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See also: Monsters University (Institution)
"Before they were incorporated, they had to be educated."
—Tagline

Monsters University is the fourteenth feature film of Pixar, and the prequel to the 2001 film Monsters, Inc..[4] It was directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae. John Goodman and Billy Crystal returned for the film. Randy Newman returned to compose the film's score.[5] The film was released in theatres and 3D on June 21, 2013. This marks the first prequel Pixar has ever produced. The film was accompanied by a short film titled The Blue Umbrella.[6] Monsters University was released in the UK on July 12, 2013.

Synopsis[]

Monsters University tells the story of how Mike and Sulley met and became friends while they attended Monsters University's "School of Scaring". When they first met, they were rivals who both dreamt of being the scariest monsters on campus. However, when their overly competitive nature winds up getting them, both kicked out of the school's elite Scaring Program, they have no choice but to pair up with a gang of misfit monster outcasts to have any hope of setting things right.

Plot[]

Six-year-old Mike Wazowski goes on a class trip to the Monsters, Inc. factory. When the class reaches the Scare Floor, Scarer Frank McCay tells them that he learned how to scare from Monsters University. Mike manages to sneak in the Scare Floor and follow Frank to the door he is about to open. As soon as Frank enters the child's room, Mike follows and secretly looks at Frank sneaking to the bed and avoiding the child's parents by pretending to be a piece of clothing. When the parents go away, Frank sneaks up to the child and scares him. After getting out of the door, Frank tells Mike how dangerous his actions were, but is also impressed with him since he didn't know he was in the room. He gives Mike his MU cap and winks at him. When Karen asks Mike what he has to say to defend himself, he simply asks, "How do I become a Scarer?"

Eleven years later, a 17-year-old Mike rides a bus to Monsters University, where he says farewell to the other monsters in the bus, but creeps them out due to the facts he knows about them. Mike arrives at MU and is extremely excited. After taking a picture for his ID card and visiting the school, he finally goes to his room, meets and befriends his roommate, the nerdy and shy Randall "Randy" Boggs, who has trouble controlling his invisibility power. When Randy suddenly disappears while greeting his new friend, Mike is impressed and tells Randy to use it more, to Randy's shock. Randy soon gets rid of his glasses under Mike’s suggestion because they don’t turn invisible when he does. While Randy is worried about not being able to impress the cool kids, Mike is laid back and confident in his scaring abilities.

At their first day of class, Mike, Randy and the other students are greeted by the orange, dinosaur-like Professor Knight, who teaches Scaring 101. When Professor Knight explains how the class will go, the dean of the school, the dragon-like, millipede-legged Abigail Hardscrabble - a legendary Scarer - drops in on the class unexpectedly. Her belief is that scariness is the true measure of a monster, letting them know how high her expectations are. She explains that there will be a final exam at the end of the semester, and failure will result in being kicked out of the program. After she leaves, an 18 year old student arrives late, James P. Sullivan, a natural Scarer. Despite having a lot of potential, Sulley never studies and always forgets his pencils and books whenever he goes to class.

Later that day, while Mike is studying scaring, Sulley breaks into his room to get back Archie the scare pig, rival college Fear Tech's mascot. Mike ends up riding Archie after the pig stole his MU cap. Mike stops the pig, but Sulley gets the credit for it, attracting the attention of many fraternities, including Omega Howl and Jaws Theta Chi, but the top fraternity, Roar Omega Roar, gets Sulley's attention. While Roar Omega Roar's president, Johnny Worthington III, talks to Sulley, Mike tries to get their attention and follow them to a party, but is stopped by the purple, one-eyed, crab-like Chet Alexander. Sulley tells Mike that the party is for scare students who "have a chance" after Mike says that he is indeed, a scare student. This event in particular causes an intense rivalry between the two. Mike does nothing except study hard all semester and earns the respect of Professor Knight while Sulley's laziness costs him the respect of both him and the RORs.

The day of the final exam arrives, and Johnny threatens to kick Sulley out of ROR if he fails the exam, declaring that it's time for him to stop showboating and start delivering on his family name. Each student must perform the appropriate scare tactic assigned to each mock child using a scare simulator set to its medium setting. Roar Omega Roar watches from the back of the lecture hall and Sulley sees Mike studying. In order to antagonize him, Sulley pushes Mike's books off his desk, causing the two to argue. Mike begins to roar at Sulley, to show him what he's capable of. Unimpressed, Sulley roars back. That goes on until they gain the attention of Dean Hardscrabble. Suddenly, Sulley trips over one of Mike's books and stumbles into the pedestal Dean Hardscrabble's scream canister rests on, knocking it to the floor and braking it open, sending it rocketing all over the room until finally collapsing right before Mike and Sully and ruining it. They both expect the full brunt of Hardscrabble's fury for their catastrophic bumbling. But, strangely enough, Hardscrabble acts quite calm about it, dismissing it as an accident where thankfully, nobody was hurt. She continues the exams, taking over Mike and Sulley's tests herself. She asks Mike to inform her which scare would be used for a child afraid of lightning and he remembers the scare tactic perfectly but Hardscrabble dismisses him before he can even demonstrate or even try it on the simulator. When she is about to test Sulley, he just roars at her impulsively without letting her finish declaring the task, arrogantly claiming that he doesn't need to know any of that "stuff" to scare a child. Hardscrabble informs him "that stuff" would've informed him that the child was afraid of snakes, meaning a roar wouldn't have made it scream; instead it would have made it cry, alerting the parents to his presence and possibly exposing the monster world to the humans which would very much mean the end of their lives as they know it. Sully's laziness proves to be his undoing when Hardscrabble promptly dismisses him from the program and he storms off in anger just after ROR does the same when they witness his failure. She explains to Mike that while his knowledge of scaring is spot-on, what he lacks cannot be taught, and she dismisses him from the scare program as well believing that he is not scary at all. Mike tries to plea to her by trying his skill on the simulator, hoping to surprise her. But she refuses him the chance, claiming to not be easily impressed, leaving him standing in horror with his lifelong dream of being a scarer shattered like glass.

