The real Monsters University was the friends we made along the way. Twitter: / braxtonjs Letterboxd: letterboxd.com... Edited by: / kishahntm Stills by: / eggydaxy
Honestly, that ending sequence of Mike setting up the perfect horror scene for Sully to terrify multiple adults is probably the best part of the movie. It's incredible teamwork.
Which is ironic since they have the exact opposite message. In Monsters University it's "Sometimes you can't do what you want to do no matter how hard you try and that's okay." In Ratatouille it's "Don't have others hold you back from your goals no matter how hard. Anyone can create." But I suppose it's because how creative both films are and how both endings are solved with friends/families and being realistic with yourself.
@@ariannasilva4462 The message of Ratatouille wasn’t actually that any single individual can become good at something through effort and hard work despite the critisism of those around you. “In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: 'Anyone can cook.' But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. *Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”* - Anton Ego
@@kreeperkiller4423 I know the Ratatouille has that meaning, I used anton ego’s quote as my senior quote. But I’d like to think films, especially great ones, can have multiple meanings.
I have ALWAYS liked this movie and I have NEVER in my life understood why people have always hated it. I always hear the same complaint that "oh we know the ending, Mike and Sully become friends and work at Monsters Inc., therefore, this movie is bad". Like bro, it's an origin story, a prequel, of course that's how it's gonna end.
I say goofy things all the time like that. Mike saying Sully has been jealous of his good looks since fourth grade so off handedly is easy enough to write off as just Mike being self confident
I’ve never heard that complaint-most people I talk to understood that-the biggest complaint is that it doesn’t offer anything surprising in general-anything justifying the films existence…not to mention with it being essentially every college film ever made. Which…maybe yeah. The bigger issue I can agree to is that they literally retconned a line that mentioned sully and Mike have been friends since they were young “-you’ve been jealous of my looks since the fourth grade pal.”
Some says that Mike Wazowski wasn't scary enough to become the greatest scarer in the program for Monsters Inc., but I would definitely freaked out if there's a one giant eyeball standing around the bedroom late at night.
I don't really understand how the big furry guy was considered scarier than the cyclops gremlin anyways. Personality wise yeah Mike is less intimidating but look wise it feels the opposite.
When I hear "You're not X, you Y" it basically says more about the person and society than the individual. Yes, Mike wasn't scary, but his intelligence and coaching capabilities allowed him and Sully to create one of my favorite scenes from that film: successfully scaring the adult humans. I could watch that scene ad nauseum and study it. The adults were already tense given something was in the kids cabin. Given Sully was sort of seen, they now believe it was a bear, adding to their tension. Once Mike and Sully begin causing things to move around without being seen, the adults were primed for a scare. As soon as Sully reveals himself and roars, the adults were screaming and running for the hills. Proven that if done right, even an adult is a good target for a scare.
One of the other things I love about this movie is it actually gives more context to Monsters Inc. warning: long analytical essay incoming. Sully meets Boo and after seeing the damage that scaring can do, decides he doesn’t want to do it anymore. This makes sense considering his attachment to scaring was primarily due to the society telling him it was important, rather than he believing it was. In contrast, Mike becomes infuriated with Sully and is laser focused on the top scare boards, getting rid of “the kid” and staying as the top scarers. This also makes sense since he truly values scaring as a dream he’s always had but couldn’t achieve and now could AT LEAST be the coach who got the star there. It encompasses the argument they have in the cave and it also explains why Mike abandoned Sully at first. Mike: “We we’re about to break the record Sully! We could’ve had it made!” Sully: “NONE of that matters now!” Mike: “what about me? Don’t I matter?” This line becomes so much more important when you watch Monsters U. Mike lost his dream. He essentially failed in his aspirations. He was able to find a new purpose in helping Sully, and that would give him at least a sliver of what he could’ve had. But…that didn’t matter. Because Sully never truly wanted to be a scarer. “I act scary Mike, but the truth is, I’m terrified.” This gives SO much more context to Monsters Inc. and even makes the conclusion to that movie much more satisfying. Sully can’t make children laugh (which is more powerful) but Mike can. So they have now essentially switched roles, where Sully is now the one in support and Mike finally can take his place through that door. If you read through this whole thing, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 🤓
It also adds a small heartwarming twist to the gag of Mike being in a commercial or on a magazine, but being blocked out by the Monsters Inc logo. While other people see him having bad luck in being obscured in such a way, he's just happy being there, getting recognition/validation for his efforts in some way.
Great comment. You're very smart person. I thought I was an idiot for liking this movie for a moment but no it actually does have some merit. I think people are just upset that they didn't get a proper sequel.
ouhh i didn’t even think about the reason mike is so focused on the scare boards is because of his childhood dream and what he spent years trying to do, you’re so right actually (i mean this genuinely i think it sounds a bit sarcastic oops)
Honestly you wrote what I’ve been trying to process while combining both movies and characters and it makes MORE sense the way you wrote it and it just feels so real and I got to understand both movies more now that I’m an older adult but also been in the pressure of being the top person of my family but also having to push personal dreams aside cause of life circumstances. I appreciate how real these movies are and ironically as a kid I love monster Inc but I can say I love them even more as an adult who’s still trying to figure out life 🤷♀️
This movie has one of the best messages in any animated movie: no matter how hard you try, study, and want to do something, there are some things that you just can’t do, and that’s ok.
I like how they went about the message. I can see other story lines (not for Pixar/Disney) that take it a darker rout “you just can’t do this. No matter how hard you try you’ll be nothing” They provide the “hey. You have your limits. Everyone does. You may not follow your childhood dreams but you can still find greatness. Even in the same field. Just know everyone has their limits and it’s okay”
Yeah. It shows that everyone have strengths and weaknesses no matter how much you tried. Mike is a great trainer with skills and intelligence, but his image constantly puts him down, while Sulley is scary, but in the sense of irony, he's terrified to let everyone down. He's a slacker too.
Big MU fan here, what I take from this film is: even if you can't do what you had in mind, don't let your passions be deemed worthless! You can still utilise that passion to shine in an entirely different way. Mike knew the theory behind scaring inside and out, which is what made him not a great scarer, but a great mentor.
I actually really enjoyed this movie because i sort of understand both Sully and Mike's plight. I know Mike's struggle of aiming for a dream just for it to be shut down. And i understand Sully's struggle. Not the familial promises and such, but the success without trying mindset. I enjoyed this movie because i was able to relate to both protagonists, especially as a college drop out myself. I loved the message as well. It really hit me in the heart. Am i oversharing a bit? Yes. But it was something always on my mind with this movie
That one scene where they’re just sat by the lake and just talking, is so realistic in the sense of how’d you talk to someone about a problem, and the picture itself of the moonlight reflecting off of the water is just so beautiful.
I have learning disabilities and this movie SPOKE to me. I adore the message. There are just some things I can’t do but that’s ok because I can still enjoy my interests and life in my own way. That’s a very important thing a lot of people need to be told. When everyone was saying “it’s just an unnecessary sequel” it was so frustrating to see something that resonates with me so deeply have it’s incredibly important message ignored. Thank you for giving it a chance!
I adore this movie too! There's a video essay about this movie and disability and it's great. Maybe you've already watched it but I'll link it here anyways because I think everyone should watch it. ruclips.net/video/-rqlBAHB90g/видео.html
@@reira8589 but it shouldn’t matter if someone else likes or dislikes the same things you do or not, the comment is implying that people who don’t like this movie are wrong for their opinion and this is from someone who likes the movie but understands the criticism people give it.
As a disabled person, I find Mike's story extremely compelling. There are certain things I will simply never be able to do, and that's okay. I have other skills and I bring value another ways. The sugary sweet "You can do anything if you try hard enough!" messages never spoke to me because they were never true. Monsters University spoke to a part of me everyone else wanted to ignore, and that is why it's my favorite Pixar Movie. Thanks for this video :]
So basically all of the movie’s lesson boils down to this “There’s always somebody that’s more smarter than you. So the only way to be happy is to make the most out of what you got” Phillip J Fry
I absolutely love some of the scenes in this movie. The scene at the lake is one of those moments that always hit me hard, where Mike realizes the rough hand he’s been dealt. I may be a bit biased, Monsters Inc is in my top 3 Pixar movies, but MU really did work for me.
This was THE movie that revived my love for cartoons and animation, like the match that just started a bigger fire in me than I had before. I was starting college when this movie came out. It’s because of MU I am who I love being today.
I think that’s why I love MU in comparison to a lot of the other Disney/Pixar films. A lot of them basically give a message of hope in some form or another. It’s still a good thing to give your audience (especially a young one) hope about what they can do with their life. But MU gave the somewhat harsh but true message which is not everything can or will go your way. The lake scene hit me so hard it made me cry bc it reminded me about my own struggles in college and made me ask “am I really going to do well in my major” a scary thought but a necessary one. But I still liked how the ending showed that maybe you can’t get the dream you want but you can get close to it and that’s okay
I personally love Finding Dory the most due to the characters, but this movie is still very underrated and I’m happy to see someone share about how great it is.
