Monsters University

Plans for a second Monsters, Inc. film existed since 2002. Following disagreements between Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs, Disney—which owned the rights to make sequels to all of Pixar's films up to and including Cars—announced that a sequel to Monsters, Inc. would be made by Disney's Circle 7 Animation studio, which was also working on early drafts of Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo 2.[7] Titled Monsters, Inc. 2: Lost in Scaradise, the film would have focused on Mike and Sulley visiting the human world to give Boo a birthday present, only to find that she had moved. After getting trapped in the human world, Mike and Sulley would split up after disagreeing on what to do.[25] Screenwriters Rob Muir and Bob Hilgenberg were hired to write a script for the film, and storyboarded an early draft of it.[8] Disney's change of management in late 2005—in which Eisner was replaced by Bob Iger—led to renewed negotiations with Pixar, and in January 2006 Disney announced it had purchased the studio. The Disney-owned sequel rights were then transferred to Pixar, leading to the cancellation of Muir and Hilgenberg's version of the film and the subsequent closure of Circle 7.[8]

A Pixar-made sequel was confirmed in 2010.[5] The film was originally planned for release on November 16, 2012, but the release was moved up to November 2, 2012, to avoid competition with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. On March 29, 2011, it was confirmed that the film would be a prequel and the title Monsters University was announced.[9] On April 4, 2011, due to Pixar's past success with summer releases, according to a Disney executive, it was confirmed that the film would be released on June 21, 2013.[26]

Director Dan Scanlon (left) and producer Kori Rae (right) screened the film at the 2013 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.[27]

The feature was directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae.[28][29] Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Bob Peterson, and John Ratzenberger reprised their roles, and Bonnie Hunt voiced a new character. New voice cast included Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Julia Sweeney, Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Peter Sohn, Charlie Day, Joel Murray, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, John Krasinski, Bill Hader, Bobby Moynihan, and Beth Behrs.[30]

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

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

For research, the filmmakers visited several colleges in the U.S., including Harvard University, Stanford University, Cornell University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, observing college architecture, student life, Greek organizations, and the teaching methods of professors and faculty.[35][36][37] To research fraternity life, which is central to the film, many of the film's producers spent several weeks at a fraternity house. Researchers also attended a "Bonfire Rally" at Berkeley in anticipation of the Big Game, a rivalry football game between the university and Stanford.[36]

The film had its worldwide premiere on June 5, 2013, as a special screening at BFI Southbank in London with the director and producer in attendance.[42] The film had its Asian premiere as the opening film of the 2013 Shanghai International Film Festival on June 15, 2013.[43] It premiered in the United States on June 8, 2013, at the Seattle International Film Festival,[43] and was released in theaters on June 21, 2013. The film's theatrical release was accompanied by Pixar's short film titled The Blue Umbrella.[10]

The first teaser trailer for Monsters University was released on June 20, 2012.[44] Four versions of the trailer exist; in his sleep, Mike mutters excuses to avoid attending class in each one, such as "I'm not wearing any clothes," "My homework ate my dog," "Class President?", and "My pony made the Dean's List." A second trailer was released on February 11, 2013, a third on April 26, 2013, and a fourth and final trailer, which included scenes from the film, was released on May 30, 2013.

On October 8, 2012, Pixar revealed a fully functional website for Monsters University, complete with information about admissions, academic and campus life, and a campus store to purchase MU apparel. On April 1, 2013, the website was styled to appear as though a rival college, Fear Tech, had hacked and vandalized it.[45][46] The first television commercial for the film was aired during the 2013 Rose Bowl Game, parodying advertisements for participating schools that are shown during college football telecasts. From June 27 until July 11, 2013, Disney's online game Club Penguin hosted a Monsters University Takeover event to promote the film. Players could dress up as their favorite monsters and take part in the Scare Games.[47]

Monsters University was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, digital copy, and on demand on October 29, 2013. It was accompanied by The Blue Umbrella, Pixar's short film which played alongside the film in theaters.[48] Its home video sales earned a revenue of $111 million with 5.5 million copies sold, making it the fourth best-selling title of 2013.[49] Monsters University was released on 4K Blu-ray on March 3, 2020.[50]

Monsters University grossed $268.5 million in the United States and Canada and $475.1 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $743.6 million.[4] Calculating in all expenses, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $179.8 million.[51]

It became the 53rd highest-grossing film of all time,[52] the 11th highest-grossing animated film all time, the seventh-highest-grossing 2013 film,[4] and the third-highest-grossing Pixar film.[53] The film earned $136.9 million worldwide on its opening weekend.[54] Disney declined to provide a budget for the film; Entertainment Weekly speculated that it was higher than that of Brave ($185 million), mainly because of the high cost of John Goodman and Billy Crystal reprising their roles.[55] Shockya and EOnline reported the budget to be $200 million—on par with previous Pixar films.[2][3]

In the week leading to Monsters University's release, Disney projected an opening-weekend gross of at least $70 million.[56] The film opened on Friday, June 21, 2013, across 4,004 theaters in first place with $30.47 million—including $2.6 million in 20:00 Thursday night shows[57]—marking the fifth-largest opening day among animated films.[58] The film then reached first place with an opening-weekend gross of $82.43 million; the second-largest among Pixar films,[59] the second-largest among G-rated films,[60] the fourth-largest among prequels,[61] the fifth-largest among animated films,[62] and the fifth-largest among films released in June.[63] Monsters University remained at first place on its second weekend, declining 45% to $45.6 million.[64] Facing tough competition from Despicable Me 2 on its third weekend, it dropped 57% to $19.7 million.[65] As of December 2013, it is the tenth-highest-grossing animated film.[66]