When they return from winter break, instead of becoming Scarers, Mike and Sulley join the extremely boring Scream Can Design school where Sulley is visibly angry at Mike. Mike is so upset that his dream of being in the Scare Program has ended so soon, that he throws his book at the wall knocking down his calendar revealing a poster of the "Scare Games". That gives him the idea for getting out of his misery. He runs out his dorm room, past an angry Sulley who follows him. The sign-up for the Scare Games is nearing a close as the school gathers to listen to Hardscrabble explaining that in order to win the games, a team must be the "most fearsome monsters on campus!". Just before the end of the sign-up, Mike stands up on a car and shouts out his sign up for his new fraternity: Oozma Kappa! Everyone breaks out in a laugh as Oozma Kappa isn't really the scariest group of monsters on campus. Hardscrabble doesn't think Mike stands a chance, so he baits her into a wager: if OK wins, they must be allowed into the Scaring Program. She agrees, but also tells Mike that if they lose, he will leave Monsters University. And she also tells him there must be six members to join the games, and they only have five, as the rules of the games only count bodies as team-members, and so the two-headed monster Terri and Terry count only as one. Mike asks Randall to join Oozma Kappa, but he finally became part of the cool guys at Roar Omega Roar and he warns Mike to not mess that up. Sensing an opportunity Sulley decides to join OK. With no one else willing to join and desperate to get back into the Scare program, Mike reluctantly agrees.

The Oozma Kappa house turns out be that of Squishy's mother. It looks nothing like the usual fraternity houses. The monsters introduce themselves in the living room: Don, a mature student who was unlucky in his sales business and decided to return to school. Art, a flamboyant and laidback philosophy major who gives Mike and Sulley a "dream journal". Terri and Terry Perry, who share one body, and Squishy, an "unwelcomed" little guy with five eyes. Mike and Sulley look at each other as the guys are ecstatic to have new brothers. Later that night, Mike and Sulley find out they will be sharing a very small room together. The other OKs turn the power off and host an initiation in the basement, which is supposed to be spooky but is shortly interrupted by Squishy's mother, Sheri, who is doing laundry in the back room. The next day a letter from the Scare Games arrive, announcing the first challenge of the game: The Toxicity Challenge.

Each challenge of the Scare Games represents a part of the job of a future Scarer. In the Toxicity Challenge, the players must simultaneously race through a tunnel and avoid toxic stinging, glowing urchin-like balls that were produced by the Biology department, just as a Scarer has to avoid toxic toys and clothes and other belongings in a children's room. And because Scarers work in the night, the lights in the tunnel are all off, with the only light source being the glow urchins. Mike and Sulley immediately take their rivalry to the starting line. Roar Omega Roar comes in first, but although Mike and Sulley (still fighting with each other) come shortly after, OK gets eliminated, as the whole team is required to cross the finish line. At the last moment, however, the JOX fraternity is disqualified for using illegal protective gel, allowing Oozma Kappa to continue in the games.

Oozma Kappa is joyfully celebrating that they somehow survived the first round. Mike knows they have to work as a team from now on to stay in the Games. Mike tries to gather the talents of his team mates, but outside of Terry and Terri's cheap magic tricks and Don's annoying suckers, he doesn't get much. So he decides to take full responsibility over the team and anyone else is just supposed to do exactly what he does. Sulley has no confidence in Mike's leadership or his team and walks off.

The next challenge of the Scare Games starts. This time, the players have to sneak through the MU library, without getting caught by the librarian: a giant slug-like old monster with poor eyesight and very good ears and a very scary appearance, who will attack and throw out anybody who does the smallest noise. The aim for every team is to snatch a flag with their symbol on it, much like a Scarer has to reach their child without getting caught by their parents. The team is just thoughtlessly following Mike, until Sulley's impatience gets the better of him and he charges toward their flag, causing a ladder to break off its rails and falls hard. The librarian moves toward Sulley, then the other OKs start to make noises to distract her, which is legal since the only condition to advance is to avoid getting caught. While all of them finally escape the library, Squishy was able to steal the flag, because he is very good at sneaking about unnoticed, something Mike totally overlooked. The EEK team on the other hand, isn't so lucky; they are grabbed by the librarian, thrown out of the library and eliminated.

In the night after the second round, Oozma Kappa is surprisingly invited to a Scare Games-mid mixer party for the Top Scarers of the campus in the ROR's house. While the rest of his team is enjoying the party, Mike admires the Scare Games trophy and his reflection in it, fascinated by the fact that he is so close at getting everything he always dreamed about. Johnny Worthington III then holds a speech and greets his fellow contestants, but when he comes to the OKs, he just mocks them and Randall, again betraying his former friend Mike for the cool guys, activates a trap that douses them with colorful paint, confetti, flowers and stuffed animals to make them look foolish.

