of fear of _changing history_ such that the Monster World never comes to exist...
I heard that they were afraid of Covid.
@@WackoMcGoose The scream is literally absorbed by the canisters, so when the child screams in fear the sound is muffled by the canister absorbing it.
When a child cries however, their cries aren't pure fear, they are part sadness which doesn't get absorbed well by the canister and therefore is heard by people nearby.
I think the Pixar Theory expansions that relate Monsters Inc with Inside Out cover that topic in more detail. It also explains that the child's happiness being 10 times more effective than fear isn't an absolute fact but rather a product of the time that emotion was produced. It is theorized that when monsters started using the closet doors, they actually started scaring children back in the middle ages, when fear was the strongest emotion. This also explains the toxicity, because maybe children were actually toxic during those times due to the bulbonic plague, which may have caught on the monsters and caused some epidemic.
@@flydrop8822 ...Huh. So cultural inertia, secrecy to avoid pime taradoxes, and thinking things through. Guess it _has_ been a while since I watched a Pixar movie (still haven't seen Coco, or TS4, etc)...
Admittedly this is one of the few expansions of a Disney movie i enjoy. Not every sequel/prequel can be Toy Story, but i think it's the right movie for people who deal with impostor syndrome.
What do you do when you love something but aren't the best? What do you do when someone is better at it than you but in a different way. A lot of artists deal with that and it's usually in college where that reality check comes in.
I really do have to give Pixar credit for Monsters University. It's an incredibly ambitious and mature message for a movie aimed towards families and kids.
Same feelings I have about toy story 4. Too many discounted, as if it invalidated TS3. It’s a great movie, and love the message it brings about purpose, especially considering the point in our lives many who grew up with these movies are
Mike's ending in Monsters Inc is completely recontextualized in University. He goes from wanting to be a scarer, to realizing he really can't be and coming to terms with that, to having his strengths in comedy becoming even more valuable in the end. University is genius where Mike is concerned
I also like that the two movies show how versatile and flexible Mike is. I think it’s a great message to show that you can’t stay stagnant and do the same thing over and over and over again. You’ve got to change with the world (because the one thing you can count on life is change).
7:55 well not every character can be deep and complex but they can serve their purpose in the story. But the Oozma group may be one note and flat but they do change throughout the story where they realize that they can use what makes them different and use it to their advantage.
not to mention, Squishy’s scare strategy in the simulator contest was the only one that wasn’t “creep forward and scream”
It always bugs me when film critics say that minor characters aren’t multi faceted in depth characters, that’s just unfair criticism in my opinion
i think the kids being toxic thing was a play on the “you’re scared of them but they’re probably more scared of you” speech that parents tell kids when they’re scared of like spiders or whatever? i don’t know if that’s the actual reason why, it just makes sense to me
Wait that’s actually such a good connection to make tho!
That’s probably the actual reason but not the canonical reason
Sulley’s characterization in Monsters University really makes you appreciate his character growth in Monsters Inc even more, as it is very clear that the Sulley we see in Monsters University would have treated Boo very differently than the Sulley in Monsters Inc. Without his college experience, he probably would have abandoned Boo in the Monster World or turned over to the authorities.
Another detail I noticed in Monsters University is that Mike and Sulley’s personalities are inverted. In MU, Mike is a hardworking student while Sulley is a slacker. But by the time we get to MI, Sulley is a humble, hardworking individual while Mike is a scheming Ladies Man. At this point in his life, Sulley has grown to scoff at developing a romantic life outside of his job, while Mike has grown to take life less seriously and loosen up for a change.
What I appreciate about this movie is the fact that mike doesn't succeed against all odds. It's a hurdle too big for him to jump, yet that's not the end of his time in the scaring industry. I liked the realism in the idea that there are just some things that aren't meant to be, but all that effort was not ever wasted.
I really love this movie as a kid and even as an adult. It’s a special part of my childhood, and teaches me that sometimes I’ll never achieve my dreams or goals and that’s ok. You might not succeed but it doesn’t make you a failure.
I legit love this movie because it shows Mike just cannot scare. He tries and tries and tries, but ultimately it is something he’ll never be able to do. I like that the movie showed Mike accepting that and then finding another avenue for his talents. I think that’s a great message and not something shown in a lot of media.
