Movie Review: Monsters University

Title: Monsters University
Director: Dan Scalon

Year Released: 2013

Running Time: 104 mins

Classification: G

Genre: Animation, Family and kids, Comedy

The most anticipated prequel has hit the screens, Monsters University!

Monsters University is the story of how Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) meet before Monsters Inc. If you don’t know who Mike and Sulley are and have no idea what Monsters Inc. is, then you must go, now, watch Monster Inc. then come back to this review.

If you have seen Monsters Inc. go re-watch it anyway.

But first, Blue Umbrella, the most recent Pixar short played before the movie is brilliant and is completely new to the design of Pixar. If anyone can make people feel for inanimated objects, Pixar can. 

Back to the review.

Monsters University did not leave me disappointed and is exactly what I thought the movie would be. I wouldn’t say it was the best but definitely is on par with Monsters Inc., if not, then a little less only because it uses the same characters in Monsters Inc. so doesn’t feel original – which it shouldn’t feel, since Monsters University is a prequel to Monsters Inc.  

The start of the movie is just too cute. Little Mike is sooo cute to the point I felt disappointed when older Mike gets off the bus in front of the University. This movie is purely about chasing your dream and not giving up. Mike is inspired to be a Scarer and will do what he can to be one. The storyline is very cliched. It has your usual jocks, cheerleaders, punks and losers. Both Mike and Sulley have to prove their worth by joining forces with the members of the Oozma Kappa fraternity (the losers) to win the Scare Games. The only thing not cliched about this movie is there is no love interest which is a plus. There was no room for it.

Monsters University has all the ‘Pixar’ needed to make it a funny family film. If you have seen Monsters Inc. you will love the guest appearances in this movie. As for the new characters, I found Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) terrifying and I use the word terrifying because I don’t like anything that has more than 4 legs. Eeuuggghhh……

The character designs of the Dean and Art (Charlie Day), a member of the Oozma Kappa fraternity was the most interesting. I may not like insects, but for the role of the Dean, an insect was the most appropriate. As for Art, he is just all furry with tree trunk legs and tiny arms. A little bit awkward appearance-wise but the most mysterious and funny of them all. As for the other Oozma Kappas, they were ordinary. I understand that’s the point but their unique abilities were awkward. It made the last competition unconvincing even though Pixar did its best to illustrate Oozma Kappas' weaker potentials. I felt more towards the Oozma Kappas as a group rather than them as individuals.

There is some character development in this movie, mostly focusing on Sulley… and Randall has some screen time. It’s not a very successful development when most people know how Sulley and Randall will be in the future. The focus of this movie is on Mike and I loved it. In Monsters Inc. I favoured Sulley over Mike. I found Mike bossy and a little selfish. In Monsters University, he’s still a little selfish but it was driven by his dream. He might be bossy towards the Oozma Kappas, but he never gave up on them and did his best to help. This is typical of the main character in college films but having believed Mike was bossy and selfish, it was nice to see it wasn't the 'true Mike’.

My favourite part is the end of the film and how they become Scarers. It’s not what one might think it would be, but it proves hard work does pay off. There are funny scenes but I preferred the story itself. The funny bits were a bonus.

I’ll definitely be re-watching Monsters University again and may even follow that with Monsters Inc. True to a Pixar film, I’m sure there are a lot of Easter egg surprises in the film I have missed. I enjoyed Monsters University and recommend everyone to go watch it, just remember: relax and enjoy. Mike and Sulley will always be the lovable monsters they are.

  

Terri’s Rating: 4/5

Note: There was one fault I found. I may be wrong but in Monsters Inc. as Mike and Sulley walk to work, I’m quite sure Mike mentions he met Sulley.

Movie Review: Despicable Me 2

Title: Despicable Me 2

Directors: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

Year Released: 2013

Running Time: 98 minutes

Classification: PG

Genre: Comedy, Kids and Family, Animation, Action/Adventure

(Note: this review contains spoilers for Despicable Me (the prequel))

2010’s Despicable Me stands out as one of the more original kids’ films of the last five years. In that movie, evil genius Gru (Steve Carell) attempts to steal the moon. Because of plot reasons, Gru adopts three little girls. Because it’s a kids’ movie, Gru relinquishes his villainous ways to become a good father. All in all, it’s a pretty cute film, full of laughs and “awww”.