Funny story: i actually hated Monsters Inc. my least fave of all of Pixar's catalog, including Cars. My niece really loved it tho and when Monsters Uni came out, even tho i figured i would hate it just like its predecessor, i told her i would take her. Imagine my surprise when i got 10 mins in and was immediately into it, so SO deep. The jokes, themes, and interactions always landed and made me genuinely actually like the characters. To this day, the scene of the mom in the car with the rollers in her hair blaring death metal makes me CACKLE. The team behind it really just knocked it out of the park. One of the best pixar movies and definitely the best prequel sequel Ive ever seen aside from the Lion King 1/2.
The themes story and morals the film had were extremely relatable and real. Who hasn't felt and gone through what Mike went through in the film at least once in their lives!?! It legit hurt to watch especially near the end. Huge props to giving a bittersweet and super realistic outcome for the plot of the film too. It's basically Pixar's "Ping Pong The Animation" of Pixar films.
I honestly don’t think Monster University is a really great movie, but it still doesn’t deserve all the hate it gets PS: Thank for showing that Shinso is an amazing side character FINALLY
My little brother has severe special needs where he can’t talk or do much but he LOVES Pixar. Like he’ll watch the Monster’s movies or the toy story movies all day every day and it could be the same one and he’d still be just as excited. I can guarantee I’ve seen this movie over a thousand times but I still enjoy it bc of him loo
I loved this movie when I first saw it. Seeing that Sully started out as a jerk before becoming the teddy bear we know from the first film was an interesting idea, as well as him and Mike going from rivals to friends (coincidentally, the vice versa happens between Randal and Mike). Someone said it was just another "college movie" to which I say... how? Almost every college flick I had an R-rating, not sure MU could get away with that xD Sure, Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds had the underdog element... but that's it. That's the only similarity I can see between those movies and MU. (Also the scene depicting everyone cramming and 1 student had like 4 arms full of coffee mugs was both hilarious and relatable, and it was the FIRST time I saw that sort of joke in a movie set at a college!) Each college-based movie, though using similar ideas, have their own spin on things. RotN actually ended on a solemn note, and Animal House "made me wanna shout" with it's party scene. Road Trip/Euro Trip took the characters to different places. And MU served as an origin story for memorable characters, with the messages you clearly pointed out: You can't always reach your goals, but that doesn't mean you're worthless. ...Now, would you please stop popping up in my room at 3 AM, dude? Or at least wait til 5 when I actually have to get up?
Not to mention the R-rated college movies always portray things in an immature way. Promoting the "all party, no study" college lifestyle with the characters, who somehow manage to graduate in the end despite doing nothing to actually get there.
This was amazing!!!! In MU, there are so many allegories to be found, from straight up differences in learning styles and areas of intelligence to conflation of academic prowess and intelligence as worth, "Gifted Child Syndrome" and its long term effects, and disability in a whole host of situations (societal, academic, social).
I now realized that MU is actually better than I remembered. I think its a good movie, but glad to see some people still love it. Also happy 100th video.
One piece of genius that I notice in this movie is Mikes coaching regimen. It streamlines the scaring by making it so Sully is prepared without even needing to glance at the kids file. In a way, this also sets up Mikes beef with Roz, since neither he or Sully need to look at the paperwork, it becomes an afterthought.
@@eeveeofalltrades4780 I mean, if I can be serious here, considering she was looking in on the possibility of monsters kidnapping children to use on the scream extractor, top scarers who skimp on paperwork would be a red flag for her.
Let me just tell you something about this final scene. I sat through this whole movie thoroughly enjoying every last little bit of it. I even made a running motion when the first two gifs happened. When the movie finished my boyfriend was very very quiet and he looked a little sad. I was very confused because it was a fantastic movie. He turned to me and asked "*is that suppose to represent how our education system doesn't make enough accommodations for* [mentally] *slower students?*" Monster's University was a little deeper than I thought
It's really nice to know I'm not the only one who loves this film. Seriously, so often I always hear 'Well, why couldn't the entire movie be like that final third?' Because if it was, the film wouldn't have subverted your expectations. That was the entire point. It's like how Coco starts off really typical then throws a complete curveball at the audience at the final third. Funny how everyone appreciates and notices that yet gets after this film for not having the twist sooner.
I always liked Monsters University more than the original Monsters inc and I was already a teenager when I saw the sequel. I was like "Wow I feel bad for feeling nostalgic for the first one and not this." It was really refreshing conceptually and pacing-wise. I love this movie
If monsters University has 1000 fans I'm one of them. If monsters University has 100 fans I'm one of them. If monsters University has 1 fan I'm that fan. If monsters University has zero fans I don't exist
As an artist who struggled to keep up with my peers, this movie really hit home for me. I loved the message that just because your aptitude is different from other people, that doesn't mean you can't realize your dream in another way than you expected.
I definitely felt that last point about college not being the be all end all. I graduated HS in 2022 and I watched all of my friends move away for college, but it never really seemed like my thing. 6 months later and I’m studying my real estate license and I’m a salesperson at one of the top solar companies in the country.
As someone who has adhd and possibly undiagnosed autism while also being seen as a “gifted” kid this movie helped me cope and realize that grades aren’t the biggest factor in success. There are other ways and if grades and dumb test scores aren’t showing your level of smart fully then your actions will. I would always get so bent out of shape because I got a damn C+ instead of an A. That stress isn’t worth it especially if they way things are doesn’t work for you. I had to remind a friend this recently. Be happy with what you can do not what you can’t do.
A lot of people seem to not like this movie because of the “retcon” from the line Mike said in Monster’s Inc, about being jealous “since the 4th grade”. Which, yeah, they definitely didn’t think they were gonna do a prequel in the future when they originally wrote that in. But honestly, that could easily just be brushed off as an exaggerated phrase for the Monster World, or something like that. It’s not like they constantly talked about being in the 4th grade throughout the first movie. It was one throwaway line, that could just be tossed aside as exaggeration.
I actually really loved this movie, and even thought it was better than the original Monsters Inc. when I was younger. I was always surprised when people said they either never saw it or thought it wasn't that great, I mean film itself was an underdog.
13:40 honestly I never went to collage because school ruined my mental health and made me miserable and it was impossible to not feel tired or drained. I was told by everyone to go to collage, teachers, friends, family, they all told me I had to go. My friends were even disappointed in me when I said I wasn’t going. But look at me now, it’s only been a few months and I’ve got my own little buisness and sorting things out to do it full time
Even I like MU too when it came out. It really shows how Mike and Sully struggled their way to become scary monsters. They’re struggles really brought a connection to all of us and I feel the same way as Mike does.
i remember watching this in the cinema early because i won a radio disney raffle to go watch it. i loved it and it was a great bonding movie with my dad. i didnt get the big messages but i did understand some surface level ones. i love this movie. and i think it truly is a movie for all ages. not just kids.
I always liked this movie more than the first one. It had balls to make the most important message there is for kids and didn't lie that "you can do anything, just work hard". While I wasn't the underdog in studies until recently (I've always been at the top of the class) I could still relate and feel what Mike was going through. Knowing your dreams are crashed is devestating but it doesn't make you useless
This movie is definitely best enjoyed by older audiences. I thought Monsters University was too mean-spirited as a kid, but the older I got, the more I realized how realistic and important its message was.
I personally just can't really take the message seriously for one reason: Mike not being scary is bullshit. Not only would it actually probably be scary to just see a one-eyed monster in your room at night, but it's even more stupid that he of all monsters gets singled out for not being scary. Like what about the purple Muppet-lookin' one? You're telling me HE'S scary? And Mike ISN'T? It just seems too contrived, even if the message and how it's delivered is really good. Also, I get Monster's University has strengths and is underrated, but you are actually out of your mind if you think that it's messages are deep and Toy Story 2's aren't.
@@scapeagoat2520 You’re telling me the second movie in a series was referred to as a sequel despite it taking place before the first movie? Well shit, I guess the video is ruined!
Monsters University is one of my favorite Pixar movies ever and definitely my favorite Pixar sequel. Amazing video! I agree with so many of the amazing points you made in this video!