The next day, the OKs see that the whole campus is overflown with pictures of their humiliation of the previous day. Mike isn't willing to give up yet, but Sulley and the others tells him that no matter how they train, they'll never look like the competitors or be real scarers. Mike then gets an idea. He persuades his fellows to follow him on a secret night field trip to Monsters, Inc., breaking in through the fence surrounding the perimeter. Through a window, Mike shows the OKs the Scare Floor where his dream of becoming a Scarer has started. He explains that all the Scarers are different like they are - some have too many heads like Terry and Terri, some are older than the rest like Don. That impresses even Sulley, and he and Mike are starting to warm up for each other, because they share the same dream and the same fascinations. The OKs then narrowly escape after being spotted by security guards.

With fresh confidence, the OKs are training hard for the next round. Mike and Sulley have learned to stand each other. While Mike is starting to see the real potential of his team, Sulley starts to accept his strategies. They receive the letter for the next challenge of the Scare Games, where they have to race through a maze and scare pictured children, but hide from from pictures of teenagers, who while similar to children and equally toxic, aren't so easily scared. This time, the OKs master the challenge without any luck and with pure skills, and they finish in second place just after the RORs (PNK is eliminated in the event, as they scared the teenagers and got boxed in). They repeat their exploit at the next challenge of the Scare Games, where they have to hide in a fraternity house from security, in the same way a Scarer has to hide from children's parents (HSS is eliminated). The OKs and the RORs are the last two contestants for the big final. Dean Hardscrabble talks to Sulley and shows her respect for him, but notes that the team will still lose, for she knows there is at least one monster in his team who's not scary enough - meaning Mike. Sulley defends him, saying that Mike works harder than anyone else for that. She asks him if he thinks Mike is scary. Sulley can't answer because honestly, he doesn't think Mike is scary.

In the night before the great finale, Sulley thanks him for all the work he has put into the team. He then decides to do something for him and gives him scare tutoring. He shows him his scare-techniques, but soon gives it up, after seeing what an amateur he is, without letting him know. Secretly, he's starting to agree with Hardscrabble about Mike's unscariness.

The Final Challenge of the Scare Games arrive. The champions Roar Omega Roar versus the underdog-surprise Oozma Kappa. The both contestants have to battle each other in the Scare-Simulator-Challenge, where one by one, every monster of each team has to enter their Scare-Simulator, read and interpret the mock child-information, choosing a scare-technique and then scare the dummy as much as they can, on the highest difficulty level. The team that reaches the most combined scream-energy wins the challenge and the Scare Games. Before the challenge starts, Mike discusses his strategy with his team. He wants to go in first, but Sulley wants to give Mike the honor of finishing the Scare Games for them, because he was one who started it. Mike is pleased and agrees to go in last, right after Sulley. Don makes the start and makes good use of his suckers. Surprisingly he outscores his opponent. Terry and Terri create the appearance of human body to scare in the act, Art that uses his flexibility to move around the room and even Squishy that uses his eyes to create something similar to a zombie face. ROR has a slight lead by the fifth round, in which Sulley faces Randall. Sulley has learned and studies the mock child-info, before he goes in. In addition to his usual roar he stomps the floor hard and produces a small earth-quake. He score's very high, while in the other simulator, Randall is knocked off the wall, causing his uncontrolled camouflage ability to take the color of the child room carpet - a very bright pink with tiny hearts on it. Because of his rather neat than scary looks, his score is rather low and when he comes out of the simulator, Randall gets mocked by his fellow RORs. Randall swears that he'll one day take revenge on Sullivan for this humiliation - setting the stage for their upcoming rivalry in Monsters, Inc.

Mike faces Johnny in the final round. Johnny is certain - even though OK made it this far - that Mike doesn't belong at MU and he's already lost. The both of them make it across the room with great skill. Johnny generates a near-perfect score, meaning that Mike will have to pull off a record breaking scare. For Mike, the moment of truth has arrived. The memories of all the scorn and derision he got over his life raced through Mike's head, then he hears Sulley's encouragement from last night. Mike unleashes a mighty scare that makes the dummy scream as loud as it can and generates the highest score possible. Mike can't believe it, but the audience (with the exception of Dean Hardscrabble with a rather uninterested-looking face, who didn't seem to buy it) is amazed and jubilates for him. Against all expectations and to everybody's surprise, the Oozma Kappas won the Scare Games. Joyfully Mike holds the Scare Game trophy for the OK's.

OK is in the stadium taking pictures with other students while Mike stands in front of the simulator, overjoyed that he will be continuing his education as a scarer, that is, until he playfully gives the dummy a last little scare, getting him a perfect score again. Mike finds himself weirded out that snapping his fingers causes the same reaction. Suspicious, Mike checks the settings of the simulator and finds that the control panel has been messed around with. To his horror, he finds out that the difficulty-controller for the other contestants were on the highest level as they should be, but the last one - Mike's controller - was on the lowest. It dawns on Mike that Sulley changed the setting behind their backs and tricked them all into cheating their way to victory. Mike accuses him of doing it for himself and of being like Hardscrabble and everyone else for thinking he's not scary enough. Sulley lets it slip that he doesn't believe Mike has what it takes. A heartbroken and angry Mike storms off, while the rest of OK, who were equally ashamed that Sulley ruined their victory by cheating, leaves behind the unearned trophy.

