E Unit

Just read this over at Totalfilm. I enjoyed the first one, so hopefully this will be just as fun.



http://www.totalfilm.com/news/monste...b+aggregate%29


Monsters Inc 2 is officially titled Monsters University
Could be a prequel

Pixar have officially announced the title for their new Monsters, Inc. movie, revealing it will be called Monsters University.

Making the announcement at the ongoing CinemaCon, the studio would unveil nothing further about the movie other than its natty new moniker.

Rumours about the plot, however, precede them. Talk on the street is that Monsters University will be a prequel rather than a sequel.

The rumoured plot would show how monsters Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (voiced by John Goodman) wind up as best friends at the University of Fear, after starting out as enemies.

Though prequels can generally be a bit of a pain, there’s no doubt that Pixar are world-leaders in movie quality – we’re sure they can pull off another stellar follow-up.

kstublen

Could go either way really. Could be a prequel with Mike and Sully at University and becoming best friends or it could be Mike and Sully go to University as professors to teach students.

I'm not super excited to hear Monsters, Inc. is getting a sequel, if only because they said for so long that they wouldn't. But, Pixar really hasn't let me down yet. Everyone wants Pixar to fail, but in my eyes they haven't produced anything less than great. Even Cars, which is arguably their worst film, is only "bad" in the sense that it isn't as good as the rest of the Pixar catalog. Cars 2 will probably be in that same category, though, as always, I'll reserve judgment until I see the final product.

Monsters University, either way, could be good or bad. While I would much rather have seen Newt or The Bear And The Bow Brave before another sequel, Pixar has given us enough quality over the years that I'm willing to defer to their judgment. If they didn't think Newt would work, then I believe that it wouldn't have worked; if they feel they have a worthwhile sequel to Monsters, Inc. then I trust that it will live up to the original and offer something new.

At least this is my thinking until Pixar shows me otherwise.

Michael Corvin

I'm skeptical of all these Pixar sequels as of late, but making this a prequel actually sounds intriguing. The plot actually sounds pretty solid.

Superman07

I think we're beginning to see the the influence of Disney buying them out. There's probably more to the story of why Newt was dropped and all of these sequels are coming out.

Monsters Inc. wasn't bad, but I'm only looking forward to this slightly more than Cars 2 - and that's not much.

pinata242

I'm willing to give this a shot. I love Monster's Inc and I want more of that world. That said, I think my love came mostly of the father/daughter relationship Sully had with Boo (being a father of a young girl at the time). I can't even think of the final scene without tearing up.

I don't know how they'd make a satisfying sequel so I'm all up for a prequel, even if it doesn't have the heart of the original.

PopcornTreeCt

Has Pixar decided to get into the DTV game? That's what this sounds like.

Michael Corvin

Actually it sounds like:

sauce07

I find it funny how people constantly question what Pixar is doing and every year they prove why they are the best. A rat wants to be a chef in a movie with a hard to pronounce title? BOMB. A robot all alone on a planet? Pixar is going down. An old man flying his house with balloons? Looks Stupid, bad idea.

Pixar obviously puts story #1 and when it's lacking they retool the project. Newt and Brave were cancelled for these problems. Monsters, Inc. 2 has been talked about for like 5 years, it's not like they are rushing into this. I'm gonna give them the respect they deserve and just trust that they came up with something good.

Sondheim

I may be in the minority, but "Monsters Inc." is my favorite and most re-watched Pixar film along with "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille." I don't know about a sequel/prequel, but I'll be cautiously excited about a chance to revisit the characters.

kstublen

Glad to see someone else agrees with me. Every time a new Pixar movie is announced, people immediately start to criticize it and seem eager to see Pixar fail. And every time the final product is released, as far as I'm concerned, those same people are proven wrong. Pixar has always represented the utmost quality in storytelling and animation.

I'm not saying that Pixar is perfect, but they're about as close as a studio can be to perfect. It doesn't mean they won't ever make a bad movie or make some mistakes along the way, but as of now they haven't released anything that wasn't a step up from the rest. I just think by now, after 16 years, we owe it to Pixar to give them the benefit of the doubt when they decide to move forward with a project. The day may come when they lose our trust, but today is not that day.

EDIT: Oh and The Bear And The Bow Brave hasn't been canceled. It's being released in 2012.

Michael Corvin

I actually feel the same as you but you can't help but think the worst when talking about sequels. Look at Disney's past or more recently Shrek being drove into the ground.

I have no doubt they'll give us a quality movie in this one. I'm more pessimistic about Cars 2 since the merchandise could easily drive that franchise into needless sequel territory.

NoirFan

I'm not too enthusiastic about sequels. I don't know if Monsters Inc. being my favorite Pixar film should make me more or less weary about the upcoming Part II.

sauce07

How about look at Pixar's past? Toy Story 2 & 3 really drove those franchises into the ground. If John Lasseter's sole reason for making Cars 2 was that he wanted the merchandising revenue he would've pawned it off to some second A.D., instead he is directing it himself. He obviously is attached to the Cars universe and has something else to say.

orangecrush

Toy Story 2 & 3 were both really good IMO. I would be less worried about Pixar than nearly every other studio.

Michael Corvin

Toy Story is obviously the exception to the rule. Point to another animated franchise where the sequel was as good as the original.