This is one of my favorite movies from my childhood, I remember begging my mom to go to the cinema for it and she managed to get me on the premiere as my birthday present, so many good memories from this movie, I went as far as to memorize the different side characters like the other students since we see their cards at the credit sequence or memorizing the school's song. As for the message itself, I heard one take that I think fits perfectly here for people that it should matter to, and here it's the fact that Mike isn't scary, which in a society of monsters who live like they do because of scaring, it's treated like a disability, and that's truly what it is at the time, Mike in this movie is pretty much the guy in a wheelchair or the guy with dwarfism (sorry if that's not the proper terminology I don't want to offend anyone just to make a point), noone believes he'll succeed because he literally can't succeed in the same way as others, because of his disability, in that regard I always thought the Dean didn't really want to be the villain, she just stated what she thought was a fact so that Mike may still have a chance to follow another dream, or at least to spare him the ridicule he would get when he fails, and now after revisiting this movie so many times, after learning more about myself (about a year ago it was confirmed that I have autism for example), this kind of message both scares me and fills me with hope for my future, since on one hand I may never be able to succeed like the rest of my colleagues no matter how hard I try, but at the same time I still want to follow up on my dream and now realize that hey, there's not a singular way to achieve it. If you've read this, thank you for your time, and I hope you have a nice day
If we’re not counting the Toy Story sequels, then I actually agree with this. Sequels like Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory are solid, but in most ways just feel like less interesting retreads of the original. In the former it’s Dory searching for her family in an aquarium instead of Marlin searching for his son across the whole ocean, and in Incredibles 2 it’s a role reversal where Helen fights crime while Bob stays at home to look after the kids. Whereas Monsters University, but being through Mike’s perspective, entirely changes the focuss of the narrative to being more of a character study on Mike and how sometimes, whether due to your circumstances or upbringing, what you want in life isn’t always what you truly need. Since despite dreaming of being a scarer, it’s in accepting his limitations and decided to use his strengths of being a genius who comes up with great ideas that Mike truly shines. And I also like how this movie explores a whole different side of Sully too by showing how he used to be an arrogant jerk, and the bond the two form despite their differences is definitely a high point of the film. I’ll admit that the movie has flaws, in that the college setting is much less interesting than Montropolis in the original, the side characters are pretty underdeveloped and Randall gets shafted *hard.* Seriously, for being such an important character in the original, he only shows up sporadically throughout the movie and his only real important scene is losing in the competition with Sully towards the end. But overall, it’s a solid prequel to Monsters Inc. that holds up very well and is definitely one of the better follow-ups to come from Pixar.
i love this movie so much it's almost like an entirely new movie yet at the same time it feels very familiar due to the mike and sully very few animated movies age well with me when i watched the as a kid the first time. this is one of them. it's got that vibe that's perfect for adults too. this and toy story sequels are the best pixar sequels so far tbh
This movie is pretty relatable to someone like me. I'm a community theater worker. I'm an actor, and I've landed myself a few side character / background roles. I've been told time and time again that I do have an acting talent and that I'm one of the best actors/singers in my field. But I almost NEVER get a lead part in anything. No solos. No lead names. No nothing. Instead, they are given to people who are far more popular in our industry, simply because the directors know them better than they know me. Sure I have the talent and the responsibility down with my job and I can do the parts if I was given them, but I don't get them because I don't have the social skills to warrant anyone seeing I can do the work. Social skills are a pretty big thing in the industry, and if you don't have that, it's basically a penalty to your role. Half the time no one even remembers your name or recognizes you. Then there's book smarts on theater history, costume designing, technology in lighting and sound, and staging, which I am really bad at. I've humiliated myself trying. Because of this, I've been told by my family and my teachers that I'm never gonna be a well recognized actor and I should use my talents for a more introverted position like being a park ranger or a teacher or a writer. I've found success in the latter, the other two are not my ideal working environments. Reality sucks, kids. Deal with it.
Monsters University is my favorite movie of all time, period. It's not perfect in my opinion (Randall seems forced and the second act is perhaps a bit too cliché in some places), but I don't care. I love every single thing: I love the university settings, revisited by the film with its twist, I love the Scare Games, original and creative tests that show the skill of the scarers, I love the incredible relationship between Mike and Sulley, I love the lake scene and the very brave and realistic message and above all I love Johnny, who is my favorite character ever. This universe manages in an excellent way to differentiate itself from the original, avoiding copying plot points, and to be its thing. There really is so much potential for a television series that focuses on Greek life, where the film gives a great starter, but that I would definitely like to explore more. Is it the best Pixar movie? Definitely not, not even in my top 10. Do I love everything about this movie? Absolutely.
I never really bought the mikey not scary thing those kids he tried to scare must have the biggest balls on the planet cause i be creeped out if i saw a one eyed creature with a large mouth in my room at night. Plus i don't get why he's the only oozma kappa memebr to be considered not scary despite the fact the other memebrs( excluding sully) are just as if not even less scary than him. But aside from that little nitpick i really love monsters university i actually even prefer it over monsters inc and its my favorite non toystory pixar sequel( i know its actually a prequel but you get my point).
I saw this movie in the cinema, it was pretty passable and safe, i enjoyed the character growths and interactions But the ENDING where they scare the grownups. That was really something special that elevated the movie from pretty okay to "yeah id watch this again" I've watched it at least once a year since and i enjoy it more and more upon every viewing. Its actually really good
This movie is a PREQUEL, not a sequel. But I think Monsters University even kinda falls at being a prequel over a MAJOR plothole issue: Mike and Sully met each other in college instead of the third grade? The writers of MU clearly overlooked that little detail from the first movie. Regardless, I thought it was an okay but forgettable movie. But I did like how the ending subverts the cliche happy/graduation ending for some college students, especially with the two main characters. It kinda sent a realistic message to some people about the college experience. Sometimes not everyone is cut out for college. Some people struggle to afford it financially. College students can actually face real consequences for their actions on campus or for their lack of commitment. Some people might not get a college degree at all and choose to work their way up elsewhere in a different field.
I think they explained that they were using sequel as a catch all term for all the sequel prequel stuff. But I watched it yesterday so I might be remembering it wrong :/
I don't freaking care what anybody says about this movie. It was great. It has awesome characters, fun jokes, and a powerful message that I totally relate to.
If you my opinion i thinks meh not bad but not great either the new character it focus on tylor he isn't a bad character i just don't find him as entertaning as mike and sully i kinda wish they were the main characters cause the parts that do focus on them are my favorite parts of the show.
That scene in the cave with Mike and Sully hits harder after MU. In MI Sully losts all motivation to scare because his love to boo so when he straight up said "All that don't matter" to Mike in just hit difference, it's not just about what both of them went through, it's the fact that Mike give up on his wild dream of being a scarer so Sully could thrive but Sully is just going to throw all that away, making Mike feel useless again
And now in monsters at work, mike is now a Jokester whilst all the previous scarers are now in the tough position he was in at MU, not being able to qualify for the position due to physical appearances and skills that weren't suited for it. Monsters who weren't seen as scary before were now seen as useful whilst for monsters who had skills that were once accepted have now become obsolete and useless. Such as what happened to Tyler tuskmen who was like mike except scary but with the change from scare to laugh power, all he was good at from then was to be in the maintenance team. this happens a lot in society, such as in animation for example, people who were incredible at drawing or creating claymation were seen as higher priority whilst people who computer coded were just seen as the background artists to the real animation team. That was until 3D animation became a thing and people who could draw well or sculpt claymations soon become obsolete and the computer coders became the main focus whilst the original animators worked on the background to help the coder's film. that's why having diverse people is so great, we may accept one type of people and reject another for a period of time but eventually that could easily shift when a new discovery or invention is made to which the people who were once seen as useless are now seen as rockstars whilst the people who used to be on top are now having to either change or find new work.
I genuinely really liked this movie my first time viewing and have only enjoyed it more with each subsequent movie. Also at the lake when Sully says "But most of the time, I'm terrified" I get big feels.
Everyone talks about how, “they say Mike isn’t scary, but I’d be terrified if I saw that thing in my house.” What if the monsters didn’t understand that humans think that way? This was far before Monsters Inc. and maybe the monsters hadn’t studied the smaller monsters (ignore the scene where Mike tries to scare actual kids).
To be completely honest, I never really enjoyed Monsters Inc. growing up. It was a movie that just simply existed. When Monsters University came out, I wasn’t interested at first but all the damn promotion in Club Penguin actually made me want to see what the hell was going on so that I could understand the party at the time, and I genuinely enjoyed the movie. I’ve watched it a couple times now which doesn’t seem like a lot, but I rarely watch movies to begin with.
i love this video and also this movie!! you did a great job explaining what makes the film so great. and something awesome about the series as a whole is it’s always subverting your expectations, probably not as much so in MI but in monsters at work the final episode also subverts your expectations of what you think it’s gonna do. i’d go into detail but i don’t wanna spoil the series for anyone who hasn’t seen it. if you haven’t seen the series please go watch it’s genuinely so good, it’s about the events of what happens directly after MI (well, like a month after) !! anyway i agree so hard that mike and sulley are the best duo and have the most chemistry out of any pixar duo. i could on for so long about how well their differences balance and mesh with eachother but how they also have such similar experiences in different ways, and just DAMN i love these movies and i wish MU got more credit bc it’s genuinely such a good movie
I’ve always wondered why I really loved this movie. I always got the message of it, but it never truly hit me until now. I have a lot of creativity inside of me that I need to get out and a lot of the time I use acting and singing as that outlet. But, while I’m a really, really good actor I’m not an especially good singer. I’m not Broadway level, I can never be Broadway level and I know that. Everyone says “the voice is an instrument, you just gotta practice” sometimes, that’s just not possible. There’s a girl at my school, she’s really good at singing. Everyone loves her voice. And she just, has that talent. I can’t match it no matter how hard I try. And I’ve learned that, it’s ok. I can use my talents in other ways. I can do local productions of shows, I can do plays instead of musicals. Sometimes people are just born with special talents. But I can share my creativity in other ways.