Sulley walks through campus with the trophy being praised by the other students. ROR approaches him and welcome him back, but he declines, leaving the trophy with Johnny and goes to talk with Hardscrabble. Meanwhile, Mike waits in front of the Door Manufacturer Laboratories, after he has listened to a girl who has worked the whole semester on a door that is about to get shredded the day after, because it is too dangerous. Without knowing what that means, Mike skillfully steals the key card for the laboratory and breaks in. Sulley confesses to Hardscrabble that he cheated and takes full responsibility for his actions. Hardscrabble is outraged and orders Sulley to leave campus by the following morning, declaring him a disgrace to this school and his family title. Then, an alarm sounds, signaling a break-in at the door labs. Mike has locked himself in the lab, activating the door and enters the Human World.

Mike sneaks out of the wardrobe and finds a little girl sleeping. His nervous roar only wakes the girl up. Sleepy, the girl sees Mike and says, "You look funny." This wakes another girl up, who's sleeping in the same room. To his horror, Mike finds out that he isn't in a children's room. He is inside the girl's sleeping bungalow of a Summer Camp - filled with kids that find him and his scare attempts funny and cute, and badly want to touch him, but before they could an adult comes in, spots him, and keeps the kids away from Mike.

Meanwhile, in the Monster World, Sulley and Hardscrabble hurry into the Door Manufacturer Laboratories. Hardscrabble hears that some monster went through the door, and commands the door be cordoned off until the Child Detection Agency is on scene. Sulley knows that it was Mike who went through the door and he cannot let his friend get stranded in the Human World. Don creates a distraction for Sulley to enter the door against Hardscrabble's warnings. There he finds an empty bungalow with no sign of Mike. But through a window he can see the emergency lights of a patrol car and an amazed bunch of kids that described to the adults an alien, that entered their room and fled into the forest. Sulley decides to follow Mike's traces and also runs into the forest, but not without getting glimpsed by the park rangers. Mistaking him for a bear, they hunt Sulley into the forest, but he is able to shake them off. He then finds Mike sitting at the shore of a lake, hidden behind rowboats. Mike laments his inability to scare the girls, as well as his efforts to become a Scarer and prove he was being special for nothing. Sulley tells him he knows how he feels. This angers Mike since famous, popular monsters like Sulley can screw up and still be loved by everyone and he was born a Sullivan. Sulley admits he is also a failure because he is a Sullivan who flunked every test, the one who got kicked out of the program, and he was so afraid to let everyone down that he cheated and he lied. Sulley acts scary yet has been terrified all this time. He never admitted this to Mike sooner because they weren't friends before.

They are nearly found by the park rangers and camp counselors. Without losing time, the two of them hurry back into the bungalow and open the wardrobe, but find out, that the door must have been shut down. Hardscrabble orders the entire room cleared out until the authorities arrive. In the bungalow, the adults are getting closer. Mike thinks that, if they can generate enough scream energy, they can activate the door from their side. It's their only chance, but Sulley has his doubts. He may be good at scaring children, but these rangers are adults and adults usually can not be scared. Mike knows every scare tactic in the book, so they have a chance.

The police officers, rangers, and/or camp counselors enter the bungalow and find it totally empty. Strange things are going on, weird sounds and shadows spook through the room, all produced by Mike and Sulley. When the horror is high enough, Sulley jumps out of the dark and roars as loud as he can, scaring all the adults out of their skins. Their screams don't just activate the door but they overload every scream canister in the room. Without losing time, Mike and Sulley hurry back into the Monster World just as the door explodes. For the first time, Hardscrabble is just plain shocked. The CDA arrive, taking Mike and Sulley away. Squishy asks them what will happen to them. The agent in charge tells him it's up to the university president to decide, adding that they'll be watching those two. "Always watching."

Mike and Sulley have been punished and expelled for their actions. To their surprise, Hardscrabble has allowed the other members of OK into the scare program since she was impressed by their performance in the Games. Also, Don and Sheri are engaged, to Squishy's discomfort.

Mike admits that, for the first time in his life, he doesn't have a plan, but he's okay with "just being okay." He boards a bus back to Monstropolis, but Sulley stops him, telling him that he hasn't met anyone that can do what he has. The wager with Hardscrabble, OK becoming champions, and Sulley pulling off the biggest scare MU has ever seen was all Mike's doing and he's been riding his coattails from Day 1. Sulley says Mike isn't scary, but he is fearless. He beings to talk about Hardscrabble not seeing that, but she arrives, telling him to watch himself. She shows them that they made the front page again, and admits that they both surprised her, something that hasn't been done before. As such, she will look out for more surprises in the program. Regretfully, she can't do anything more for them, but she wishes them luck, telling Mike to "keep surprising people."

They notice an ad in the paper for a company that's always hiring in the mailroom. They start work at Monsters, Inc., where they meet the Abominable Snowman for the first time. He instructs them that tampering with the mail is punishable by banishment (which he ironically would suffer that very fate).

Mike and Sulley are seen happy in the mailroom, then get promoted to janitors, kitchen assistants, can wranglers, and then take part in open tryouts for scarers. They pass the training program and Sulley becomes a scarer with Mike as his assistant. Mike dons a hardhat and joins Sulley on the scare floor for the first time, leading to the events of Monsters, Inc..