The film earned $54.5 million in 35 markets on its opening weekend.[59] It set a Pixar opening-weekend record in Latin America with revenues of $31.7 million.[67] In Argentina, the film set an opening-weekend record among all films with $5.49 million.[68][69] In Australia, where it had a simultaneous release with Despicable Me 2, Monsters University debuted behind the latter with $3.56 million in third place.[70] In Hong Kong, the film set opening-day (HK$5.03 million),[71] single-day (HK$7.93 million) and opening-weekend (HK$25.79 million) records among animated films, beating the previous record holder, Toy Story 3.[72] In the UK, the film topped the box office during its opening weekend with a gross of £3.46 million.[73] The film's largest opening occurred in China, where its $13 million debut ranked fourth among Disney films.[74][75] The film's highest-grossing markets are Japan ($90.1 million), the UK, Ireland, and Malta ($47.2 million), and Mexico ($37.6 million).[75]

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 80% based on 204 reviews with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Offering Monsters, Inc. fans a welcome return visit with beloved characters, Monsters University delivers funny and thoughtful family entertainment for viewers of any age."[76] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 65 based on 41 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[77] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. According to Disney, audiences were 56% female and 60% below the age of 25. Families made up 73% of business, and teens accounted for 15%. The film played well with all ages.[55]

Matt Zoller Seitz of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, saying it "is true to the spirit of [Monsters, Inc.] and matches its tone. But it never seems content to turn over old ground."[78] Trevor Johnston of Time Out gave the film four stars out of five, writing "It has enough of the right stuff to haunt the imagination long after the immediate buzz of its fluffy-furred cuteness has melted away. For a mere prequel, that's a result."[79] Steven Rea of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave the film three stars out of four and said it "is cute, and funny, and the animation, though not exactly inspired, is certainly colorful."[80] Jake Coyle of Associated Press gave the film three stars out of four, saying it "might not be as gifted as some of its other movies, but sometimes it's alright to be OK."[81] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three stars out of four, and said "It's all infectious fun, despite the lack of originality. In the art of tickling funny bones, Crystal and Goodman earn straight A's."[82] Richard Corliss of Time gave the film a positive review, saying "This minor film with major charms still deserves to have kids dragging their parents to the multiplex for one more peek at the monsters in the closet. With Pixar, familiarity breeds content."[83] Bill Goodykoontz of The Arizona Republic gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of five and said it is "one of those movies that has absolutely no reason to exist, but once you've seen it, you're kind of glad it does."[84] Alan Scherstuhl of The Village Voice gave the film a positive review, saying "Monsters University feels not like the work of artists eager to express something but like that of likable pros whose existence depends on getting a rise out the kids. It's like the scares Sully and Mike spring on those sleeping tykes: technically impressive but a job un-anchored to anything more meaningful."[85]

Leonard Maltin of IndieWire praised the animation and art direction, but wrote that he wished "the movie was funnier and wasn't so plot-heavy" and that "Pixar has raised the bar for animated features so high that when they turn out a film that's merely good, instead of great, they have only themselves to blame for causing critics to damn them with faint praise."[86] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune gave the film two stars out of four, saying "Monsters University, the weirdly charmless sequel to the animated 2001 Pixar hit Monsters, Inc., is no better or worse than the average (and I mean average) time-filling sequel cranked out by other animation houses."[87] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, saying that it "never surprises, goes off in unexpected directions or throws you for a loop in the manner of the best Pixar stories. Nor does it come close to elating through the sheer imagination of its conceits and storytelling."[88] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three stars out of four, and said it "may not be as inventive as Inc., but it's an amusing and amiable addition to Pixar's roster of animated coming-of-age stories."[89] Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film three stars out of four, saying "It may be children's terror that powers the movie's fictional universe, but it's the energy of its stars that lights up Monsters University."[90] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A− and said it "is exactly the rebound Pixar needed after 2011's Cars 2 left some wondering if the studio had lost its magic. The delightful story of when Mike met Sulley puts those concerns to rest."[91] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film three stars out of four and wrote "Although it falls short of the best Pixar has brought to the screen over its long association with Disney, it's nevertheless worth a trip to the theater, especially for kids."[92]

Not all reviews were positive. Richard Roeper gave the film a C+, saying "This is a safe, predictable, edge-free, nearly bland effort from a studio that rarely hedges its bets."[93] Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and said "The artwork is accomplished, and intricate. The G-rating is genuine, without any gross-out gags. And there's none of the usual winks to the adults with tired, pop-culture references."[94] Manohla Dargis of The New York Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five and wrote "Both the originality and stirring emotional complexity of Monsters, Inc., with its exquisitely painful and touching parallels with the human world, are missing."[95] Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, and said "This is not a bad movie, and to small children it will be a very good one, but it's closer to average than one would wish from the company that gave us Up, WALL-E, The Incredibles, and the Toy Story series."[96] Rene Rodriguez of Miami Herald gave the film two stars out of five and wrote that it "feels half-hearted and lazy, like they weren't even trying. At least show a little effort, guys."[97]

Monsters University marks the first Pixar film not to be nominated for either an Oscar or a Golden Globe.