I genuinely love your analysis. For a younger man, you're quite informed, and obviously well read. (Despite any supposed lack of formal education.) Keep up the good work, and know you've earned every subscriber. 👍
Monsters University is probably *the* most disappointing Pixar movie for me. It literally contradicts or breaks so many of the things that were so well executed in Monsters Inc. I hard-disagree that ~"the setting, themes and/or perspectives of this movie aren't seen in animation too often", when in my experience, many of these exact settings and themes are some of the most overused to the point of being tired and predictable themes, even in animation, yes. Also, the fact that there is such a clear lesson that is just so obvious to me, really hurts it. I couldn't tell you what the "lesson" of Monsters Inc. is. It's way too multifaceted, and doesn't try to force an obvious message on you. And even if it slightly does, it's such a specific thing to their fictional world that you can't easily just translate it to ours 1:1. However, when it comes to Monsters University, the same can't really be said. It's highly applicable to our world, which makes it immediately deviate quite a bit from it's predecessor in tone and feel. As someone who is _not_ from the United States, Monsters University also leans heavily on parallels to American culture and themes, whereas Monster Inc., while still having "American" analoges, is waaay more universally appealing and relatable. In fact, related to the previous point, I get that in America, the culture is more to tell everyone that they "could become president one day" or similar """false""" encouragement, but in most of the world, we don't need such things subverted, because the culture is often already that not everyone can do exactly what they want and different people can do different things depending on several factors, which yes, even children understand from a young age. This movie also doesn't have as many incredibly satisfying (and for the time especially impressive) sequences and scenes as monsters Inc. In general, I always felt that it was a story that didn't really need to be told, but they just didn't want to or didn't think they could pull off an actual proper sequel well, so they settled on what ever this movie became.
Ever since this movie was released. I love it as a kid. I made this fan theory that the movie is Squid Game for kids. As the Frats and Sororities play deadly Greek Games.
Sorry but taking this from a comment I personally liked that was on a different Monsters University video essay analysis, is that Sully subverts the lazy gifted student stereotype by simulating the ex-gifted student. Basically the student that manages to do exceptionally well at the start because of his talents and natural abilities, but then becomes worse over time because as he relies on it so much that he never properly learns how to be disciplined, or work despite his failures and shortcomings. This ex-gifted kid phenomenon also encourages the student to lean only on their natural talents and abilities at the start, and if they encounter a problem or failure they just shrug and go ok if I can't do it naturally at the first try means Im not cut out for it, which exacerbates their issues later in life when they encounter more difficult problems that they cannot completely rely on their talents to solve. It gets even worse because of external influences, like societal expectations or just expectations from peers and family, who have personally witness the successes of the student at the start and come to expect it from the student as they go on in their life. This adds on greater pressure to the ex-gifted kid and stresses them out more once they start failing more often, and they lose self-esteem and question themselves. Meanwhile the people around them start picking at them for not being able to succeed as often as they did before and don't really offer support much (until it's too late) because the student did so well at the start so they clearly didn't need support anyway. As such kids end up developing mental issues and potential behavioural problems, and become the ex-gifted burnout. This is something you would slowly notice happening to Sully over the course of the film as his problems in the school are highlighted, and also hinted by his dialogue of him being terrified of disappointing everyone that expects great things to come from him. Ngl, as someone who has personal experience as well as a ex-gifted kid syndrome suffering from burn out, I really loved when the commenter brought this in relation to Sully's character here. It also serves as a great foil to Mike's character, the student who doesn't have the natural talent and being told they won't succeed, but wants to succeed anyway and learns to work very hard because of their ambitions and society's msg of "you can do it if you work hard enough". Both Mike and Sully are students who have been failed by the societal and education systems, simply because they have been taught by the flawed and one-sided messages commonly endorsed in society as truth, but it's not really true to life. Even then, them as a team seems to bring the best out of both, and also cover up each other's flaws, to the point that even though they did not graduate, they still became one of the best scare teams ever. I love the messages in the film a lot because it is surprisingly realistic and still gives a hopeful tone that it's not over, you still can be happy with some things in your life. Pardon the longass essay lmao I just wanted to point this out since I don't see this from the comments I have read on this.
@@kozlorog No it doesn't lol It sounds like someone saying "Yo" as if he was in a Discord call doing this recording and someone hopped in and said "Yo" not knowing he was recording lol
@@AlexGonzalez-vm9ps Yea it's not even close to the word help. It's most likely Yo, ever since editing videos myself (on a separate youtube channel) I notice a lot more editing mistakes. This one from Ls mark lives rent free in my head: ruclips.net/video/XWAsV6gLoFs/видео.html
I STRONGLY recommend The Sin Squads video about MU. The aspect that this movie represents disability in an actually good way is really impressive for kids movie.
Luckily, the series Monsters at Work, which takes place between Waternoose’s arrest and Mike building Boo’s door, treats both movies with equal respect
Monster university was great but the scary program is crazy you tell me you see a giant eyeball you wouldn’t be scared it like toy story having the idea toys coming alive
People that praise the Star Wars prequels but then calls this movie bad are not getting the point of what a prequel represents Even though we already know what lies ahead, doesn’t mean that the story is any less important Monsters University has a purpose and a great reason to exist, it’s a great underrated movie
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Honestly, that ending sequence of Mike setting up the perfect horror scene for Sully to terrify multiple adults is probably the best part of the movie. It's incredible teamwork.
I absolutely adore that set up and eventual scare. Actually makes me a little nostalgic for this movie.
the cabin/woods scenes are my favorites out of the whole movie
Thats a great foreshadowing of their later mutual career at Monsters Inc
I appreciate Monster University for how brutally realistic it was. Especially in the last act. It hits just as hard as Ratatouille.
Which is ironic since they have the exact opposite message.
In Monsters University it's "Sometimes you can't do what you want to do no matter how hard you try and that's okay."
In Ratatouille it's "Don't have others hold you back from your goals no matter how hard. Anyone can create."
But I suppose it's because how creative both films are and how both endings are solved with friends/families and being realistic with yourself.
@@ariannasilva4462 The message of Ratatouille wasn’t actually that any single individual can become good at something through effort and hard work despite the critisism of those around you.
“In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: 'Anyone can cook.' But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. *Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.”* - Anton Ego
@@kreeperkiller4423 I know the Ratatouille has that meaning, I used anton ego’s quote as my senior quote. But I’d like to think films, especially great ones, can have multiple meanings.
Ngl both Monsters Inc and Monsters University are some of the most emotional Pixar movies imo
I have ALWAYS liked this movie and I have NEVER in my life understood why people have always hated it. I always hear the same complaint that "oh we know the ending, Mike and Sully become friends and work at Monsters Inc., therefore, this movie is bad". Like bro, it's an origin story, a prequel, of course that's how it's gonna end.
They don't like It probably because of the "Scare Games" thing.
Doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting seeing how they became friends.
@Freesmart yeah there were some inconsistencies in this movie
I say goofy things all the time like that. Mike saying Sully has been jealous of his good looks since fourth grade so off handedly is easy enough to write off as just Mike being self confident
I’ve never heard that complaint-most people I talk to understood that-the biggest complaint is that it doesn’t offer anything surprising in general-anything justifying the films existence…not to mention with it being essentially every college film ever made.
Which…maybe yeah. The bigger issue I can agree to is that they literally retconned a line that mentioned sully and Mike have been friends since they were young “-you’ve been jealous of my looks since the fourth grade pal.”
Some says that Mike Wazowski wasn't scary enough to become the greatest scarer in the program for Monsters Inc., but I would definitely freaked out if there's a one giant eyeball standing around the bedroom late at night.
I know right! Build up the horror for a few nights and you would be pissing your pants
I don't really understand how the big furry guy was considered scarier than the cyclops gremlin anyways. Personality wise yeah Mike is less intimidating but look wise it feels the opposite.
I really don't buy the idea since he would actually look scary, especially compared to the purple guy.
_where does the food he eats go..._
Also if he got his eyes to look bloodshot red, it would make him look feral and scary to children seeing him at night.
