Monsters Inc. Prequel Announced

Ten years ago, I don’t think even Pixar could have predicted the colossal success that was to become of Monsters Inc., yet here in 2011 it lives on as one of the most renowned films in animation history, and not just for it’s breathtakingly brilliant visuals. Monsters Inc. became one of a select few child-friendly animations that helped create a fresh blueprint of the genre. No longer were they only to be enjoyed by children; childless adults could see the film, and find delight amongst the comic  dialogue between the colourful, mischievous, yet entirely charming characters of Mike and Sulley. It’s no surprise then that when last year it was announced there would be a sequel,  Pixar and Monster Inc. fans worldwide let out a cheer. However, it was announced on Tuesday that there would be no sequel…there would instead, be a prequel to the 2001 feature, Monsters University.

Disney’s executive vice president of Worldwide Distribution, Dave Hollis announced at thisweek’s annual CinemaCon convention that the hotly anticipated film was in the pipeline: ““The film is a prequel that tells you a little bit about how Mike and Sulley first met, attending Monsters University. Obviously everybody knows at this point Mike and Sulley are amazing friends — the best of friends — but as it turns out, in this story, that wasn’t always the case. From the moment they met at university, they could not stand each other. This story takes you through the ups and downs, and how they overcame their own differences.”

It was also revealed that both John Goodman and Billy Crystal would be returning with their impeccable talents to reprise their roles as the ‘scary’ monsters, and considering it is a prequel, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a certain reappearance of the dastardly Randall (Steve Buscemi). Despite the sigh that automatically releases when you hear a great film is going to be getting a rehashed prequel or sequel,  Pixar has engineered this in a way that actually can’t ruin the original. Monsters Inc. was so perfect it doesn’t really need a prequel, (or sequel…neither do most films really), but rather than threat the integrity of the original with a continuation, they’ve done the smart thing and given us an entirely fresh story, with familiar characters.  All that being said, I do think Monsters University will be nothing short of great. We do however have to wait for our little piece of nostalgia; Monsters University won’t be released until November 2012.