MU is genuinely a work of art, and one of the best movies i’ve ever see (my opinion ofc).
it’s so beautiful aesthetically with all the different colours and textures of the different monsters, and variety in how everyone is modeled, rigged, animated, and textured differently. literally never a boring moment to look at.
the opening sequence is my second favorite part of the movie actually, with how it perfectly sets up who the main protagonist is, the kind of world he lives in, his hardships, his goal, the thing that drives him to want to succeed, and gives world building by showing off how artistically beautiful and mesmerizing the scaring process can be, while also being emotionally heartfelt, touching, and realistic (given the confines of the Monsters universe). genuinely a beautiful 10/10 opening/scene that i wish more people talked about, but i will digress.
most of MU takes place outside, so the scenery is constantly changing (as opposed to Monsters Inc, which took place mostly in a factory and got kinda boring to look at tbh). people who say MU’s scale is boring bc it’s a college campus and “smth we’ve seen before” i truly believe are just looking for reasons to not like this movie. MU does a fantastic job at embracing the college atmosphere in a rated-G family friendly way. the scale ironically feels more open and bigger than that of Monsters Inc (which again, 90% was in a FACTORY as if we haven’t seen a factory before 🗿), but again i digress.
the ever-changing scenery in MU also allows the movie to take full advantage of using light to tell the story, which it does more often than any other animated films can think of off the top of my head. the movie is also very impressive on many other artistic levels (and as an artist myself, i LOVE this about MU friends arc is my favorite of this trope in how it was slowly developed and realistically executed given the circumstances.
“antagonists” like Hardscrabble and Johnny i don’t think can be considered villains tbh. you can label them simple stereotypes, but i feel that undersells who the actual characters are.
Hardscrabble was clearly never challenged in her authority before Mike, and her vendetta against him and Sulley is understandable when you think about how Monsters University is one of the most prestigious scaring schools around, and they graduate people who become real Scarers, which is one of the most dangerous professions in the Monsters universe. her being a harda*s makes a lot of sense to me. (i also love how she’s always backlit or in the shadows, except for the very end of the movie when she’s 100% in the sun after coming to a change of mind.)
Johnny actually has a small bit of character depth too, if you’re looking for it. he canonically fears failure, and you can see it in his facial expressions as the Scare Games go on. he never cheats, and never gets mad at other people’s success, only getting confused by Oozma Kappa rising up the ranks, and upset by his own teams failures. by the end of the movie he actually admits he was “wrong” (granted only to Sulley, but point is he took losing surprisingly gracefully and never swore revenge like Randall did).
i think MU having realistic antagonists instead of cartoonish villains actually works in favor of the movie, bc MU is very grounded, character driven, and relatable on a personal level for almost everyone who watches it. a villainous presence like say Randall from Monsters Inc would feel very out of place. MU doesn’t /need/ any villain character in order to excel in telling the story or having emotionally impactful scenes.
and speaking of emotionally impactful scenes… the lake scene that everyone talks about is great, but people need to stop putting it in a vacuum bc that scene is only as great as it is because the entire movie built a strong foundation for it. in other words, the lake scene was /earned/ throughout MU, and i think the rest of the movie deserves to be acknowledged for building it up ;p.
MU’s pacing is fantastic. everything feels like it’s progressing naturally. the emotional beats get their moment to shine, and the less-important moments don’t get dragged out too long or boring. the movie is also chunked really well with the three acts (imo), it feels like 3 separate stories smoothly laced together into one big beautiful story.
i think my favorite thing about MU though, is how EVERY event in that movie is caused bc of a character. other Pixar movies like Coco and Onward feel like the characters have little to no impact on the plot. they are punching bags for whatever direction the movie wants to go in, and the main characters are just along for the ride, while MU feels entirely caused bc of characters making decisions. that movie literally wouldn’t happen, and wouldn’t have taken so many twists and turns if it weren’t for the characters affecting the plot.
and nobody ever feels “out of character” either. every action someone does makes perfect sense with how they’ve been characterized since the begenning. and every emotional beat is thoroughly earned bc of it. very VERY good stuff there, things every movie should strive to live up to.
MU isn’t perfect ofc. Oozma Kappa being underdeveloped, and Randall’s backstory being lazily handled are my two main complaints. but the movie manages to excel in many areas, and is genuinely one of the most well rounded works of art i’ve seen. it’s better than Monsters Inc in almost every aspect, and tbh a top 3 Pixar movie (it’s #1 for me, but i may be personally biased bc MU is my favorite movie overall lol).
thanks for reading if you read allat! :D
No need to do the test, you’ve got your autism diagnosis right here!