When I hear "You're not X, you Y" it basically says more about the person and society than the individual. Yes, Mike wasn't scary, but his intelligence and coaching capabilities allowed him and Sully to create one of my favorite scenes from that film: successfully scaring the adult humans. I could watch that scene ad nauseum and study it. The adults were already tense given something was in the kids cabin. Given Sully was sort of seen, they now believe it was a bear, adding to their tension. Once Mike and Sully begin causing things to move around without being seen, the adults were primed for a scare. As soon as Sully reveals himself and roars, the adults were screaming and running for the hills. Proven that if done right, even an adult is a good target for a scare.
the strategy the build up, the manipulation all things that can make what would be a mild jumpsacre the thing you rememeber for years.
Tbh one of my all time favorite Pixar scenes 🤘🏾
Imagine if these adults were the children once Sully's father scared.
exactly!! and mike using the fishing pole to have the adults fall backward just added so much to it
Those rangers probably ended up traumatized lol
Sully's breakdown at the lake is still one of the best scenes in any Pixar movie, it's so impactful when he says "I'm scared all the time."
One of the other things I love about this movie is it actually gives more context to Monsters Inc. warning: long analytical essay incoming.
Sully meets Boo and after seeing the damage that scaring can do, decides he doesn’t want to do it anymore. This makes sense considering his attachment to scaring was primarily due to the society telling him it was important, rather than he believing it was.
In contrast, Mike becomes infuriated with Sully and is laser focused on the top scare boards, getting rid of “the kid” and staying as the top scarers. This also makes sense since he truly values scaring as a dream he’s always had but couldn’t achieve and now could AT LEAST be the coach who got the star there.
It encompasses the argument they have in the cave and it also explains why Mike abandoned Sully at first. Mike: “We we’re about to break the record Sully! We could’ve had it made!” Sully: “NONE of that matters now!”
Mike: “what about me? Don’t I matter?” This line becomes so much more important when you watch Monsters U. Mike lost his dream. He essentially failed in his aspirations. He was able to find a new purpose in helping Sully, and that would give him at least a sliver of what he could’ve had. But…that didn’t matter.
Because Sully never truly wanted to be a scarer.
“I act scary Mike, but the truth is, I’m terrified.”
This gives SO much more context to Monsters Inc. and even makes the conclusion to that movie much more satisfying. Sully can’t make children laugh (which is more powerful) but Mike can. So they have now essentially switched roles, where Sully is now the one in support and Mike finally can take his place through that door.
If you read through this whole thing, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 🤓
It also adds a small heartwarming twist to the gag of Mike being in a commercial or on a magazine, but being blocked out by the Monsters Inc logo. While other people see him having bad luck in being obscured in such a way, he's just happy being there, getting recognition/validation for his efforts in some way.
Great comment. You're very smart person. I thought I was an idiot for liking this movie for a moment but no it actually does have some merit. I think people are just upset that they didn't get a proper sequel.
This is a fantastic analysis my fellow commentor and I greatly enjoyed the added context to the og monsters inc film.
ouhh i didn’t even think about the reason mike is so focused on the scare boards is because of his childhood dream and what he spent years trying to do, you’re so right actually (i mean this genuinely i think it sounds a bit sarcastic oops)
Honestly you wrote what I’ve been trying to process while combining both movies and characters and it makes MORE sense the way you wrote it and it just feels so real and I got to understand both movies more now that I’m an older adult but also been in the pressure of being the top person of my family but also having to push personal dreams aside cause of life circumstances. I appreciate how real these movies are and ironically as a kid I love monster Inc but I can say I love them even more as an adult who’s still trying to figure out life 🤷♀️
This movie has one of the best messages in any animated movie: no matter how hard you try, study, and want to do something, there are some things that you just can’t do, and that’s ok.
Which means that message of you can do anything is false
1000% This!
I like how they went about the message. I can see other story lines (not for Pixar/Disney) that take it a darker rout “you just can’t do this. No matter how hard you try you’ll be nothing”
They provide the “hey. You have your limits. Everyone does. You may not follow your childhood dreams but you can still find greatness. Even in the same field. Just know everyone has their limits and it’s okay”
Yeah. It shows that everyone have strengths and weaknesses no matter how much you tried. Mike is a great trainer with skills and intelligence, but his image constantly puts him down, while Sulley is scary, but in the sense of irony, he's terrified to let everyone down. He's a slacker too.
Yeah, that's what the spongebob movie should've taught us
I know this movie has many flaws. But it's in my top 5 favorite animated movies of all time, it's like comfort food.
I've just seen it the once, in theaters. But I liked it quite a bit.
Sometimes comfort food isn't perfect and that's okay
yeah, same
@@SoulSlugArts It rarely ever is
*List of Pixar sequels I love*
1 & 2. Toy Story 2 & 3
3. Monsters University
4. Finding Dory
5. Cars 3
And that’s pretty much it.
Big MU fan here, what I take from this film is: even if you can't do what you had in mind, don't let your passions be deemed worthless! You can still utilise that passion to shine in an entirely different way. Mike knew the theory behind scaring inside and out, which is what made him not a great scarer, but a great mentor.
That's the message what I got from this movie too! Even though Mike didn't become a Scarer himself,he works WITH the SON of a famous Scarer!
I actually really enjoyed this movie because i sort of understand both Sully and Mike's plight. I know Mike's struggle of aiming for a dream just for it to be shut down. And i understand Sully's struggle. Not the familial promises and such, but the success without trying mindset. I enjoyed this movie because i was able to relate to both protagonists, especially as a college drop out myself. I loved the message as well. It really hit me in the heart.
Am i oversharing a bit? Yes. But it was something always on my mind with this movie
nah, not oversharing. that is a valid perspective. dont undervalue yourself like that. ❤
You're not oversharing, your input is very welcome :)
That one scene where they’re just sat by the lake and just talking, is so realistic in the sense of how’d you talk to someone about a problem, and the picture itself of the moonlight reflecting off of the water is just so beautiful.
mike going “don’t do that, *please* do not do that, you *do not* know how i feel.” is so good
I have learning disabilities and this movie SPOKE to me. I adore the message. There are just some things I can’t do but that’s ok because I can still enjoy my interests and life in my own way. That’s a very important thing a lot of people need to be told. When everyone was saying “it’s just an unnecessary sequel” it was so frustrating to see something that resonates with me so deeply have it’s incredibly important message ignored. Thank you for giving it a chance!
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It wasn't necessary to the Monsters Inc world, but the Monsters Inc world was necessary to the message of the movie.
I adore this movie too! There's a video essay about this movie and disability and it's great. Maybe you've already watched it but I'll link it here anyways because I think everyone should watch it.
ruclips.net/video/-rqlBAHB90g/видео.html
After so many years of people dumping on this movie, it's nice to finally hear some positivity towards it 😊
Just because you like something doesn’t mean everyone else has too
@@Jollyjose251 huh?
@@Jollyjose251 Okay and?
@@Jollyjose251 literally nobody said that. the commenter is just glad there's other people that like the same thing as them tf
@@reira8589 but it shouldn’t matter if someone else likes or dislikes the same things you do or not, the comment is implying that people who don’t like this movie are wrong for their opinion and this is from someone who likes the movie but understands the criticism people give it.
As a disabled person, I find Mike's story extremely compelling. There are certain things I will simply never be able to do, and that's okay. I have other skills and I bring value another ways. The sugary sweet "You can do anything if you try hard enough!" messages never spoke to me because they were never true. Monsters University spoke to a part of me everyone else wanted to ignore, and that is why it's my favorite Pixar Movie. Thanks for this video :]
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So basically all of the movie’s lesson boils down to this
“There’s always somebody that’s more smarter than you. So the only way to be happy is to make the most out of what you got” Phillip J Fry
Replace smarter with physically and that’s the message summed up in a quote from Futurama
I absolutely love some of the scenes in this movie. The scene at the lake is one of those moments that always hit me hard, where Mike realizes the rough hand he’s been dealt. I may be a bit biased, Monsters Inc is in my top 3 Pixar movies, but MU really did work for me.
This was THE movie that revived my love for cartoons and animation, like the match that just started a bigger fire in me than I had before. I was starting college when this movie came out. It’s because of MU I am who I love being today.
I think that’s why I love MU in comparison to a lot of the other Disney/Pixar films. A lot of them basically give a message of hope in some form or another. It’s still a good thing to give your audience (especially a young one) hope about what they can do with their life. But MU gave the somewhat harsh but true message which is not everything can or will go your way. The lake scene hit me so hard it made me cry bc it reminded me about my own struggles in college and made me ask “am I really going to do well in my major” a scary thought but a necessary one. But I still liked how the ending showed that maybe you can’t get the dream you want but you can get close to it and that’s okay
I personally love Finding Dory the most due to the characters, but this movie is still very underrated and I’m happy to see someone share about how great it is.
