Wednesday, July 10, 2013

All the Right Notes: Monsters University

...or, an alternative title: Monsters University and "safe" storytelling

In the wake of Cars 2 (decidedly disappointing) and Brave (a lot of merit but also carries its own issues), I think a lot of people--animation fans and moviegoers alike--have been waiting for Pixar to "redeem" itself.  "Has Pixar lost its magic?" some ask.

So as Pixar began to pump out awesome advertising and trailers for their prequel to Monsters, Inc., there was a lot of hope that Monsters University would act as the catalyst to renew our trust in the successful animation studio.  Much like Brave, I was just as excited for Monsters U as everyone else.

And then the reviews came out.  All right, they seemed to say.  Better, but still not showing that "edge" of previous films like Up and Wall-E that puts Pixar's movies heads and shoulders above the rest.

"Too safe" seemed to be the words I saw over and over again.

Too safe.

And I wondered, what does that even mean?  What is "too safe" in a Pixar movie?  So, of course, I went to see it myself (with my dad, who loves animated films but can only see them with me because otherwise he feels weird at the theater--I'm certainly all too happy to oblige!).

After seeing Monsters U myself, I was--and still am--boggled by these average reviews which cite this "too safe" angle (if that is even a legitimate argument) as the movie's downfall.  Now, perhaps I'm simply too much of a sissy who enjoys her safety (that was sarcasm), but I believe that people who use this argument fail to see the timely and poignant message that MU offers not only its audiences, but the passionate and well-loved characters of its other movies.

What is that message?  Read on to find out!