I agree, I watched it recently, and I think it might have the most pleasing asthetic of any Pixar movie. The vibrant greens and yellows of early fall give it so much color
11:00, it elicits his “that’s the last time I lose to you Sullivan” which isn’t something you can give to anyone
True but it's a line of dialogue that you could cut and the plot would still function just fine. I'll agree that it gives a little context to Randall's motives in Monsters Inc but I wish we could have seen more of that. I can understand not giving a huge role since he was already explored pretty well in Monsters Inc but he has such little presence in the overall plot of University that he feels pretty superfluous... In my opinion, anyway.
When Mike said “you’ve been scared of my good looks since the 4th grade” I always thought he was exaggerating and he was thinking to back in collage when Sully was the best scarier monster
One thing i heard in another review of the movie that specifically focuses on mike and his character was, that this movie does a great job at portraying how it is to be different and that not every dream can become reality. And that even when the happy end where Michael succeedes in becoming a scarer is missing the film still has a happy end despite basically throwing him out of his dream school at the end a thing the movie was as a whole building up to kinda not happening.
In that sense i think it is a great story that highlights that life doesn't go as planned but always finds it way ti resolve a matter. That wanting something enough isn't always enough
Regarding kid toxicity, I seem to remember a line from Roz, as the head of the CPA, about how they also know kids aren't actually toxic.
It's been a while since I watched, but I recall taking from this dialogue that the CPA have always known children are safe, but deliberately spread the toxic misinformation as it keeps children safe from the kind of crap Waternoose and Randall tried.
It also isn't known at that point that laughter can provide power, so maintaining the perception that children are toxic to monsters keeps things in line and the power on.
I watched the movie a couple nights ago and I can assure you such a line doesn't exist--perhaps it's in some sort of deleted scene? I do remember hearing something like that in my youth
@fntthesmth423 I think maybe I just read it into the fact that they knew there was some evil, child related scheme they were investigating, and her total nonchalance to Boo's presence.
Dean Hardscrabble does not enforce a rule. Mike was kicked out of the scare program and bet her that if he won he’d be let back in and if she won he’d have to leave the university. Not a huge difference but definitely frames here character in a different way
I have a theory on where the toxic kids thing came from.
The common cold.
One time a monster contracted the common cold while scaring a kid who had a cold themselves.
This lead to a very intense pandemic in Monstropolis as the common cold was a new virus for them. Kids end up copping the blame, kids are now seen as insanely toxic.
Not to mention kids are always sick
To me, monsters university is also a story about disability and acceptance. Mike has yet to accept that no matter what he does, he will never have the physical abilities his peers have, and he needs to reevaluate his goals, despite always hearing the positive messaging of “you can do anything you put your mind to”. As a disabled person, seeing this movie brought me to tears watching it the first time.
i will forgive the reused sound effect because that scream is so iconic the first film used it twice
i just love how it shows with the main characters, the difference between someone being gifted in physical abilities vs someone being gifted intellectually, mentally.
I've loved this movie since it came out. Its nice to see someone talking about the good in it, while still recognizing its short comings. There's certainly a lot to love here!
Very content to see more Monsters University praise. Regardless of some minor shortcomings I’m glad to see deep analyzing of how effective the movie was with its themes and recontextualizing everything we knew prior along with how much it focused on Mike and broke down his arc, which makes us like him more than his initial appearance.
11:43 Unless we're talking about the Terries. Their scaring method of looking like a regular human at first, but revealing their extra appendages one by one was always sick to me
I grew up with so many movies where the lesson was literally just to believe in yourself and you can do anything, you’re special no matter what (Kung Fu Panda comes to mind). While those movies are amazing and I do love the message, this lesson is more fine tuned to reality, telling kids to not just blindly believe they can do whatever they want, but to find their niche and excel at that.
I think this movie is important if you look at it from a disability standpoint too. Mike knows everything there is to know about scaring, but because of his physical attributes hes fundamentally not up to the task. And when you're disabled (physical or not) there are somethings you just... can't do. You can try hard but sometimes it doesn't work out.
I LOVED this movie as a kid, because I had undiagnosed autism and felt like something was wrong with me. I never connected well with my peers, and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't interact "normally" with them. I would scroll on the family computer for hours looking at small talk tips or conversation starters, but it never made a difference even though I knew HOW to carry a regular conversation, my brain just wasn't wired in a way that LET me. I wanted to be a therapist. I wanted to help people by providing them someone to talk to, but I couldn't do that without the ability to actually hold a conversation normally. I wanted to help people but lacked a fundamental attribute to do so.