Funny story: i actually hated Monsters Inc. my least fave of all of Pixar's catalog, including Cars. My niece really loved it tho and when Monsters Uni came out, even tho i figured i would hate it just like its predecessor, i told her i would take her. Imagine my surprise when i got 10 mins in and was immediately into it, so SO deep. The jokes, themes, and interactions always landed and made me genuinely actually like the characters. To this day, the scene of the mom in the car with the rollers in her hair blaring death metal makes me CACKLE. The team behind it really just knocked it out of the park. One of the best pixar movies and definitely the best prequel sequel Ive ever seen aside from the Lion King 1/2.
The themes story and morals the film had were extremely relatable and real. Who hasn't felt and gone through what Mike went through in the film at least once in their lives!?! It legit hurt to watch especially near the end. Huge props to giving a bittersweet and super realistic outcome for the plot of the film too. It's basically Pixar's "Ping Pong The Animation" of Pixar films.
I honestly don’t think Monster University is a really great movie, but it still doesn’t deserve all the hate it gets
PS: Thank for showing that Shinso is an amazing side character FINALLY
My little brother has severe special needs where he can’t talk or do much but he LOVES Pixar. Like he’ll watch the Monster’s movies or the toy story movies all day every day and it could be the same one and he’d still be just as excited. I can guarantee I’ve seen this movie over a thousand times but I still enjoy it bc of him loo
I loved this movie when I first saw it. Seeing that Sully started out as a jerk before becoming the teddy bear we know from the first film was an interesting idea, as well as him and Mike going from rivals to friends (coincidentally, the vice versa happens between Randal and Mike).
Someone said it was just another "college movie" to which I say... how? Almost every college flick I had an R-rating, not sure MU could get away with that xD
Sure, Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds had the underdog element... but that's it. That's the only similarity I can see between those movies and MU.
(Also the scene depicting everyone cramming and 1 student had like 4 arms full of coffee mugs was both hilarious and relatable, and it was the FIRST time I saw that sort of joke in a movie set at a college!)
Each college-based movie, though using similar ideas, have their own spin on things. RotN actually ended on a solemn note, and Animal House "made me wanna shout" with it's party scene. Road Trip/Euro Trip took the characters to different places. And MU served as an origin story for memorable characters, with the messages you clearly pointed out: You can't always reach your goals, but that doesn't mean you're worthless.
...Now, would you please stop popping up in my room at 3 AM, dude? Or at least wait til 5 when I actually have to get up?
Not to mention the R-rated college movies always portray things in an immature way. Promoting the "all party, no study" college lifestyle with the characters, who somehow manage to graduate in the end despite doing nothing to actually get there.
This was amazing!!!! In MU, there are so many allegories to be found, from straight up differences in learning styles and areas of intelligence to conflation of academic prowess and intelligence as worth, "Gifted Child Syndrome" and its long term effects, and disability in a whole host of situations (societal, academic, social).
I now realized that MU is actually better than I remembered. I think its a good movie, but glad to see some people still love it. Also happy 100th video.
One piece of genius that I notice in this movie is Mikes coaching regimen. It streamlines the scaring by making it so Sully is prepared without even needing to glance at the kids file.
In a way, this also sets up Mikes beef with Roz, since neither he or Sully need to look at the paperwork, it becomes an afterthought.
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I love how the movie also explains why Roz is *"always watching"* Mike
@@eeveeofalltrades4780 “AAAAALWAAAAYS…”
@@eeveeofalltrades4780 I mean, if I can be serious here, considering she was looking in on the possibility of monsters kidnapping children to use on the scream extractor, top scarers who skimp on paperwork would be a red flag for her.
Let me just tell you something about this final scene. I sat through this whole movie thoroughly enjoying every last little bit of it. I even made a running motion when the first two gifs happened. When the movie finished my boyfriend was very very quiet and he looked a little sad. I was very confused because it was a fantastic movie. He turned to me and asked "*is that suppose to represent how our education system doesn't make enough accommodations for* [mentally] *slower students?*" Monster's University was a little deeper than I thought
It's really nice to know I'm not the only one who loves this film. Seriously, so often I always hear 'Well, why couldn't the entire movie be like that final third?' Because if it was, the film wouldn't have subverted your expectations. That was the entire point. It's like how Coco starts off really typical then throws a complete curveball at the audience at the final third. Funny how everyone appreciates and notices that yet gets after this film for not having the twist sooner.
This was an excellent video! Always felt this movie was under-appreciated, so it's nice to see some genuine love
I always liked Monsters University more than the original Monsters inc and I was already a teenager when I saw the sequel. I was like "Wow I feel bad for feeling nostalgic for the first one and not this." It was really refreshing conceptually and pacing-wise. I love this movie
nostalgia isn’t a good reason to like something and ignore the criticisms
If monsters University has 1000 fans I'm one of them. If monsters University has 100 fans I'm one of them. If monsters University has 1 fan I'm that fan. If monsters University has zero fans I don't exist
I saw this movie at age 7 or 8 and loved it. Now, hearing some one else talk about it, I think I know why.
Edit: I’m famous!!
Mike wasn’t the best scarer in Monsters University, he was the best student they ever had.
I love how the moral of this story is "those who can do and those who can't coach" 🤣
As an artist who struggled to keep up with my peers, this movie really hit home for me. I loved the message that just because your aptitude is different from other people, that doesn't mean you can't realize your dream in another way than you expected.
Even though this had a generic plot it was a masterpiece
It took a generic plot and added things with value
I definitely felt that last point about college not being the be all end all. I graduated HS in 2022 and I watched all of my friends move away for college, but it never really seemed like my thing. 6 months later and I’m studying my real estate license and I’m a salesperson at one of the top solar companies in the country.
As someone who has adhd and possibly undiagnosed autism while also being seen as a “gifted” kid this movie helped me cope and realize that grades aren’t the biggest factor in success. There are other ways and if grades and dumb test scores aren’t showing your level of smart fully then your actions will. I would always get so bent out of shape because I got a damn C+ instead of an A. That stress isn’t worth it especially if they way things are doesn’t work for you. I had to remind a friend this recently. Be happy with what you can do not what you can’t do.
A lot of people seem to not like this movie because of the “retcon” from the line Mike said in Monster’s Inc, about being jealous “since the 4th grade”. Which, yeah, they definitely didn’t think they were gonna do a prequel in the future when they originally wrote that in.
But honestly, that could easily just be brushed off as an exaggerated phrase for the Monster World, or something like that. It’s not like they constantly talked about being in the 4th grade throughout the first movie. It was one throwaway line, that could just be tossed aside as exaggeration.
Basically, the whole movie gave the kid a taste of the famous quote "You are built different, just not for this"
I actually really loved this movie, and even thought it was better than the original Monsters Inc. when I was younger. I was always surprised when people said they either never saw it or thought it wasn't that great, I mean film itself was an underdog.
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I like Monsters INC don't get me wrong But, Monsters University was such a fun time.
13:40 honestly I never went to collage because school ruined my mental health and made me miserable and it was impossible to not feel tired or drained. I was told by everyone to go to collage, teachers, friends, family, they all told me I had to go. My friends were even disappointed in me when I said I wasn’t going. But look at me now, it’s only been a few months and I’ve got my own little buisness and sorting things out to do it full time
Even I like MU too when it came out. It really shows how Mike and Sully struggled their way to become scary monsters. They’re struggles really brought a connection to all of us and I feel the same way as Mike does.
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i remember watching this in the cinema early because i won a radio disney raffle to go watch it. i loved it and it was a great bonding movie with my dad. i didnt get the big messages but i did understand some surface level ones. i love this movie. and i think it truly is a movie for all ages. not just kids.
I always liked this movie more than the first one. It had balls to make the most important message there is for kids and didn't lie that "you can do anything, just work hard". While I wasn't the underdog in studies until recently (I've always been at the top of the class) I could still relate and feel what Mike was going through. Knowing your dreams are crashed is devestating but it doesn't make you useless
This movie is so neurodivergent coded and helped me a lot growing up.
This movie is definitely best enjoyed by older audiences. I thought Monsters University was too mean-spirited as a kid, but the older I got, the more I realized how realistic and important its message was.
I personally just can't really take the message seriously for one reason: Mike not being scary is bullshit.
Not only would it actually probably be scary to just see a one-eyed monster in your room at night, but it's even more stupid that he of all monsters gets singled out for not being scary. Like what about the purple Muppet-lookin' one? You're telling me HE'S scary? And Mike ISN'T? It just seems too contrived, even if the message and how it's delivered is really good.
Also, I get Monster's University has strengths and is underrated, but you are actually out of your mind if you think that it's messages are deep and Toy Story 2's aren't.
