Kernel Rating (out of 5): 
MPAA Rating: G Length: 110 minutes
Age Appropriate for: 6+. The film will probably work best for children who have already seen “Monsters, Inc.,” because although it’s a prequel, it’s nice to have a familiarity with these characters when seeing this film. It’s a parody of college movies, but there’s nothing questionable; the only scary things might be a headmistress who is part-dragon, part-centipede, a librarian with lots of tentacles, and a sequence when the characters want to scare some humans and rely on familiar ghost tricks to do so.
‘Monsters University’ isn’t the most creative film in the world—it’s a sendup of college movies that sticks very close to the expected formula—but man, if it isn’t wonderful. Infused with childlike wonder and giddy glee, it’s a great rivalry story until it turns into a great friendship story, and we know Pixar does those best of all.
By Roxana Hadadi
It’s not that Pixar has been on a losing streak lately, not exactly. But 2011’s “Cars 2” and 2012’s “Brave” just didn’t compare to 2010’s “Toy Story 3”; few movies, animated or not, can. And yet “Monsters University,” although not the most creative thing around, is such, such a wonderful return to the “Monsters, Inc.,” universe we were introduced to back in 2001. It may have been a decade, but unlikely friends Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan haven’t aged a bit. In fact, they’ve gotten younger—and the film is permeated with a pleasant, youthful energy that works well off of that shift. If you see any children’s movie this summer, make it this one.