Understandably then, you had to wonder where they’d go with Despicable Me 2. It necessarily lacks the villainous glee of the first movie, which is both good and bad: good, because it means there’s character development; and bad, because it’s not as original. In the sequel, Gru has his hands full being a parent and intends to start a business making jams and jellies. All seems well until he is suddenly kidnapped by Lucy (Kristen Wiig), an agent from the Anti-Villain League. Apparently, someone has created a chemical that turns its victims into mutant purple killing machines. The AVL “recruits” Gru in the hope that his expertise in villainy will enable him to uncover the identity of the villain responsible. Personally, I liked that they made Gru an “ex-villain” rather than a sudden, all-out hero.

Like the first movie, there are plenty of laughs to go around, whatever your age. The humour ranges from slapstick, mostly played out by Gru’s adorable Minions, to send-ups of stereotypes, like the improbably tough Mexican wrestler villain El Macho and the fitness freak blonde girl with whom Gru goes on a date. I actually laughed out loud a lot during this movie, which is more than I can say for most comedies.

From the promotional materials and from the moment she shows up on screen, you know that Lucy is Gru’s designated love interest. Gru’s daughter Margo (Miranda Cosgrove) also gets a love interest in the form of the dashing Antonio (Moisés Arias). Sadly, the romantic plot developments in the film felt exactly like that: they were moments I felt I had to endure in order to get to the rest of the story and were only palatable when intertwined with comedy, like when Gru goes all overprotective dad over Margo’s new boyfriend.

The animation is cute and colourful and I found myself admiring Gru’s home décor more than once. The 3D is used effectively: I liked that I was able to look into the sets, rather than at them, particularly in big, busy locations such as the mall. If you want to get the “most” out of the 3D, then you may want to stay for the credits as you’ll get to see some Minions shoving stuff at you through the screen.

Conceptually, Despicable Me 2 is “less” than its predecessor: the villain protagonist angle is gone, a predictable romance plot has been added and there’s less interaction between Gru and his kids. That said, I think I liked this film more. While Gru’s relationship with his daughters is more static, there are still plenty of heart-warming “family” moments of the kind that made the first movie so memorable. There’s also a greater sense of chaos compared to the very plot-driven prequel and I’m pretty sure it’s funnier as well. The cute little Minions also get to play a bigger part, which, admittedly, may or may not be a good thing, depending largely on whether you’re a parent who’ll now have to fork out on Minion toys (now available at a store near you).

Despicable Me 2 is a fun, funny, fluffy family movie and a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. It’s no masterpiece of cinema, but with the current crop of movies out right now you could easily do worse.

Alex’s Rating: 3.5/5

Movie Review: Wreck-It Ralph

Title: Wreck-It Ralph

Director: Rich Moore

Year released: 2012

Running Time: 108 mins

Classification: PG

Genre: Adventure, Animation, Family and Kids

Being a long-time fan of Pixar, I was quite sceptical with Wreck-It Ralph. No one can possible do better than Pixar. I was wrong. Wreck-It Ralph may not be my favourite animation movie but it’s definitely one of the best.

Basically, this movie is about Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly), a video game villain who is sick of being the villain and decides to go fulfil his dream of being a hero. While on his quest, he causes chaos in the arcade world.

This movie ticks all the boxes of a good kids’ animation. It is enjoyable to boys and girls, adults and children, has great animation, a tender touching story with the perfect amount of comedy. If you haven’t seen it yet I highly recommend it. It may not top Toy Story 3 (which is a personal favourite) but Disney is definitely heading in the right direction with Wreck-It Ralph.

One of my favourite parts of this movie is its reference to old video games. If you ever played video games as a kid, you’ll be delighted to see some appearances of characters from your childhood memories. There is also a joke about High Definition games.

The story is unique and was well thought out. Rather than having the ‘games central’ in cyber space, Wreck-It Ralph’s ‘game central’ looks like a train station with platforms leading to different games. This idea allows the ‘game central’ to look more solid and realistic.

The characters are all likable and surprisingly, relatable. Everyone can sympathise with Ralph. There is a bit of everything for everyone in this film. Comedy, likable main character, little treasures to be found and a twist (which I did not see coming). There is nothing poor I can say about this movie.

Just go watch it already.

Terri’s Rating: 4/5

Movie Review: Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

Title: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax

Director: Chris Renaud, Kyle Balda

Year released: 2012

Running Time: 86 mins

Classification: PG

Genre: Comedy, Kids and Family, Animation

Before watching this movie I had no idea what it was about. I knew it had to do with a boy, a small orange creature that I assume was The Lorax, and trees that have fairy floss like tops. And because it was taken from Dr. Seuss’, I expected a lot of rhyming. 

Quick overview of the movie.

The Lorax is a animation released by Illumination Entertainment, who also did Despicable Me.

It is about a boy name Ted who, to impress a girl, seeks out to find a living tree. He meets The Once-Ler who tells Ted the story of what happened to the trees. 