In the credits, a series of actualized Scare Cards of the Monsters that became Scarers after graduating are shown, featuring the Oozma Kappa members, Chet Alexander, Randall Boggs, Rosie Levin, and Johnny Worthington. However, Johnny does not end up working for Monsters, Inc. He goes to another company.

In a post-credits scene, the slug monster from the beginning of the movie finally arrives at his classroom, only to discover that the school year has already ended and he has missed every single class and the janitor wipes the floor. Then the slug begins his presumably excruciatingly slow journey home.

Voice Cast[]

Production[]

Pete Docter did not return to direct the prequel.[19] It was confirmed during a Cars 2 press open house that Dan Scanlon (the co-director of the short film Mater and the Ghostlight) would be the director.[20]

Monsters University

Concept of Mike.

The film was originally going to be released on November 16, 2012, but was pushed back to November 2 to avoid competition with another film, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2. It was finally set for a release on June 21, 2013.

In 2005, Disney had set up Circle 7 Animation to produce sequels to Pixar films. Work was started on a Monsters, Inc. sequel. In 2006 however, following Pixar's acquisition by Disney, all projects of Circle 7 animation were cancelled and the studio closed. Circle 7's version of the sequel, called "Monsters, Inc. 2: Lost in Scaradise" would have seen Mike and Sulley, who after realizing Boo has moved, are trapped in the Human world in the quest of finding her.[21] Other plot points included Mike and Celia getting married, Randall returning and redeeming himself and the introduction to other banished monsters such El Chupacabra, Bigfoot (Who is female and named Anastasia and is an old girlfriend of Sully's) among others.[22]

A sequel made by Pixar was confirmed in 2010. In January 2011, rumors surfaced that Monsters, Inc. 2 was going to be a prequel to Monsters, Inc., saying that the film would follow Mike and Sulley when they were at the Monstropolis University of Fear, and how they go from being enemies to best friends.[23][24] These rumors were confirmed soon after.[25]

Monster-University-D23 510

Dan Scanlon and production designer Ricky Nierva show a concept sketch of Sulley and Mike at the D23 Expo.

On August 12, 2011, Billy Crystal attended a 20th anniversary screening of City Slickers. When asked about his return to the role of Mike Wazowski he replied, "That’s why I'm a little hoarse. I spent five-and-a-half hours today for our fourth session on Monsters, Inc. 2." Crystal says that he and co-star John Goodman are having a blast together and describes the script as "really great" and "hilarious". Crystal also gave little details of the plot of the film saying, "It's college pranks with monsters. And I wear a retainer. Mike has a retainer."[26] Dan Scanlon, Crystal and Ricky Nierva were present at the D23 Expo talking about the film and showcasing concept and development sketches. Scanlon pointed out that this time, Sulley is not as bulky as he was in the first movie, and Mike is smaller. "We all looked a little different when we were in college. Mike we made a little smaller to either straighten or loosen his teeth. I'm not really sure what the desired effect is in the monster world." John Goodman did not attend the expo. Crystal said, "College is a long way away for me, but bringing this world together at Pixar, where only this could happen, it's hilarious, it's funny, and different from anything you could possibly imagine that Monsters Inc. could become."[27]

On December 3, 2012, Georgian Progressive Metal band Mastodon announced via their Twitter page that they were writing a song for the film.[28] The soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on June 18, 2013.[29]

The plot of Monsters University details Mike and Sulley's first meeting, but this created a continuity error from the first film in which Mike tells Sulley that he has been jealous of his looks since the fourth grade. Director Dan Scanlon said he had a dilemma with this line during pre-production, but he believed it was best if Mike and Sulley meet in college because, "we wanted to see their relationship develop when they were adults. And we also felt like college is so much about self-discovery and figuring out who you are." He added, "It felt like the perfect place to do this, but we had that line. So we tried versions where they met young and then we skipped ahead to college. And we knew we didn't want to make Monsters Elementary." Scanlon said during pre-production that, "Pete Docter, the original director, and John Lasseter ... finally said to me, 'it's great that you're honouring that, but you have to do what's right for the story.' So we made a tough decision to just have them be in college and put that line aside." Scanlon also said the line from the first film is, "an old monster expression" and "That's what monsters always say to each other."[30][31][32]

Monsters University is the first Pixar film that used global illumination, a new lighting system introduced as part of the overhaul of the rendering system used since the first Toy Story film. In the planning stage of the film, director of photography, Jean-Claude Kalache, asked "What if we made these lights just work?" Before the new system, artists had to build reflections and shadows manually, which became increasingly complex as the models and the setups became more technologically advanced. The new lighting system uses ray tracing, a technique that imitates the behaviour of the light in the real world; this automatized the process, delivered more realism, produced soft shadows, and let the artist spend more time on models and complex scenes—some of which contained thousands of light sources.[33][34]

For research, the filmmakers visited several colleges in the U.S., including Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Alabama, observing college architecture, student life, Greek organizations, and the teaching methods of professors and faculty.[35][36][37] To research fraternity life, which is central to the film, many of the film's producers spent several weeks at a fraternity house.[36]

Marketing[]

Webseite monsters university

The Monsters University website

The teaser trailer for the film was released online on June 20, 2012 and was screened in theaters with Brave. Four versions of the teaser were released, each featuring Mike saying a different line in his sleep. Each of the four versions were released by a different news outlet, namely YouTube, Itunes Trailers, Yahoo! Movies and The Huffington Post. The versions are "My pony made the deans list" (link), "I can't go to class, I'm not wearing any clothes" (link), "My homework ate my dog" (link) and "Class President - ha, ha, ha, ha" (link).

