Monsters University [Blu-ray] [2 Discs]

Director: Dan Scanlon

Overview

Take a trip back in time to when star Monsters, Inc. employees Mike Wazowski (voice of Billy Crystal) and James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (voice of John Goodman) were just two promising young students at Monsters University in this frightfully fun Disney/Pixar prequel. Long before they were lurking in closets for a living, Mike and Sulley were just two Scaring majors at Monsters University, dreaming of the day they would make children shriek in terror. When their heated competition to be the most fearsome in their class gets out of hand, however, Mike and Sulley find themselves ejected from the prestigious Scare Program, and they are forced to seek the aid of their oddball friends in order to get their education back on track. Dan Scanlon (Tracy) takes the directorial reigns for this prequel featuring additional vocal contributions by Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, and Julia Sweeney.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/28/2017
UPC:	0786936853001
Original Release:	2013
Rating:	G
Language:	English
Time:	1:44:00
Sales rank:	6,928

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Billy Crystal	Mike
John Goodman	Sullivan
Steve Buscemi	Randy
Helen Mirren	Dean Hardscrabble
Peter Sohn	Squishy
Joel Murray	Don
Sean Hayes	Terri
Dave Foley	Terry
Charlie Day	Art
Alfred Molina	Professor Knight
Tyler Labine	Greek Council VP
Nathan Fillion	Johnny
Aubrey Plaza	Greek Council President
Bobby Moynihan	Chet
Noah Johnston	Young Mike
Julia Sweeney	Ms. Squibbles
Bonnie Hunt	Mrs. Graves
John Krasinski	Frank McCay
Bill Hader	Referee/Slug
Beth Behrs	PNK Carrie
Bob Peterson	Roz
John Ratzenberger	Yeti
Randy Newman	Conductor,Composer
Ilja Richter	Voices
Reinhard Brock	Voices
Elyas M'Barek	Voices
Axel Stein	Voices
Donald Fullilove	Actor
Dannah Feinglass Phirman	Actor
David Theune	Actor
Madison Rothschild	Actor
Kristen Li	Actor
Rob Riggle	Actor
Jennifer Tilly	Actor
Jerry Brooks	Actor
Kelsey Grammer	Actor
Ken Jeong	Actor
Frank Oz	Actor
Wojciech Paszkowski	Voices
Artur Barci?	Voices
Sylwester Maciejewski	Voices
Pawe? Cio?kosz	Voices
Eryk Lubos	Voices
Lori Alan	Additional Voices
Carlos Alazraqui	Additional Voices
Bob Bergen	Additional Voices
Gregg Berger	Additional Voices
Rodger Bumpass	Additional Voices
Patrick Carlyle	Additional Voices

Technical Credits

Daniel Gerson

Robert L. Baird

Dan Scanlon

Daniel Gerson	Screenwriter
Robert L. Baird	Screenwriter
Dan Scanlon	Screenwriter
Kori Rae	Producer
John Lasseter	Executive Producer,Producer
Andrew Stanton	Executive Producer,Producer
Pete Docter	Executive Producer,Producer
Lee Unkrich	Executive Producer,Producer
Tom Myers	Sound/Sound Designer
David Park	Production Manager
Kevin Reher	Casting
Justin Pearson	Sound Effects
E.J. Holowicki	Sound Effects
Dustin Cawood	Sound Effects
Teresa Eckton	Sound Effects
Jason Deamer	Character Design
Nicole Paradis Grindle	Producer
Natalie Lyon	Casting

Editorial Reviews

For the most part, the Pixar films have worked so effectively because they draw you into an emotional storyline early and efficiently. From Toy Story to Brave, they've always presented a reason for us to care about the characters while dazzling us with their imagery. Partly because it's a prequel, Monsters University is one of the few films from the gigantically successful studio that fails to deliver an emotional payoff. Billy Crystal returns as the voice of Mike Wazowski, a short, round, green creature with a single giant eye and a burning desire to graduate from the titular academic institution with a degree in scaring -- though he's so adorable he'll never even startle a fly. He immediately butts heads with James P. "Sulley" Sullivan (John Goodman), the son of one of the most revered scarers of all time. While Mike knows more about frightening children than anyone in school, Sulley coasts through on his ferocious roar. When Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) kicks the two out of school after they get into a fight that breaks her most prized possession, the enemies must join together in order to win the Scare Games, an annual campus event to find the most frightening fraternity or sorority on campus. Teaming up with a band of unscary misfits, the duo do everything they can to put their differences aside and achieve their dreams. Maybe because we know already from Monsters, Inc. that Mike and Sulley go on to work as a team on the scare floor of the powerful energy company, there is little drama in the conflict this prequel establishes. That would be less of a problem if the film were non-stop funny, but the humor in Monsters University is sadly lacking. In the past, when Pixar films have fallen short on the story level, they've been jam-packed with business and jokes -- like Mater's confrontation with a bidet in the underwhelming Cars 2 -- and breathtaking visual artistry. With Monsters University, it's possible that audiences may begin taking Pixar's continued state-of-the-art technical mastery for granted; people aren't as easily impressed if they don't care about what they're watching. Director Dan Scanlon's low-budget comedy Tracy concerned a beloved local children's television show host. It has a creativity and a sense of satire that's missing entirely from his big-budget debut. Because Monsters, Inc. exposes how scaring turns out to be far from the most efficient way to power the monster world, there were great opportunities with the prequel to comment on how colleges have come more and more to be used as trade schools. While that might be a bit too ambitious for a family film, they could have at least nodded to the humorous irony that our lead characters are knocking themselves out to learn something that's going to be totally useless one day. However, instead of shooting for depth, the filmmakers stick with efficiently presented but uninspired one-liners and visual gags. Pixar is known for giving its directors constant feedback from the talented brain trust (John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, etc.) that built the studio into the powerhouse it is. But Monsters University is the first time the finished product feels like it was produced by a committee, rather than an artist with something to say.