Monsters University
(2013)
The second biggest animated hit of 2013 (until Frozen overtakes it) was, like the crown
prince Despicable Me 2, a sequel.
Okay, Monsters University is a
prequel, but it’s symptomatic of a malaise one expected from rival DreamWorks
but which has now infected Pixar; the relentless plundering of one’s back
catalogue instead of striking out in new directions. Monsters University is exactly what you’d expect of the animation
house that brought you Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 (admittedly, the latter is a
good sequel) over the past couple of
years; precision-engineered and immaculately realised, but completely
uninspired.
I can’t say I was that enamoured by Monsters, Inc., which arrived way back in 2001. Something about the
premise was all together twee, the kind of thing a parent comes up with in
order to fit cutesy moppets into a tale when they should realise that gurgling
burbling infantilism is the last thing kids need to watch. With all the
imaginative possibilities at their disposal, Disney (and increasingly Pixar,
albeit one and the same entity now) has fostered an unwholesome ethic of
working on the latent sentimentality of those bringing their little ones to the
cinema. Rather than, you know, treating everyone with a bit of respect.
So I wasn’t impressed to hear they were making a prequel,
about the early days of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman). How they
first met, the tribulations they overcame and the aspirations they nursed in
order to become the child-frighteners they are today (or were yesterday). Pixar
clearly knew better, since Monsters
University has become one of their biggest hits (worldwide, at any rate).
It seems the idea that a prequel is never a good idea has been well and truly
kiboshed.
To be fair to director Dan Scanlon and his two co-writers
(Daniel Gerson and Robert L Baird, both of whom contributed to the original),
this is a far superior seq/prequel to Cars
2 (although to be fair to Cars 2,
that’s a marginally more involving picture than the rancid original). But, as
with the cutesy kids thing, you can hear these geeky animators impressing their
lacklustre university experiences on the story. It becomes a hackneyed tale of
jocks (Sully) versus nerds (Mike) and how mutual understanding and respect can
make us all better people. Noble sentiments, to be sure, but offering nothing
new to the campus mix (rarely challenged since Animal House).
There’s a question too of the cluelessness of making a
family movie set at university. Perhaps Monsters
University is entirely innocuous due to the virginal experiences of the Pixar
alumni in their day. There’s no whiff of illegal substances, promiscuous encounters
or even a kegger. Yet room is made for the entirely wholesome fraternity initiations,
with all the sado-masochistic “harmlessness” they entail. There’s also an
incest gag, an indication that Pixar has its priorities right.
The familiarity of Monsters
University is what really disappoints. Of
course there’s a stern tutor who turns out to mean well. No one here is
really bad, not even Buscemi’s Randy (well maybe just a little). Even Mike’s
journey of self-acceptance (he may not be scary, but he has other estimable
qualities) lacks any bite. Seeing failure of achievement as a learning curve is
most commendable, but it is toothless as depicted here. Because that’s what
Pixar has become; toothless, unwilling to take risks, always playing it safe.
One is left wondering just how Mike
and Sully manage to scare all those they do at the climax, because what we see
on screen wouldn’t fluster a ferret. This is another problem with making a
movie about the fears of little ones for little ones; the makers inevitably have
to pull their punches.
And its all accompanied by a relentlessly upbeat Randy
Newman score. Newman is a purveyor of dawdling jollity, one whose spectre needs
chasing from the land before he further afflicts large populated areas. It’s
fortunate that he hasn’t been the composer of every Pixar movie, because one dose of Randy goes a long way and
requires regular trips to the doctor.
Still, one thing you can usually rely on Pixar for is
scrupulously honed story beats. There has to be a challenge, and Mike is threatened
with expulsion by almost as soon as he arrives at Monsters University (by Helen
Mirren’s Dean Hardscrabble). The only way to assure his place is to enter the
Scare Games (like the Hunger ones, but… no, not really) and prove his worth
against the Scare Simulator. So he takes up with the most feckless frat house
(Oozma Kappa) on campus and reluctantly allows super-assured Sully, also under
duress, along for the ride. And this section works. Of course it does, it’s
about the triumph of the little guys.
There are a couple of good characters too;
straggly-legged Art (Charlie Day) and Scott Squibbles (Peter Sohn). But the
monster design is mostly as undemanding as the basic plot. Only occasionally
does something stick out from the crowd; Scott’s mom (Julia Sweeney) listening
to Death Metal while she waits in her car, the Scare Pig (which at least is
supposed to be unscary). None of the monsters are anything but loveable, so it
beggars belief that 99% of kids wouldn’t be as unaffected by them as the ones
Mike attempts to scare.
I’m not asking for a Pixar not to be life affirming. It’s
part of the correctly so core values of kids’ animation. But it seems like the
days where a Wall-E or The Incredibles could come along and
surprise with ideas and content seem to be long gone. Now their films consist
entirely of stock types and situations but without any real heart; they’re a slightly
better quality junk food, in more appetising packaging. It’s understandable;
all the animation houses are looking over their shoulders in an increasingly
crowded market. These movies aren’t cheap (mostly) so they’re driven by fear of
failure rather than a desire to impress or innovate. Maybe the shunting of The Good Dinosaur to 2014 is a good
sign. Maybe it just means it isn’t formulaic enough (that’s why they changed Brave, isn’t it?) So this year there
will be (shock!) no Pixar, while in 2015 there will be Dinosaur and Inside Out
(which initially sounds distinctive, until you realise all the things it
reminds you of; anything different there will be ironed out along the way). After
that it’s back to the sequels, and Finding
Dory. No doubt there’ll be a third Monsters
around 2018. And a Cars 3. Branding
and merchandising bonanzas, they’re what count most now. Right, Pixar?
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