In October 2012, Disney/Pixar started a viral campaign by launching a complete, fully functional website for the Monsters University. The website covers all subjects of a real university website, and includes a store where related merchandise can be bought. In addition, the first TV commercial for the film was aired during the 2013 Rose Bowl Game, parodying ads that participating schools air during college football telecasts.[38] On April Fool's Day, the website was change to look like it had been hacked and vandalized by Fear Tech, Monsters University's rival school. The colors were changed to orange and Fear Tech symbols would invade the screen upon clicking.

Another viral website surfaced in March 2013. Called The Grumblr, it takes the form of a tumblr blog who would be run by a student at Monsters University.

At the occasion of the NCAA March Madness, ESPN presented a short clip showing Monsters University players violently reacting as their team gets eliminated from the competition.[39] This clip was subsequently posted on the Grumblr.[40]

An extended preview of the film was released on February 8, 2013,[41] followed by a full-length trailer for the UK on February 11, 2013,[42] and a clip shown on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon[43] two days later.

On February 15, 2013, another college ad parody was released that showed a few new scenes from the film. The video was entitled "A Message from the Dean."[44]

An all-new sneak peek of the film was released on the Monsters, Inc. 3D Blu-ray on February 19, 2013.[45][46]

On February 20, 2013, new character posters, and Student and Faculty ID cards were released.[47]

On March 8, 2013, a Japanese trailer was released, revealing a little Mike,[48][49] and new plot details - with one animator from Pixar going so far as to attest that it "spoils the entire movie."[50]

On March 23, 2013, another TV spot was shown at the Kids' Choice Awards.[51]

Another clip was released on May 23, 2013.[52]

Seven more clips were released on June 6, 2013.[53]

From June 27 until July 11, 2013, Disney's online game Club Penguin hosted a Monsters University Takeover event to promote the film. Players could dress up as their favorite monsters and take part in the Scare Games.[54]

Release[]

Monsters University had its worldwide premiere on June 5, 2013, as a special screening at BFI Southbank in London with the director and producer in attendance.[55] The film had its Asian premiere as the opening film of the 2013 Shanghai International Film Festival on June 15, 2013.[56] It premiered in the United States on June 8, 2013, at the Seattle International Film Festival,[56] and was released in theaters on June 21, 2013. The film's theatrical release was accompanied by Pixar's short film titled The Blue Umbrella.[6] Monsters University was released in the United Kingdom on July 12, 2013.

Monsters University was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, digital copy and on demand on October 29, 2013. It was accompanied by The Blue Umbrella, Pixar's short film which played alongside the film in theaters.[57]

Reception[]

Critical Response[]

Monsters University has received mainly positive reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 80% based on 203 reviews with an average rating of 6.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Offering Monsters, Inc. fans a welcome return visit with beloved characters, Monsters University delivers funny and thoughtful family entertainment for viewers of any age."[58] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 65 based on 41 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[59] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. According to Disney, audiences were 56% female and 60% below the age of 25. Families made up 73% of business, and teens accounted for 15%. The film played well with all ages.[60]

Matt Zoller Seitz of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, saying it "is true to the spirit of [Monsters Inc.] and matches its tone. But it never seems content to turn over old ground."[61] Trevor Johnston of Time Out gave the film four stars out of five, writing, "It has enough of the right stuff to haunt the imagination long after the immediate buzz of its fluffy-furred cuteness has melted away. For a mere prequel, that's a result."[62] Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three stars out of four, and said it "is cute, and funny, and the animation, though not exactly inspired, is certainly colorful."[63] Jake Coyle of the Associated Press gave the film three stars out of four, saying it "might not be as gifted as some of its other movies, but sometimes it's alright to be OK."[64] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three stars out of four, and said, "It's all infectious fun, despite the lack of originality. In the art of tickling funny bones, Crystal and Goodman earn straight A's."[65] Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying, "This minor film with major charms still deserves to have kids dragging their parents to the multiplex for one more peek at the monsters in the closet. With Pixar, familiarity breeds content."[66]

Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film three and a half stars out of five and said it is "one of those movies that has absolutely no reason to exist, but once you've seen it, you're kind of glad it does."[67] Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, saying, "Monsters University feels not like the work of artists eager to express something but like that of likable pros whose existence depends on getting a rise out the kids. It's like the scares Sully and Mike spring on those sleeping tykes: technically impressive but a job un-anchored to anything more meaningful."[68] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three stars out of four, and said it "may not be as inventive as Inc., but it's an amusing and amiable addition to Pixar's roster of animated coming-of-age stories."[69] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film three stars out of four, saying, "It may be children’s terror that powers the movie's fictional universe, but it's the energy of its stars that lights up Monsters University."[70] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A−, and said it "is exactly the rebound Pixar needed after 2011's Cars 2 left some wondering if the studio had lost its magic. The delightful story of when Mike met Sulley puts those concerns to rest."[71] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three stars out of four, and wrote, "Although it falls short of the best Pixar has brought to the screen over its long association with Disney, it's nevertheless worth a trip to the theater, especially for kids."[72]

