I'm guessing the folks at Pixar are listening to a lot of LCD Soundsystem lately, because they're losing their edge.
Three of Pixar's last four films have been sequels or prequels, and all of them – Toy Story 3, Cars 2 and now Monsters University – have failed to reach the heights of their predecessors. Their last original property, Brave, was a perfectly competent fairytale that felt more like a traditional Disney film than a Pixar effort. It's now been four years since Up, the studio's last masterpiece, and in that time, Walt Disney Animation Studios have put out two films – Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph – that beat Pixar at their own game.
Perhaps this isn't a big deal. Perhaps, now that Pixar founder John Lasseter is the chief creative officer at both studios, there is no practical difference between Pixar and Disney, and it's silly to think there's any sort of competition between them. But if all of that is true, it's disheartening, because there was a time when Pixar was the gold standard. It's a shame to see them playing it safe.
Monsters University is, if nothing else, safe. Despite boasting some stunning animation, it's a standard college comedy that just happens to be about monsters. The incredibly imaginative world of Monsters, Inc. is not expanded upon here in any particularly interesting way, and most of the film's charm comes from callbacks to the original. It has some cute moments, and I laughed a few times, and if we were talking about a Dreamworks movie that would probably be enough to maintain the status quo. But this is Pixar, and they've taught us to expect better.
It's certainly not all bad. Just when it looks like the filmmakers have gone with the most uninspired ending possible, they throw in a nice little twist that adds some spark to the finale. But then the movie just sort of... ends, fairly abruptly, and you're left looking back at a remarkably flat piece of entertainment that could have been so much more.
You have to think it didn't take over a decade to get around to a Monsters, Inc. sequel because they were perfecting the material. It took this long because they simply couldn't think of an interesting approach, and then they decided to go ahead and do it anyway. Because, hey, kids will buy merchandise featuring these characters in droves, and I guess that's a good enough reason for a major film studio to make a movie as any.
It certainly seems to be the motivation behind Planes, the Cars spin-off due for a theatrical release later this year. Produced by DisneyToon Studios, the trailer that played before Monsters University makes it look like exactly the sort of mediocre knock-off that John Lasseter was once at pains to stop. Now he's on board as a producer.
There is hope for Pixar tragics, though, and it comes in the form of The Blue Umbrella, the flawless short that plays before Monsters University. Directed by Saschka Unseld, it's a photorealistic wonder that utilises an updated rendering system to tell a simple, heartfelt story that doesn't wear out its welcome, propelled along by an irresistible Jon Brion tune. I hope nobody else was banking on winning the Oscar for Best Animated Short next year, because Unseld has it in the bag.
Cutting-edge technology used in the service of original, emotionally affecting storytelling – that's the Pixar I remember, and maybe, if The Blue Umbrella is any indication, that's the Pixar we'll soon see again.
2.5/5
Monsters University is released on June 20.