I’m a huge fan of kids’ movies that have morals. The Lorax has an obvious moral and it is enjoyable. The storyline is simple and the ‘teaching’ of the moral made simple for anyone to understand. The rhyming is made minimal but without losing Dr. Seuss’ ness (I know it’s not a word) of the film. 

I have never read Dr. Seuss before so I do not know if this movie was true to the book. What the movie did do was place this particular book in a future world that resembles a lot like ours. IE. Cars, streets, fake grass. I’m not saying it’s exactly the same and we will end up buying fresh air, but it’s enough to make kids imagination come alive and see the path we might be on. 

The animation was unique enough to the movie without it looking like an extension of a previous movie made by Illumination Entertainment. Although I just want to note down that Mr. O’Hare, the villain in the movie, looks a lot like a certain ‘superhero outfit designer’ in another kids’ animation.

I love the deep contrast between the town behind the wall, and the dead land surrounding it. The colours were bright, attention grabbing. The voice actors did well considering a lot were first timers and the songs (yes they sang in this movie) were relevant and easy on the ears.  

I really like this movie. It is not the funniest of kids’ films but enjoyable. Adults I believe would enjoy this movie too. If you are not into kids' movies at least rent it for your kids. They will love it and stay out of your way for an hour and a bit.

Terri’s Rating: 3.5/5

Movie Review: Brave

Title: Brave
Director: Mark Andrews
Year Released: 2012
Running Time: 93 minutes
Classification: PG
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Comedy, Kids and Family, Animation

From the trailer, I thought Brave was about how a princess avoids marriage by defeating an evil bear, or something. What the movie is actually about is how Princess Merida (Kelly Macdonald) “changes” her mother via witchcraft so that her mother doesn't push for her to get married. The film in essence is about this mother-daughter relationship. This adds a original spin to the usual “hero's quest” story, and provides a refreshing change from the usual romantic focus in princess stories.

I am perhaps showing my age here, but I found it problematic that I sided with Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson) pretty much from the get-go. I did not find Merida to be very likeable, at least at the beginning, and indeed thought her rather selfish for being so resentful of her (privileged) life. However, I doubt many others will have this same problem. I had expected a bit more historical realism and I realise that I was wrong to do so. Brave is a children's movie after all, and it will of course result in a happy ending in line with modern values. I suppose it's meant to be a celebration of ~girl power~ and ~independence~, but for me this message didn't carry any real weight: Merida's life isn't exactly horrible to begin with and her problems are mainly self-inflicted. On the flip side, the mother-daughter opposition allows for both characters to grow during the course of the film, and this was one of the film's strengths. The heroine is brave and all, but her journey, like her mother's, is ultimately one of learning to compromise. I suppose “Taking Responsibility” or “Humility” just aren't nearly so catchy as “Brave”.

Though it's an interesting enough story, I didn't particularly like the way it was told. As soon as I got a sense of what the film was about, the narrative structure became so obvious that I was often just waiting for things to happen – things like the “What Have I Done?” moment and the Bonding Activity Montage. While being predictable is not of itself a bad thing, I felt in this case there was a lack of wonder to make up for it. There was a sense of rigidity to the plot, a sense of “this is what has to happen next” rather than “oh no, that event has caused this other thing to happen”. I suppose I'm making it out to be worse that in it is, but frankly I'd expected better storytelling from Pixar.

Still, it's a fairly funny film, with many physical gags that both kids and adults would enjoy. In this instance, the trailer does a fairly good job of showing the flavour of humour that's in the film more generally. It also looks fantastic. Everything, from Merida's hair to the forests to the fabric of the queen's dress to the snowy landscapes, looks great. The Celtic music also added to the feel of Ye Olde Scotland, and there is a charming, cheerful atmosphere to the whole film. Further, it was also pleasant to hear Scottish accents all around (rather than just for a couple of old people – you know how it is when there's an animated film involving an ethnic group... *cough* Mulan, Gargoyles, Avatar: The Last Airbender *cough*).

Enjoyable as it was, however, I didn't like this movie as much as I hoped I would. There's a lot of charm in the window dressing, but the business-like plot drags things down somewhat, and the characters so compelling so as to negate this. It's not Pixar's best, but it's still pleasant and fun.

Remember to take my review with a grain of salt as I am clearly not the film's intended audience. I believe that kids will find much to enjoy this film, as they are highly unlikely to be as cynical and genre savvy as I am. Though... if your kids are like me, then, well, good luck with that. 

NOTE: If you're watching this in the cinema, be sure to get there in time. The short film La Luna is shown before this one, and it's just the most adorable thing ever. I enjoyed it much more than Brave itself.


Alex's Rating: 3/5