A Parent’s Review of Monsters University •• Some Blog Site

A Parent’s Review of Monsters University

Jun

2013

Yesterday I took the older kids to see Monsters University. We got tickets to an advanced screening – excuse me, screaming – of the movie thanks to my wife’s friend.

When my wife called me and asked if I wanted to take the kids to see the movie, my first response was to check the usual review sites to see the appropriate age range and if there is any objectionable material.

The sites I like to check are Common Sense Media and Kids in Mind. Those two sites give reviews that are helpful to concerned parents. But… they review movies after they are out. Since this was June 18th and Monsters University doesn’t open until June 21st, all I got from one site was the synopsis provided by Pixar (and nothing from the other site).

So I had to go off movie critic reviews.

Those were not helpful. Mostly they lamented that, although not a bad movie, MU just didn’t live up to the expectations of previous Pixar releases. They gave the storyline and some other tidbits, but none of them told me the things I cared about:

how scary are the monsters in this movie?
any inappropriate material?
it’s set at a college, so how is the frat party handled?

I’ll try to fill in those blanks so that parents who are wondering those things can have their answers for opening weekend.

The monsters (and settings) are slightly scarier than Monsters, Inc., and I did not see any inappropriate material.

My 9-year-old was eager to go and liked everything in the movie. My 7-year-old was not as eager to go, but he said he liked the movie. I was glad I did not take my 4-year-old, because it would have been too scary for him.

I’d recommend a minimum age of 6. That’s based on my family – your mileage may vary.

I’ll start going into details now, so SPOILER ALERT if you’re the type of person who cares about those things. But there’s not really that much to spoil.

There is a frat party, but they just show monsters dancing in a humorous fashion. That’s all I saw – nothing else was connotated or implied. I thought the most objectionable parts of the movie involved the other students mocking Mike Wazowski for being in the “loser” fraternity. Of course, that’s most of the plot – showing how Mike responded to adversity by working hard and working as part of a team.

Scary Characters, or scarachters.
As far as the monsters go, if you found Mr. Waternoose scary in the original movie, you’ll really find Dean Hardscrabble scary. She is a bat-centipede, and rendered more realistically than I remember Waternoose being.

picture of the character Dean Hardscrabble from Monsters University

That picture doesn’t do her justice – with the wings extended or legs moving, it can be creepy.

And I don’t remember any equivalent in Monsters, Inc., but MU has demon cheerleaders. When you first meet them, they’re all fluffy and happy and stuff. But then the competition starts and their 3 eyes glow red in a menacing fashion. Could be frightful for young children.

picture of the cheerleader characters of PNK from Monsters University

But what could be even scarier for the kids is not the monsters themselves but the situations. MU shows more of the psychology of scariness – monsters do things like ruffle the curtains, squeak the door, or scratch on the bed before roaring at the now-slightly-awake-and-suspicious children. I think the best way to describe it is they show more suspense and more things that could bother children at bedtime (no kid has seen a monster in his bedroom, but all kids have heard suspicious noises or thought they saw something move). This movie will get in their heads more than Monsters Inc.

And there is a scene at a kids camp – the typical bunks in a cabin and canoes by the lake. So don’t take a young child to see this movie the day before he goes off to summer camp.

Fun Characters
As far as the characters go, my favorite was Art. He reminded me of a cross between Animal of The Muppets and Fillmore of Pixar’s Cars. He has a unique body structure, used interestingly at times.

picture of the character Art from Monsters University

The other character of note is Squishy. If Pixar were claymation, I would have said that Squishy came from the same mold as Russell of Up. Just with more eyes.

picture of the character Squishy from Monsters University

The desert creatures will meet with the wolves,
The hairy goat also will cry to its kind;
Yes, the night monster will settle there
And will find herself a resting place.

Isaiah 34:14