Just saw it. I’m glad I remained unspoiled, because there were a lot of cute things in there. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. That said, I’m not disappointed, as we got pretty much what I expected. It was nice to see Randall again, and child Mike was adorable! [spoil]At the beginning, when Mike visits MI, did anyone think the little girl’s dad sounded like Tom Hanks? I think he sounded like him![/spoil]
@Horizon 12.2- I agree with Picklepants’ theory… but like you’d I wouldn’t mind seeing how Pixar would actually execute that idea. 
Switching things to a lighter note, even after seeing it a few times I still can’t seem to stop thinking about that fact that [spoil]when Sulley first breaks into Mike’s dorm, it’s revealed that his room is FAR from ground level (matter fact based on his room # it’s probably the 3rd floor). Has anyone else wondered how Sulley got all the way up there? and how Archie even survived jumping back out that window???[/spoil] 
I TOTALLY spaced that part of the film…my apologies 
[spoil]My family actually wound up brainstorming ideas for another sequel based on this issue.[/spoil]
A family discussion on Scream Industry NetBug? Interesting family activity…
For a long time now, before MU, I have said that the story of MI wasn’t finished. Mostly it’s for Randall’s sake, but also for Sullivan and Wazowski.
Of course, Sullivan will be dealing with the fallout from what he has shown, and it will be covered in the sequel. At least in the version I’ve been pondering over for years now.
Anyway…on to MU
Saw with some friends of mine, but at the time, I had a lot on my mind so couldn’t really “enjoy” the film to a proper degree…so…can’t really give a full basis on this.
But as most of my focus was on Randall, though my haze of thoughts, and his bits have been brought up I’ll say this…
Pixar did a wonderful job with him, even better than MI. It was painful for some of his moments, but it was necessary, as it showed him to be more deeper than what most people, who didn’t know him, thought.
For those who feel he didn’t get enough screen-time, please, don’t be discouraged by that. Even though the focus IS on Wazowski (as it should be. Sullivan got the first film, Wazowski the second, Randall gets the third), the scenes he IS in…are very well done. Even though he doesn’t have much time, IN that time…a LOT is said, especially with his expressions. This is what I commend Pixar for. That in such short seconds, they are able to portray so many emotions and expressions that they speak volumes.
So, for Randall, a LOT was said through expression, not just words. You see his hesitation, his uncertainty, his inability to speak up, among other things, throughout the entire film. It was painful, sure, to see his struggle…but necessary to set things up later for him.
I know right? My family is a bunch of film nerds. xD
It’s good that families have such activities. Generally the situation is that they mostly have their own private world-wars.
We discuss Pixar a bit as well, but my parents get tired of it.
That’s a lot like what I thought about it. For some reason, I did like it more a second time, which has been the case for me in the last couple of years. I feel like I love it now, but it’s a lot like in the sense that the main characters were so cute.
I’d imagine that [spoil]the program would become obsolete, and they would make a transition to a comedy program.[/spoil]
Wow, 4 already!! Hopefully I see it a second time tomorrow. And yes, much kudos to whoever voiced Little Little Mikey!
No, she says the human parent of the girl. The blue monster with the cap was John Krasinski.
I would like to see the movie again, so I could decide if it was him. I need to know! He isn’t credited, but nobody is credited as that human, so, I still have my hopes.
Maybe it’s his brother. He sounds similar and has done miscellaneous voice work in the past.
Trust me, if Tom Hanks voiced him it would of been credited.
I just posted that in another thread. I bet it is. They sound so similar.
[RANT]
[spoil]It bothers the heck out of me when I read critics reviews saying Monsters University lacks heart or emotional depth or whatever. It’s either they didn’t pay attention, they watched a different movie than I do, or they’re predisposed by the idea that MU is a comedy from end to end, therefore it doesn’t have a poignant moment. Wrong! The heart-to-heart between Mike and Sulley by the lake was as truthful and touching as it can be. And I fully believe that had Pixar wanted, they can easily drag out the farewell scene between Mike/Sulley and their OK brothers at the end to be more emotional and tug our heartstrings. I guess that would make more viewers misty and may fit people’s predisposed idea of “Pixar’s emotions”. But they chose not to, and very rightly in my opinions, because it would be cheesy and out of place for the morale they try to put across. So there, not all Pixar movie needs to be a tear-jerker to be a memorable, durable classics.[/spoil]
[/END OF RANT]
Sorry, I just need to vent this somewhere
Maybe there were some missing bits, but to be honest, the core is there.
Pixar took an interesting take in Wazowski’s story. He wanted to follow his dream (or, rather, obsession actually) to become a scarer…everybody doubted him, including Sullivan. In the end…they were RIGHT. Generally in such stories, the person manages to be what they want to be, but in this instance, they don’t. We see the emotional side of what made Sullivan such a big self-centered jerk, and his development to care about somebody other than himself. We see Randall as he really is, a nice considerate guy, who makes a mistake that gets him screwed over by people he THOUGHT were his friends.
MU seems to be more about…perception on growing perhaps. Who do YOU relate to. Do you relate to Wazowski’s struggle to be what he wants to be? Do you relate to Sullivan’s struggle to live up to his family name? Do you relate to Randall’s struggle to be accepted and have friends?
MU HAS emotional depth, if you choose to see it. If you relate to guys like these. If you honestly can say “that monster reminds me a lot of myself”.
[spoiler]THANK YOU. I honestly wonder if the people claiming this film has no emotion ever had any trouble in college or struggled with the idea of whether or not they’d even go. A lot of the biggest film critics are baby boomers with Masters in English or Film Studies.
Mike’s feelings in MU are EXTREMELY relevant to the kids who grew up on the original MI right now - I totally blew my first attempt at college and seeing Mike struggle through those depressed feelings of “I thought I knew what I would be but maybe I’m just not cut out for anything special” just killed me because they nailed that feeling.[/spoiler]
I don’t see how people think that it [spoil]lacks emotional depth.
Pixar made it clear in a few scenes, most notably when Sulley pours his heart to Mike, and to a lesser extent the Field Trip scene.
I think part of it is because this movie had a lot of comedy in it, and I guess people take it less seriously because of it. Somehow the comedy overshadows the emotional parts? I don’t think so, I’m just playing devil’s advocate here.[/spoil]
I wouldn’t be surprised. People act like humor is somehow lower quality or easier to write in general. You’d think people who have studied storytelling professionally like critics would know better and yet… >_>