I'm better off now in the communication department (still not great) and I never actually went off to do therapy, you know what I did do however? I found a different career path that will let me help in a different way. Im in school to be a library technician.
Learning the message that you can't always achieve your dreams, but its okay to change your direction in life to something better suited, was really important to me. I remember watching this in theatres and just lying awake in bed that night thinking about it.
I hope Mikes/Sullys story resonated with other kids like that, and I think the movies got a really mature and nuanced message about it that people need to see.
the amount of times I rewatched this movie as a kid is insaneee, great video essay
12:10 isnt that why he gets a low grade because the monster doesnt use any of the information
I believe that Mike and Sully are both insecure because they might have come from families that extol different values: Sully must have come from a long line of scarers, and so he's under pressure to live up to the Sullivan name. Mike, on the other hand, must have hailed from a family that was very studious, and that's why he values hard work so much. Except their families are never mentioned, in either movie. And there could've been more explanation, in the first movie, as to why children are believed to be toxic. Is it possible the monsters had negative experiences with them, in the past? In any case, both Mike and Sully had discovered that it was their insecurities that bonded them, since both of them were being pressured to succeed.
This does actually beg the question of how did they get the energy from children's scares if a door needs to be powered to go to scare a child in the first place 🤔
Real chicken and the egg situation here.
@@DropsOfMars Maybe in the Monsters world, 'normal' energy options exist, but Scream Energy outpaces them by miles (while also being 'green'), thus their infrastructure became built around how efficient of an energy Scream was and now they're stuck in a situation where say the Grand Monster Dam couldn't keep up if something went wrong
I love this movie. To me, it's such a mature story and that's exactly what i like to see coming from Pixar. It's so real and deep even tho the characters are fantasy creatures and I think that is the best
There was an idea early on in the pre production stages of the film where the director Dan Scanlon wanted to show Mike and Sulley knowing each other in the fourth grade and hating each other, but he and the writers team started to realise that by being respectful of the line from the original film, it was changing the type of story that they wanted to tell with this film. The simple answer would've been to show that they had a relationship in Elementary, but the problem that the writers were noticing was this idea of them meeting a long time ago, having a relationship and then reintroducing that relationship again in another setting, so they decided to drop the idea when Pete Doctor and John Lasseter told Dan that he needed to do what was right for the story.
I liked the movie. I didn’t watch till I got Disney plus but I still thought it was fun addition to the background of Sully and Mike.
I loved the line “when you lose no one will remember you.” “Sure but if you lose no one will let your forget about it” (paraphrasing)
I only have such a high fondness for this movie because whenever i would go to this one friend’s house we would ALWAYS watch this and i genuinely have no idea why.
I always thought kids were said to be toxic so as to protect them. If monsters are made to believe that children are toxic, it would make it to where monsters were RARELY going to touch anything belongings to or even a child itself, this, keeping children safe and the monster world from being discovered
Their scare at the climax of the film is so good I got so excited when you started talking about that now I'm gonna watch the film again XD
I love that the scare was so intense at the end of university that even the monsters looked shook by it as it was going on
Monsters thinking humans are toxic wasn’t explained in either of the movies but there is a popular theory that Monsters Inc made up the rumor and spread it in order to create fear around the harvest of scream energy, leading to scarcity and increased profits for Monsters Inc.
10:48 también gracias a eso se nos da una explicación de porque Randall confundió a mike con boo en la película original
It is no Toy Story 2 or Inside Out 2, but it's actually a pretty solid prequel. My only complaint is that maybe Mike and Sully could have been familiar with each other at the beginning. They wouldn't even have to be friends
In fairness to the 4th grade line, they theoretically could've just... attended the same school together, but not really been forced to interact until college. If anything, it kind of suggests their relationship may not have been a good one. This is a bit of a stretch, but from what I remember at least, not an implausible one.
Or that was a mere funny ha ha moment between them and meant nothing to anything besides there friendship
I've always liked monster university, this video was great at reminding me exactly why I like it. No, not pixars greatest, but it didn't need to be, it was good enough for me
My head cannon for why they believe humans are toxic is because they only view them as a power source, like how we view nuclear power plants as very dangerous and my reason for think that's what monsters think is because they used to use nuclear power, but then they found the power of screams and saw how clean it is and they can't go back to it since they don't have the resources for it anymore
That doesn't really translate. We don't think non-nuclear power sources are de facto dangerous cause radioactivity is.