@Freesmart Yeah, and it's something I very much agree with.
It’s definitely the best Pixar prequel
I like the message that there is more than one way to get your dreams. Mike failed college but he found another way and that's inspiring!
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I'm overjoyed that people are finally giving this movie the attention it deserves. I'm addicted to this movie btw
Isn’t it a prequel tho
Watch the video
@@ShadeShake he doesn’t explain it very well, using it interchangeably with sequel
who cares lol
@@scapeagoat2520 You’re telling me the second movie in a series was referred to as a sequel despite it taking place before the first movie?
Well shit, I guess the video is ruined!
He explains that he's using the term "sequel" a certain way in the video, maybe watch it? Lol
Monsters University is one of my favorite Pixar movies ever and definitely my favorite Pixar sequel. Amazing video! I agree with so many of the amazing points you made in this video!
This is one of my favorite movies from my childhood, I remember begging my mom to go to the cinema for it and she managed to get me on the premiere as my birthday present, so many good memories from this movie, I went as far as to memorize the different side characters like the other students since we see their cards at the credit sequence or memorizing the school's song.
As for the message itself, I heard one take that I think fits perfectly here for people that it should matter to, and here it's the fact that Mike isn't scary, which in a society of monsters who live like they do because of scaring, it's treated like a disability, and that's truly what it is at the time, Mike in this movie is pretty much the guy in a wheelchair or the guy with dwarfism (sorry if that's not the proper terminology I don't want to offend anyone just to make a point), noone believes he'll succeed because he literally can't succeed in the same way as others, because of his disability, in that regard I always thought the Dean didn't really want to be the villain, she just stated what she thought was a fact so that Mike may still have a chance to follow another dream, or at least to spare him the ridicule he would get when he fails, and now after revisiting this movie so many times, after learning more about myself (about a year ago it was confirmed that I have autism for example), this kind of message both scares me and fills me with hope for my future, since on one hand I may never be able to succeed like the rest of my colleagues no matter how hard I try, but at the same time I still want to follow up on my dream and now realize that hey, there's not a singular way to achieve it.
If you've read this, thank you for your time, and I hope you have a nice day
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If we’re not counting the Toy Story sequels, then I actually agree with this. Sequels like Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory are solid, but in most ways just feel like less interesting retreads of the original. In the former it’s Dory searching for her family in an aquarium instead of Marlin searching for his son across the whole ocean, and in Incredibles 2 it’s a role reversal where Helen fights crime while Bob stays at home to look after the kids.
Whereas Monsters University, but being through Mike’s perspective, entirely changes the focuss of the narrative to being more of a character study on Mike and how sometimes, whether due to your circumstances or upbringing, what you want in life isn’t always what you truly need. Since despite dreaming of being a scarer, it’s in accepting his limitations and decided to use his strengths of being a genius who comes up with great ideas that Mike truly shines. And I also like how this movie explores a whole different side of Sully too by showing how he used to be an arrogant jerk, and the bond the two form despite their differences is definitely a high point of the film.
I’ll admit that the movie has flaws, in that the college setting is much less interesting than Montropolis in the original, the side characters are pretty underdeveloped and Randall gets shafted *hard.* Seriously, for being such an important character in the original, he only shows up sporadically throughout the movie and his only real important scene is losing in the competition with Sully towards the end. But overall, it’s a solid prequel to Monsters Inc. that holds up very well and is definitely one of the better follow-ups to come from Pixar.
I just have to say JS, I'm glad you're being honest with what you like as of late
i love this movie so much it's almost like an entirely new movie yet at the same time it feels very familiar due to the mike and sully
very few animated movies age well with me when i watched the as a kid the first time. this is one of them. it's got that vibe that's perfect for adults too.
this and toy story sequels are the best pixar sequels so far tbh
I just love how in the monster's pov, their world is colourful and full of life and the human world is dark, muted and drained of colour.
I'm song glad someone did a review on this movie
It's so underrated and charming.
100% agree. This is why this is my favourite Pixar film.
This movie is pretty relatable to someone like me. I'm a community theater worker. I'm an actor, and I've landed myself a few side character / background roles. I've been told time and time again that I do have an acting talent and that I'm one of the best actors/singers in my field.
But I almost NEVER get a lead part in anything. No solos. No lead names. No nothing. Instead, they are given to people who are far more popular in our industry, simply because the directors know them better than they know me. Sure I have the talent and the responsibility down with my job and I can do the parts if I was given them, but I don't get them because I don't have the social skills to warrant anyone seeing I can do the work. Social skills are a pretty big thing in the industry, and if you don't have that, it's basically a penalty to your role. Half the time no one even remembers your name or recognizes you. Then there's book smarts on theater history, costume designing, technology in lighting and sound, and staging, which I am really bad at. I've humiliated myself trying.
Because of this, I've been told by my family and my teachers that I'm never gonna be a well recognized actor and I should use my talents for a more introverted position like being a park ranger or a teacher or a writer.
I've found success in the latter, the other two are not my ideal working environments.
Reality sucks, kids. Deal with it.
M U was always one of my favorite animated films, so I’m glad to see someone actually invested discussing it
Monsters University is one of the few Pixar sequels I'll rewatch.
Y'know what. You won me over. Never really thought about the movie that in-depth before now. Well done. ^^
Monsters University is my favorite movie of all time, period.
It's not perfect in my opinion (Randall seems forced and the second act is perhaps a bit too cliché in some places), but I don't care.
I love every single thing: I love the university settings, revisited by the film with its twist, I love the Scare Games, original and creative tests that show the skill of the scarers, I love the incredible relationship between Mike and Sulley, I love the lake scene and the very brave and realistic message and above all I love Johnny, who is my favorite character ever.
This universe manages in an excellent way to differentiate itself from the original, avoiding copying plot points, and to be its thing. There really is so much potential for a television series that focuses on Greek life, where the film gives a great starter, but that I would definitely like to explore more.
Is it the best Pixar movie? Definitely not, not even in my top 10. Do I love everything about this movie? Absolutely.
Been defending this movie since it came out and it’s so good to see other people singing it’s praises
This is legit one of my all time fav childhood movies and top 3 Pixar, never could fathom the reasons people disliked it
I never really bought the mikey not scary thing those kids he tried to scare must have the biggest balls on the planet cause i be creeped out if i saw a one eyed creature with a large mouth in my room at night.
Plus i don't get why he's the only oozma kappa memebr to be considered not scary despite the fact the other memebrs( excluding sully) are just as if not even less scary than him.
But aside from that little nitpick i really love monsters university i actually even prefer it over monsters inc and its my favorite non toystory pixar sequel( i know its actually a prequel but you get my point).
I saw this movie in the cinema, it was pretty passable and safe, i enjoyed the character growths and interactions
But the ENDING where they scare the grownups. That was really something special that elevated the movie from pretty okay to "yeah id watch this again"
I've watched it at least once a year since and i enjoy it more and more upon every viewing. Its actually really good
This movie is a PREQUEL, not a sequel. But I think Monsters University even kinda falls at being a prequel over a MAJOR plothole issue: Mike and Sully met each other in college instead of the third grade? The writers of MU clearly overlooked that little detail from the first movie. Regardless, I thought it was an okay but forgettable movie.
But I did like how the ending subverts the cliche happy/graduation ending for some college students, especially with the two main characters. It kinda sent a realistic message to some people about the college experience. Sometimes not everyone is cut out for college. Some people struggle to afford it financially. College students can actually face real consequences for their actions on campus or for their lack of commitment. Some people might not get a college degree at all and choose to work their way up elsewhere in a different field.
I think they explained that they were using sequel as a catch all term for all the sequel prequel stuff. But I watched it yesterday so I might be remembering it wrong :/
I don't freaking care what anybody says about this movie. It was great. It has awesome characters, fun jokes, and a powerful message that I totally relate to.
Now what are your thoughts on Monsters at Work?
If you my opinion i thinks meh not bad but not great either the new character it focus on tylor he isn't a bad character i just don't find him as entertaning as mike and sully i kinda wish they were the main characters cause the parts that do focus on them are my favorite parts of the show.
That scene in the cave with Mike and Sully hits harder after MU. In MI Sully losts all motivation to scare because his love to boo so when he straight up said "All that don't matter" to Mike in just hit difference, it's not just about what both of them went through, it's the fact that Mike give up on his wild dream of being a scarer so Sully could thrive but Sully is just going to throw all that away, making Mike feel useless again
And now in monsters at work, mike is now a Jokester whilst all the previous scarers are now
in the tough position he was in at MU, not being able to qualify for the position due to physical
appearances and skills that weren't suited for it. Monsters who weren't seen as scary before were
now seen as useful whilst for monsters who had skills that were once accepted have now become
obsolete and useless. Such as what happened to Tyler tuskmen who was like mike except scary but
with the change from scare to laugh power, all he was good at from then was to be in the maintenance team.
this happens a lot in society, such as in animation for example, people who were incredible at drawing or
creating claymation were seen as higher priority whilst people who computer coded were just seen as the
background artists to the real animation team. That was until 3D animation became a thing and people who
could draw well or sculpt claymations soon become obsolete and the computer coders became the main
focus whilst the original animators worked on the background to help the coder's film.
that's why having diverse people is so great, we may accept one type of people and reject another for a period
of time but eventually that could easily shift when a new discovery or invention is made to which the people
who were once seen as useless are now seen as rockstars whilst the people who used to be on top are now
having to either change or find new work.