Groucho

The girl who voiced Boo is now 14, but she's listed as a cast member in IMDB. Maybe some sort of bookend with a teenaged Boo?

pinata242

Probably cameo role voicing another monster at MU. I just can't see them bringing a tween Boo into the mix.

sauce07

Pixar is the exception to the animated movie rule. Other studios and the sequels they produce mean nothing to me.

Terrell

Sequels to hit movies are all but guaranteed money. The studios know this, and Pixar is no different than all the other studios in Hollywood when it comes to taking gambles. They know a quality sequel to one of their films is no gamble at all. It's a safe bet. That's why they do it.

But I too would rather them make original films than sequels. For what it's worth, Disney didn't fall because they made sequels. In fact, they made no sequels to their animated films, except for direct to TV stuff, and those are irrelevant to the discussion. They fell because the quality of their films fell, due to poor management and bad decision making. Thankfully, they seem to have righted themselves with Enchanted, The Princess and the Frog, and Tangled.

Groucho

Really? I predict some sort of "too old to believe in monsters" sub-plot.

kstublen

For any other studio or franchise or director, I would agree with you. But the sequels we've got from Pixar thus far (Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3) have been nothing short of phenomenal.

It also just seems unfair to compare Pixar doing sequels to Disney's history with sequels. If you look at the Disney Canon releases, there are really only a few sequels (The Three Caballeros, The Rescuers Down Under, and Fantasia 2000). Despite going through some slumps in creativity and productivity, in nearly 60 years Disney never fully embraced the idea of producing sequels. It wasn't until the early-to-mid '90s that Disney started churning out the crappy Direct-to-Video sequels.

So while Pixar has embraced the idea of sequels much sooner, and with more frequency, than Disney, it's definitely comparing apples to oranges. Once Pixar starts spitting out Direct-to-Video sequels and prequels for Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and A Bug's Life, then I'll concede the point. But as of now we don't have Finding Nemo II: Journey to the Atlantic or P.T. Flea's Circus Hits the Road or WALL-E Jr., so I see no cause for concern.

I do agree about Cars though, if only because I'm aware of the merchandising issue. While certainly not their best movie, I really do like Cars; it's actually a very fun movie and beautiful to look at. But you're right, if there is one Pixar movie that seems as though it could head into unnecessary sequel territory, Cars is the one. So while I am slightly concerned, I'm still willing to give them the benefit of the doubt until I see it.

But yeah, Monsters University I'm not worried at all about. And it still surprises me that they haven't made a sequel to The Incredibles, since of all the movies they've made it seems the most logical in terms of a follow-up movie. So that should say something about their creative process as well, since they haven't rushed into a super hero sequel, which other studios would likely have done by now.

Pizza

Sequels are a bad sign that they can't get original material going. Granted the Toy Story series is grand and I have no doubt Pixar will be putting they're best foot forward. Still, I rather see something new and inventive, but that does come with risks, especially following a long, long line of near perfection.

pinata242

Then that would betray the ending of MI. We were led to believe that Sully visited Boo fairly frequently. AND, technically, we have no idea how long passed then. It may have been years for all we know.

kstublen

Pixar is the exception to pretty much any movie rule.

Fair enough. And I have no problem with that as long as they feel they have actual stories to tell and keep their commitment to quality, which they have done so far. Cars 2 will be very telling since it's their first non-Toy Story sequel, but I have faith that it will be a worthwhile movie and Pixar won't let me down.

I would love for them to make original films rather than sequels as well, but if putting off an original movie for a while means we get something like Toy Story 2 or Toy Story 3, then I'm perfectly okay with that. I can't imagine them having not made Toy Story 3 at this point, since it really is the story coming full circle to completion. That movie is the epitome of a necessary sequel.

Yep. There are a few sequels, as I mentioned above, but Disney's fall was, as you said, because of a decline in quality and poor management.

Enchanted, which I was reluctant to see, totally changed the game. Disney's return to 2D animation and a wonderful tribute to the fairytale princess genre got them back on track; and The Princess and the Frog was great as well, even though some of the songs were rather forgettable.

For what it's worth, and not to get too far off topic, Disney to me has always been and will always be 2D cel animation. I don't include Dinosaur, Treasure Planet, Brother Bear, Home on the Range, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, Bolt, or Tangled in my Disney Collection, since they're either 3D Animation or of such a low quality I don't care to have them associated with the rest. While The Emperor's New Groove and Atlantis: The Lost Empire aren't the best Disney has to offer, they deserve a spot as glimmers of hope in an otherwise dry period for Disney and Lilo & Stitch earns a spot because it was a diamond in the rough. Things definitely picked back up with Enchanted and The Princess and the Frog though, and I'm highly anticipating Winnie the Pooh as well.

Or that the story isn't quite finished yet; as was the case with Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

And while we are seeing, for the first time, Pixar release three sequels (Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Monsters University) back-to-back-to-back, that doesn't mean they're running out of ideas or having problems with original material. We also recently got WALL-E and Up and we're getting The Bear and the Bow Brave after Monsters University. Just because they've decided to do a few sequels doesn't mean the well has run dry. And while some might think sequels are easier since you're working in a predefined universe with familiar characters, I think Pixar views sequels as more of a challenge because they know they set the bar so high with the original movies.

pinata242

So are you saying the impact of Ranft's death is starting to be felt?

With the exception of Cars, I've loved every single one of Pixar's movies, even the sequels. I have no interest in Cars 2, not because it's a sequel, but because it's fucking Cars.