One of my headcannons for the whole “Humans are Toxic” thing is that perhaps one of the pioneer scarrers had a severe human allergy, and had accidentally been touched by a human during a scare and died due to the extent of his allergies. Seems cheap maybe, but you could probably add some depth by showing they weren’t “traditionally” scary, and thus they got touched by a child out of curiosity. Not only does this explain the human toxicity thing, but the inherent prejudice towards non-scary scarrers. Hope that gives you some closure haha!
I always thought of the kids being toxic as a propagandous lie spread by waternoose to keep people out of his business...
But the kids ARE toxic.
One touch might not kill, but it'll break your heart when you have to let them go.
Shout out to the greatest studying montage music in all of cinema. Randy Newman didn't need to cook that hard.
the dean obviously is kinda problematic in her behaviour but god she sure awakened something in me
Handshake on that
Incredible thing to publically admit, good for you?
@@CutestDemon no different than admitting you're attracted to Lara Croft or somethin.
i remember when this movie came out i was so confused because i didn’t know what a prequel was ( i was a kid ) so i was just like this is weird but cool
the only issue I will have is Mike said they meant in 4th grade not in college, so other than that its still a good prequel movie.
(Sorry its actually 4th grade not kindergarten)
If I had a nickel for every time a Pixar "sequel" did eugenics I'd have two nickels
12:15 that’s why he only got 50% on his final. Knew the formula, got the answer wrong
Since Toy Story 4 was brought up, I want to say that I do think its existence was warranted, even if 3 was conclusive, and regardless of actual opinions on it. It finally forces Woody to confront what *he* wants, rather than what Andy, or rather Bonnie, wants. Bonnie is not Andy, she doesn't care about him the way Andy does, and while the first three movies cement Woody's belief that a toy's purpose is to be there for their kid, this friend-like figure, 4 serves to challenge this notion, asking "What if this person in your life doesn't reciprocate, no matter how much effort you put into the relationship"? It challenges that co-dependence Woody clung to, even after he was able to say goodbye to Andy.
Unpopular opinion: I actually like Cars 2, both the movie and the video game.
Back when this movie got released, it was considered mid.
I just watched the movie for the first time, and I thought it was overall Great!
Shows just how bad a situation we are in with movies nowadays, where 2013’s Average goes above and beyond the “good” movies of today.
What are your thoughts on Monsters at Work? It's the disney+ sequel series to monsters Inc. I think its like Monsters University in that it has a lot of highs, but also a lot of lows.
Lore of Why Monsters University is (Occasionally) a Masterpiece momentum 100
For such a cheesy children’s movie, i found the message to be comforting even if sad.
If lizards and bugs are scary, Mike is definitely scary
What's the connection between bugs and lizards and Mike?
This comment is a little late but to respond to your later tangent about human objects toxicity never being explained. In the first movie we see Hardscrabble(or wtv is name was) handling boo and her belongings without freaking out. I always just believed it was a government ploy to keep the monsters in check. Disney movies were always doing stuff like that yk
16:35, Toy Story 4 was not good
I mean, I liked it. I'll admit it's the worst Toy Story film but that's still a pretty high bar.
It was a pretty good as a movie imo, but terrible as a Toy Story movie
1:08 1:14 THAT IS AN OUTRIGHT LIE! What evidence do you have that we should take that line seriously? Has the Pixar confirmed BEFORE MU that line was legit or a film that confirms it?
ALSO MORE IMPORTANTLY you removed all of the context for that line A why Mike said that was to boast he was more attractive B Sully teased mike about "Mike: I'm tellin’ you, big daddy, you're gonna be seein’ this face on TV a lot more often." And Sully responded with "Yeah, like on Monstropolis' Most Wanted?"
And C that line "You've been jealous of my good looks since the fourth grade, pal." Was followed from a sarcastic laugh and loosely just following
So it was just supposed to be funny jokey moment between them.
My biggest gripe with this movie is the character designs.
When the huge crux of the story being "Mike isn't scary" it does disservice to the story when he's surrounded by characters that are much less conventionally scary than him.
Like if Oozma Kampa is considered scary enough by the Scare Games, why isn't Mike? Why did Sully have no confidence in Mike and rig his game, and not say Squishy's?
Ignoring the story, I think a majority of the designs don't fit in the Monster's Inc universe. Like if you put a character like Johnny, or Art, or even the professor in the first movie, they'd look extremely out of place.