The film was not without its detractors, though. Richard Roeper gave the film two and a half stars out of five, saying "This is a safe, predictable, edge-free, nearly bland effort from a studio that rarely hedges its bets."[73] Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald gave the film two stars out of five, and wrote that it "feels half-hearted and lazy, like they weren't even trying. At least show a little effort, guys."[74] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, and said, "This is not a bad movie, and to small children it will be a very good one, but it's closer to average than one would wish from the company that gave us Up, WALL•E, The Incredibles, and the Toy Story series."[75] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five and wrote, "Both the originality and stirring emotional complexity of Monsters, Inc., with its exquisitely painful and touching parallels with the human world, are missing."[76] Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, and said, "The artwork is accomplished, and intricate. The G-rating is genuine, without any gross-out gags. And there's none of the usual winks to the adults with tired, pop-culture references."[77]

Leonard Maltin of IndieWire praised the animation and art direction, but wrote that he wished "the movie was funnier and wasn't so plot-heavy" and that "Pixar has raised the bar for animated features so high that when they turn out a film that's merely good, instead of great, they have only themselves to blame for causing critics to damn them with faint praise."[78] Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four, saying, "Monsters University, the weirdly charmless sequel to the animated 2001 Pixar hit Monsters, Inc., is no better or worse than the average (and I mean average) time-filling sequel cranked out by other animation houses."[79] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying that it "never surprises, goes off in unexpected directions or throws you for a loop in the manner of the best Pixar stories. Nor does it come close to elating through the sheer imagination of its conceits and storytelling."[80]

Box Office Results[]

Monsters University earned $268,492,764 in North America, and $475,066,843 elsewhere, summing up to a worldwide total of $743,559,607. It is the seventh highest-grossing film of 2013 (behind Frozen, Iron Man 3, Despicable Me 2, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Fast & Furious 6), the third highest-grossing animated film of 2013 (behind Frozen and Despicable Me 2), the 96th highest-grossing film of all time and the 20th highest-grossing animated film of all time.[3] The film earned $136.9 million worldwide on its opening weekend.[81] Disney declined to provide a budget for the film; Entertainment Weekly speculated that it was higher than that of Brave ($185 million), mainly because of the high cost of John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

North America[]

In the week leading to Monsters University's release, Disney projected an opening weekend gross of at least $70 million.[82] The film opened on Friday, June 21, 2013 in first place with $30.47 million, including $2.6 million in Thursday night shows,[83] marking the fifth largest opening day among animated films.[84] The film then reached first place with an opening-weekend gross of $82.43 million; the second largest among Pixar films,[85] the second largest among G-rated films,[86] the fourth largest among prequels,[87] the fifth largest among animated films,[88] and the fifth largest among films released in June.[89] Monsters University remained at first place on its second weekend, declining 45% to $45.6 million.[90] Facing tough competition from Despicable Me 2 on its third weekend, it dropped 57% to $19.7 million.[91] As of December 2013, it is the tenth highest-grossing animated film.[92]

Outside North America[]

The film earned $54.5 million in 35 markets on its opening weekend.[85] It set a Disney·Pixar opening-weekend record in Latin America with revenues of $31.7 million.[93] In Argentina, the film set an opening weekend record among all films with $5.49 million.[94][95] In Australia, where it had a simultaneous release with Despicable Me 2, Monsters University debuted behind the latter with $3.56 million in third place.[96] In Hong Kong, the film set opening-day (HK$5.03 million),[97] single-day (HK$7.93 million) and opening-weekend (HK$25.79 million) records among animated films, beating the previous record holder, Toy Story 3.[98] In the UK, the film topped the box office during its opening weekend with a gross of GB£3.46 million.[99] The film's largest opening occurred in China, where its $13 million debut ranked fourth among Disney films.[100][101] The film's highest-grossing markets are Japan ($90.1 million), the UK, Ireland, and Malta ($47.2 million), and Mexico ($37.6 million).[101]

Attached Short Film[]

The Blue Umbrella is attached to Monsters University.

Party Central, a short film based on the movie, is attached to Muppets Most Wanted.

Gallery[]

Posters[]

Pictures[]

Concept Art[]

Trailers[]

TV Spots and Other Clips[]

University Parodies[]

References[]

