Monsters University

     Disney and Pixar's latest hit, Monsters University, tells the story of how Mike Wazowski and James "Sulley" Sullivan from the 2001 film Monsters Inc. first met. It's a tale of rivalry, friendship, scares, and self-discovery, but when you get right down to it, it's a story about Mike. Far from his role in Monsters Inc. where we often saw Mike sidelined behind Sulley's super-stardom as top scarer ("I can't believe I'm on a magazine cover!"), here he is front and center for most of the movie, and it's certainly the better for it.

     In Monsters University, we first meet Mike as a kid, a miniature version of the

 monster we already know, at the same time already just as geeky, neurotic, and comically ignored as his future self. On a field trip to the scare factory that is Monsters Inc., however, the first sparks of his dream are kindled. There Mike first visits the scare floor, first sees how the business of scaring takes place, and (through a bit of sneaking and perhaps taking advantage of the fact that nobody pays attention to him) he gets to witness firsthand one of MI's professional scarers at work. The experience launches a lifelong obsession for Mike, a goal he sets for himself at that very moment: to become a scarer.

    

    Flash forward to the first day at school for Monsters U, where Mike stands at the 

cusp of his dream. He gets set up with his new roommate, enrolls in classes, and starts off on his journey to, as he puts it "ace all my classes, graduate with honors, and break the world scare record." Unfortunately, this proves to be a less easy task than Mike had hoped, considering that, well, he isn't scary. In fact, he is so un-scary that he ends up kicked out of the entire scaring program.
What's a monster to do?

     Enter the Scare Games, of course! Seeing it as his only way back into the scaring program, Mike makes a public bet with Dean Hardscrabble, head of the scaring program, that if he and his team win the Scare Games, they will be admitted into the program. If they lose, however, they'll face expulsion. What becomes of our unlikely hero? Check out Disney & Pixar's Monsters University to find out!

     

Monsters University, now playing in theaters nationwide.