The only exceptions imo are Dean Hardscrabble and the librarian
I’m kind of annoyed by the contradiction in the movie that “Oh, Sully keeps doing one roar over and over and then pretending that’s a new technique,” but then when there’s an opportunity to show us a new technique the monster does a generic roar.
Like, come on, they could have showed the monster climbing up the wall like a spider and then mimicking a “Ho-ho-ho!” Seasonal creep n’ crawl, but no, so the complaints fall flat.
I think the university thing is less a story problem and more a worldbuilding problem
Monster university is one of those movies that got better the older I get.
I think this movie could've worked much better as a show, more time could be spent on character dynamics, tensions could have longer to build, characters could be more developed etc. but it's still a fun movie regardless.
I love this movie, time for a rewatch me thinks
The biggest issue with his movie is that it relies too much on tropes ( especially 80's one's no less) and completely retconning the history of Mike and Sulley. Though I loved the last 20 minutes of the movie. The middle part is what held it back
Reconning? How? Prior to monsters University there really wasn't any direct information about Sully and mikes past in MI.
Unless there's a very serious book or 20 to 30 minute film prior to MU about Mike and Sully that people have failed to mention
@@DeathDragon5000 Remember they said in the 1st film they didn't meet in college
@@alexandru5369 I don't recall anything where Mike and Sully confirm or deny WHEN they met
And if your talking about this line 1:12 just like the person who made this video, WHAT EVIDENCE DO YOU HAVE THAT WAS THE TRUTH? Has Pixar prior to MU confirmed that was the truth? and it was more than just a funny ha ha moment between Mike and Sully? along with being more than Mike just boasting he was more attractive?
Monsters University messed up by changing the back story of Mike and Sully. They talk about how they met in the 4th grade... but then in the MU, they met when they went to college. So... which is it? Why did the producers miss this?
Do you have a Letterboxd?
I don't. Might be something worth looking into though.
I’ve seen this movie is a disaster, I’ve seen it’s a perfect masterpiece and now finally we have the paradox masterpiece
Riddle me this pixar, is the movie is about the college, how come its more focused on the characters? Checkmate didney
my biggest problem with Kappa is that... they're not supposed to be there
They dont know how to scare, dont know what to do, dont know their own strengths in scaring, yet they got in? while failing the things that others barely, who are scarier, pass? It feels less like a loser group fitting with mike, and more just a generic plotline to push it.
Though, they were fun to have around, i like them, i just see the plothole of them even... getting in.
Getting into what exactly? The University? There are more things in this world and in the University to do than scaring. (EVEN MIKE SAYS THAT IN MI)
In the scaring program? well remember oozma kappa tried hard to get through the scare games and still had some kind of talent. considering A they were a consistently winning yeam after the first challenge and B were somewhat skilled in teamwork and agility. (2 traits handy for scaring) They didn't do it flawlessly but they at least earned a chance to try the scare program. and they weren't involved very much with the Dumb $hit that mike and Sully were doing.
The climax was Pixar making a real movie
Occasionally
Thats the thing though, kids are toxic. What could just be a flu or annoying chicken pox for a kid, could be extremely deadly to a monster who is most likely a completely different species.
Otherwise great vid!
I see MU, i watch.
I actually disagree on Johnny. I feel like him being a graceful loser makes him stand out more as an antagonist.
My feelings towards this movie have always been if you don’t like the first movie you’ll like this fine but if you really love the first movie like I do this is a serious downgrade personally I’d rather see an actual sequel to monsters inc and I know I’m not alone
Monsters University is better than Monsters Inc and I am tired of pretending it's not.
When given the choice between the two movies, I almost always lean towards the former. More going on. More of the world to see. More characters. A plot I generally like more. Don't get me wrong, Monsters Inc is good and has a touching ending but I feel like it is a lot more dated than people credit it for.
Monsters Inc feels like Toy Story to University's Toy Story 2.
U sound like Kip from Napoleon dynamite
God help us all
Monsters, Inc. is better than Monsters University. Plain and simple.
video stinks, its all surface level commentary. no real analysis
true
It's not about the actress, it's about the character, you got it reversed. You need to shut up and move on.
video essays are fucking slop now holy shit
Dean Hardscrabble’s job is to train the best of the best students and sees Sulley as a spoiled brat with no skill and Mike as a determined student with no talent. That’s the genius of her arc, she learns that ANYONE can be the best in different ways.