Pixar Era Analysis – Monsters University
As mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 28 of Pixar’s animated feature films and their film making eras.
The third era is the Experimental Era, which ran from 2011 to 2019 and started with Cars 2. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Experimental Era is known for its large number of sequels, original films that thought outside the box, and an animation style perfected in each film rather than exploring new ground.
So how did Monsters University measure up to the above features of the Experimental Era?
Large number of sequels:
This film is Pixar’s first prequel. It is the prequel to Monsters, Inc. (2001). According to the film’s IMDb page, it is set ten years before Monsters, Inc.
Original films that thought outside the box:
The fact that this sequel is actually a prequel proves that this is a film that thought outside the box.
According to the film’s producer, Kori Rae, the biggest challenge of revisiting the characters of Monsters, Inc. over a decade after the release of the previous film was “how to not make (the) film predictable” and “the twists and turns along the way to keep the audience engaged and involved and surprised, so that they’re rooting for a character, even though they know how it ends.”
Rae also stated that the film’s plot focuses on the 18-22 year-old age group as audiences would be able to relate to “figuring out who they are, who they want to be, and who they thought they were at that age, whether they went to college or not.”
The fact that the film is a prequel and focuses on Mike and Sulley meeting and being rivals at college, which in turn expands on the predecessor’s film’s concept of “monsters in the closet” as an industry, proves that they made the right choice.
Animation style perfected in each film rather than exploring new ground:
This film actually did explore new ground, as it was the first Pixar film to use global illumination. According to the film’s Wikipedia page, global illumination was a then-new lighting system introduced as part of the overhaul of the rendering system used since the first Toy Story film. Global illumination uses path tracing, which enables more realism, soft shadows and saved time for artists and animators to focus on models and more complex scenes.
My personal favourite animation moments in the film included the University’s School of Aquatics being shown underwater, the University’s buildings incorporating monster features, and the details on seemingly minor or mundane objects, such as floor tiles in the university’s lecture hall.
My overall thoughts:
Overall, I enjoyed Monsters University. I felt it was a more adult-oriented follow up to its predecessor film with the filmmakers’ choice to focus on the college setting, and provided a well-written backstory to Mike and Sulley’s origin story, with them starting as rivals providing a good twist.
I felt that the writing and structure of the film was stronger and concise, and flowed well, which made it captivating to watch, however it did feel a little bland and heavy at times. As much as I appreciated the strength and structure of the film’s writing, I can also see why it was criticised by some as “plot heavy”.
I also appreciated the end credits showing Mike and Sulley working their way up the ranks in Monsters Inc. to the scare floor, bringing the events of both this film and its predecessor full circle.
The next part of the Pixar Era Analysis series will focus on Inside Out.
Fun Facts and Trivia:
- According to the film’s IMDb page, Monsters Inc. has two major competitors in the scaring industry, Fear Co. and Scream Ind.
- Sulley’s pink spots appear blue when he is out in sunlight and return to pink when he is indoors or when it’s nighttime.
- This is the second sequel to a Pixar film where the protagonist and the sidekick switch roles, the first one was Cars 2.
- This Pixar film has the largest number of characters from the main characters to the extras.
- An early version of the plot had Mike and Sulley stuck in the human world earlier, but this was scrapped to focus more on the monster world. This led to the human world being used for the climax, raising the sakes and allowing for Mike and Sulley to solidify their friendship.
- It is unknown what became of Monsters University after Mike and Sulley, at the end of the predecessor film, switched the Monster’s energy source from screams to laughter.
References:
Loveday Writing 