  1. Monsters University Enrolls Top Talent
  2. MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2D, includes short film The Blue Umbrella)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Box Office Mojo: Monsters University (2013)
  4. Disney drawing 'Monsters Inc.' sequel
  5. Randy Newman Sings Part Of The Monsters University Theme That He Hasn’t Written Yet
  6. 6.0 6.1 Watch an Exclusive Clip of Pixar's New Short, The Blue Umbrella
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 D23 2011: Monsters University Voice Cast & Plot Details Announced, August 20, 2011
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  9. Flixclusive: Joel Murray talks Monsters University
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  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, John Krasinski, more voice cast revealed for Pixar's Monsters University -- EXCLUSIVE
  12. Monsters University unveils character posters, ID cards
  13. 13.0 13.1 Monsters University Stills
  14. "Monsters University" cast attends blue carpet premiere
  15. Producer Kori Rae Talks MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, Creating Pixar’s First Prequel, Casting Helen Mirren, Crafting John Ratzenberger’s Role and More
  16. 16.0 16.1 A College Where the Exams Are Terrifying
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Exclusive: Meet A Few Of The Voice Actors That Helped Bring ‘Monsters University’ To Life
  18. Director’s Cut: Dan Scanlon (‘Monsters University’)
  19. Up Director Pete Docter on His Next Project and Why Pixar Movies End With Chase Scenes
  20. http://twitter.com/#!/PixarTalk/status/53485001441939457
  21. Want a peek at Circle 7's unproduced "Monsters, Inc." sequel?
  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ZFuf6Y6WM
  23. Monsters, Inc. 2 To Be a Prequel?
  24. Will Monsters, Inc. 2 Be A Prequel?
  25. Monsters, Inc. 2 A Prequel Comfirmed
  26. Monsters Inc.’ prequel: Billy Crystal gets schooled by Pixar
  27. Disney's D23: Sulley and Mike slim down for Pixar prequel Monsters University
  28. MASTODON Writing / Recording Track For Upcoming Monsters, Inc. Sequel
  29. Walt Disney Records to Release Soundtracks for ‘The Lone Ranger’ and ‘Monsters University
  30. Monsters University continuity error in Mike and Sulley’s backstory explained
  31. Monsters University’ Director Explains the Continuity Problem in Mike and Sully’s Backstory
  32. Monsters University Blu-ray: See the fourth-grade Mike/Sulley meeting that never happened -- EXCLUSIVE VIDEO
  33. Throwing shade: how Pixar changed the way light works for Monsters University
  34. Shining a New Light on Pixar
  35. Monsters University - Fun Facts!
  36. 36.0 36.1 Monsters University: 5 Things You Should Know to Be Too Ghoul for School | E! Online UK
  37. Pixar Goes to College: A Monsters University Preview | The Sentinel Newspaper | KSU
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  39. New ‘Monsters University’ Viral Site ‘The Grumblr’ Mimics Tumblr Blogs
  40. The Grumblr
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  43. Check Out the First Clip From Monsters University!
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  45. MUST SEE: An Extended Preview of Monsters University
  46. Extended Preview of Pixar's Monsters University
  47. Monsters University Character Posters and Student ID Cards
  48. Check Out a Tiny Mike Wazowski in the Japanese Monsters University Trailer
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  51. Kids' Choice Awards Spots for Monsters University and Despicable Me 2
  52. Watch Mike and Sulley's First Morning Together at Monsters University
  53. Check Out Seven Clips From Monsters University
  54. Club Penguin and... Pixar!
  55. June 2013 at BFI Southbank
  56. 56.0 56.1 Monsters University to Open Shanghai Festival
  57. Pixar’s "Monsters University" comes to Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D in October
  58. Monsters University (2013)
  59. Monsters University
  60. Box office report: Monsters University scares up $82 million, World War Z shatters expectations
  61. Monsters University Movie Review (2013)
  62. Monsters University | review, synopsis, book tickets, showtimes, movie release date | Time Out London
  63. Monsters University gives it the old college try
  64. Review: Monsters University gets a passing grade
  65. Peter Travers Reviews Monsters University | Movie Reviews
  66. Movie Review: Pixar's Monsters University - When Hairy Met Scary | TIME.com
  67. The Arizona Republic
  68. Pixar Bangs Out More Superior Kids Fare with Monsters University, And Nothing More - Page 1 - Movies - New York
  69. It won't make honor roll, but Monsters University easily passes
  70. Monsters University’ movie review
  71. Monsters University Movie Review | Movie Reviews and News | Summer Movies – Calendar, Trailers, Movie Photos, Movie Clips, Movie Guide
  72. Reelviews Movie Reviews
  73. Monsters University Review
  74. Monsters University (G)
  75. Movie review: Pixar gives it the old college try in ‘Monsters University’ – Movies
  76. A College Where the Exams Are Terrifying
  77. Monsters University review: Pixar gets a passing grade
  78. Monsters University - Leonard Maltin - Blogs - Indiewire
  79. Monsters University movie review by Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips
  80. Monsters University Review
  81. All Time Worldwide Opening Records
  82. Box Office Preview: Monsters University Pacing to Beat 'World War Z'
  83. Box Office Report: Brad Pitt's World War Z Opens to $3.6 Million Thursday Night
  84. Box office update: Monsters University and World War Z have scary good Friday; 'Man of Steel' sinks
  85. 85.0 85.1 Weekend Report: 'Monsters' and Zombies Both Win On Busy Weekend
  86. Biggest Opening G Rated Movies
  87. Prequel Movies
  88. Animation Movies (sorted by Opening)
  89. Top June Opening Weekends
  90. Weekend Report: 'Monsters' Repeats, 'Heat' Sets Fire to 'White House'
  91. Weekend Report: 'Despicable' Defeats 'Ranger' Over Busy Fourth of July
  92. Animation Movies
  93. Monsters University Marks Disney/Pixar's Top Latin America Opening
  94. Disney•Pixar's Monsters University Breaks Records in Latin America
  95. Argentina Box Office June 20–23, 2013
  96. Australia Box Office June 20–23, 2013
  97. Monsters sets Hong Kong animation record
  98. Monsters University Breaks Another Hong Kong Box Office Record
  99. Monsters University beats Despicable Me 2 at UK box office – Movies News
  100. GLOBAL: The Minions Take Over The World With $805.8M Total
  101. 101.0 101.1 Monsters University (2013) - International Box Office Results
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