I swear the thumbnail to this video changes every time it appears on my recommendations
I genuinely really liked this movie my first time viewing and have only enjoyed it more with each subsequent movie.
Also at the lake when Sully says "But most of the time, I'm terrified" I get big feels.
Everyone talks about how, “they say Mike isn’t scary, but I’d be terrified if I saw that thing in my house.” What if the monsters didn’t understand that humans think that way? This was far before Monsters Inc. and maybe the monsters hadn’t studied the smaller monsters (ignore the scene where Mike tries to scare actual kids).
To be completely honest, I never really enjoyed Monsters Inc. growing up. It was a movie that just simply existed.
When Monsters University came out, I wasn’t interested at first but all the damn promotion in Club Penguin actually made me want to see what the hell was going on so that I could understand the party at the time, and I genuinely enjoyed the movie. I’ve watched it a couple times now which doesn’t seem like a lot, but I rarely watch movies to begin with.
i love this video and also this movie!! you did a great job explaining what makes the film so great. and something awesome about the series as a whole is it’s always subverting your expectations, probably not as much so in MI but in monsters at work the final episode also subverts your expectations of what you think it’s gonna do. i’d go into detail but i don’t wanna spoil the series for anyone who hasn’t seen it. if you haven’t seen the series please go watch it’s genuinely so good, it’s about the events of what happens directly after MI (well, like a month after) !! anyway i agree so hard that mike and sulley are the best duo and have the most chemistry out of any pixar duo. i could on for so long about how well their differences balance and mesh with eachother but how they also have such similar experiences in different ways, and just DAMN i love these movies and i wish MU got more credit bc it’s genuinely such a good movie
ok, that has gotta be one of if not the best videos you've made so far, and that's very epic + cash mone
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I’ve always wondered why I really loved this movie. I always got the message of it, but it never truly hit me until now. I have a lot of creativity inside of me that I need to get out and a lot of the time I use acting and singing as that outlet. But, while I’m a really, really good actor I’m not an especially good singer. I’m not Broadway level, I can never be Broadway level and I know that. Everyone says “the voice is an instrument, you just gotta practice” sometimes, that’s just not possible. There’s a girl at my school, she’s really good at singing. Everyone loves her voice. And she just, has that talent. I can’t match it no matter how hard I try. And I’ve learned that, it’s ok. I can use my talents in other ways. I can do local productions of shows, I can do plays instead of musicals. Sometimes people are just born with special talents. But I can share my creativity in other ways.
I genuinely love your analysis. For a younger man, you're quite informed, and obviously well read. (Despite any supposed lack of formal education.) Keep up the good work, and know you've earned every subscriber. 👍
Monsters University is probably *the* most disappointing Pixar movie for me. It literally contradicts or breaks so many of the things that were so well executed in Monsters Inc.
I hard-disagree that ~"the setting, themes and/or perspectives of this movie aren't seen in animation too often", when in my experience, many of these exact settings and themes are some of the most overused to the point of being tired and predictable themes, even in animation, yes.
Also, the fact that there is such a clear lesson that is just so obvious to me, really hurts it. I couldn't tell you what the "lesson" of Monsters Inc. is. It's way too multifaceted, and doesn't try to force an obvious message on you. And even if it slightly does, it's such a specific thing to their fictional world that you can't easily just translate it to ours 1:1. However, when it comes to Monsters University, the same can't really be said. It's highly applicable to our world, which makes it immediately deviate quite a bit from it's predecessor in tone and feel.
As someone who is _not_ from the United States, Monsters University also leans heavily on parallels to American culture and themes, whereas Monster Inc., while still having "American" analoges, is waaay more universally appealing and relatable. In fact, related to the previous point, I get that in America, the culture is more to tell everyone that they "could become president one day" or similar """false""" encouragement, but in most of the world, we don't need such things subverted, because the culture is often already that not everyone can do exactly what they want and different people can do different things depending on several factors, which yes, even children understand from a young age.
This movie also doesn't have as many incredibly satisfying (and for the time especially impressive) sequences and scenes as monsters Inc.
In general, I always felt that it was a story that didn't really need to be told, but they just didn't want to or didn't think they could pull off an actual proper sequel well, so they settled on what ever this movie became.
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Ever since this movie was released. I love it as a kid. I made this fan theory that the movie is Squid Game for kids. As the Frats and Sororities play deadly Greek Games.
Sorry but taking this from a comment I personally liked that was on a different Monsters University video essay analysis, is that Sully subverts the lazy gifted student stereotype by simulating the ex-gifted student. Basically the student that manages to do exceptionally well at the start because of his talents and natural abilities, but then becomes worse over time because as he relies on it so much that he never properly learns how to be disciplined, or work despite his failures and shortcomings.
This ex-gifted kid phenomenon also encourages the student to lean only on their natural talents and abilities at the start, and if they encounter a problem or failure they just shrug and go ok if I can't do it naturally at the first try means Im not cut out for it, which exacerbates their issues later in life when they encounter more difficult problems that they cannot completely rely on their talents to solve.
It gets even worse because of external influences, like societal expectations or just expectations from peers and family, who have personally witness the successes of the student at the start and come to expect it from the student as they go on in their life. This adds on greater pressure to the ex-gifted kid and stresses them out more once they start failing more often, and they lose self-esteem and question themselves. Meanwhile the people around them start picking at them for not being able to succeed as often as they did before and don't really offer support much (until it's too late) because the student did so well at the start so they clearly didn't need support anyway. As such kids end up developing mental issues and potential behavioural problems, and become the ex-gifted burnout. This is something you would slowly notice happening to Sully over the course of the film as his problems in the school are highlighted, and also hinted by his dialogue of him being terrified of disappointing everyone that expects great things to come from him.
Ngl, as someone who has personal experience as well as a ex-gifted kid syndrome suffering from burn out, I really loved when the commenter brought this in relation to Sully's character here. It also serves as a great foil to Mike's character, the student who doesn't have the natural talent and being told they won't succeed, but wants to succeed anyway and learns to work very hard because of their ambitions and society's msg of "you can do it if you work hard enough".
Both Mike and Sully are students who have been failed by the societal and education systems, simply because they have been taught by the flawed and one-sided messages commonly endorsed in society as truth, but it's not really true to life. Even then, them as a team seems to bring the best out of both, and also cover up each other's flaws, to the point that even though they did not graduate, they still became one of the best scare teams ever. I love the messages in the film a lot because it is surprisingly realistic and still gives a hopeful tone that it's not over, you still can be happy with some things in your life.
Pardon the longass essay lmao I just wanted to point this out since I don't see this from the comments I have read on this.
3:20 wtf is that sound?
If you reverse it and slow it down, it willl play: 'Help me'
@@kozlorog No it doesn't lol
It sounds like someone saying "Yo" as if he was in a Discord call doing this recording and someone hopped in and said "Yo" not knowing he was recording lol
@@AlexGonzalez-vm9ps Yea it's not even close to the word help. It's most likely Yo, ever since editing videos myself (on a separate youtube channel) I notice a lot more editing mistakes. This one from Ls mark lives rent free in my head: ruclips.net/video/XWAsV6gLoFs/видео.html
I STRONGLY recommend The Sin Squads video about MU. The aspect that this movie represents disability in an actually good way is really impressive for kids movie.
youve made a decent point, i can see it, but you still never explained why youre in my house at 3am.
I’m glad you talked about this I love this movie
This movie is so underrated srsly I thought it was so good when it came out and was surprised it wasn't has popular as it should be.
Now I feel better about loving this movie!
You misspelt Toy Story 2.
Luckily, the series Monsters at Work, which takes place between Waternoose’s arrest and Mike building Boo’s door, treats both movies with equal respect
Oof, you gave me a whole new appreciation of Monsters University.
Monster university was great but the scary program is crazy you tell me you see a giant eyeball you wouldn’t be scared it like toy story having the idea toys coming alive
People that praise the Star Wars prequels but then calls this movie bad are not getting the point of what a prequel represents
Even though we already know what lies ahead, doesn’t mean that the story is any less important
Monsters University has a purpose and a great reason to exist, it’s a great underrated movie
One of my favorite movies of all time.
Honestly i love the movie but i can relate to it so much!