Pass marks for scary freshmen
By Jake Coyle |
June 30, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
In Pixar's "Monsters University," a prequel to 2001 "Monsters, Inc.," our expert "scarers" to be - the wisecracking pipsqueak Mike Wazowski and the burly James B. Sullivan - are college freshmen with high aspirations.
Pixar, too, knows something about expectations. Thanks to the gentle poetry of "Up," the cosmic romance of "WALL-E" and the unlikely artist portrait of "Ratatouille," the mantle is high for Pixar, a paragon of pop culture.
But lately, the studio hasn't been living up to its uniquely high standard. "Monsters University" follows two subpar efforts, "Cars 2" and "Brave," both of which lacked Pixar's usual inventiveness. The digital animation outfit, it turned out, is human after all.
"Monsters University" is neither a bold return to form nor another misfire, but a charming, colorful coming-of-age tale that would be a less qualified success for all but Pixar. The profusion of sequels is indeed dismaying for a studio that so frequently has prized originality. But "Monsters University" is nevertheless pleasant, amiably animated family entertainment.
A big reason is because Wazowski and Billy Crystal remain one of the best toon-voice actor combinations in animation. A lime green ball with spindly appendages, he's little more than one big eyeball. But it's Wazowski's mouth that's his dominant feature. He's ceaselessly chipper, with a stand-up's penchant for sarcasm.
He arrives on campus an eager, retainer-mouthed bookworm with his heart set on becoming a star pupil in Monster University's prestigious and competitive Scare Program, and moving on to his dream career at Monsters, Inc.
The professional scarers are like rock stars in Monstropolis, and Wazowski, blind to his diminutive size and total lack of fright-inducing menace, dreams of making the big leagues.
For Sully (John Goodman), such a future is presumed. He's "a Sullivan," a legacy, the son of a famous scarer. Blessed with a powerful roar, he boasts all the natural talent Wazowski lacks. One a jock of privilege, the other a wide-eyed aspirant: Neither can stand the other.
But both find themselves kicked out of the Scare Program by the cruel Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), a kind of winged centipede. Their only way back in is to win the Scare Games, a tradition of competing fraternities.
Ultimately, the film makes a surprisingly sharp lesson on the hard truths of limited talent (giftedness remains an intriguing Pixar theme seen previously in "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille"), but also of the great value in plucky determination. Pixar's "Monsters University" might not be as gifted as some of its other movies, but sometimes it's alright to be OK.
(Living) dead-cert summer hit
Jocelyn Noveck
Might there be a real-life zombie apocalypse one day? Not likely, but then again, the way zombies have chomped their way into our pop culture the last several years, it's maybe a bit less implausible than it once was.
What is increasingly quite plausible, alas, is a scary global pandemic, and "World War Z," the long-awaited Brad Pitt thriller, cleverly melds that real-life threat into the more fanciful zombie premise. Talk about more bang for your buck: Once you've settled back into your seat after a good snarling zombie chase, there's nothing like the thought of a SARS outbreak to get the blood racing.
But let's just say right here that the one apocalypse you won't see in "World War Z," is an artistic one. There was lots of talk about this mega-budget 3D movie, co-produced by Pitt and directed by Marc Forster, falling on its US$200-million-plus face, what with a postponed release, a re-shot ending, endless script drafts and major crew changes along the way.
But it's pretty much what you'd want in a summer blockbuster: scary but not-too-gross zombies, a fast-paced journey to exotic locales, thrilling action scenes, and did we mention Brad Pitt?
Oh right, we did. Surely this isn't a performance to rival Pitt's work in "Moneyball" or "The Tree of Life," but given the lack of time for nuanced character development, it hardly seems meant to be. What Pitt offers the film is pretty much what his character, a level-headed former UN investigator, offers the endangered planet: Nothing too flashy, just a comfortable, intelligent presence that keeps things grounded and just might win the day.
That last part remains to be seen: The filmmakers hope "World War Z" is just the first in a franchise.
We begin in Philadelphia, on a sunny morning in the kitchen of Gerry Lane (Pitt), his wife Karin (Mireille Enos), and their two daughters. As the family drives off for the day, though, life changes in an instant. The streets are suddenly and terrifyingly overrun by packs of wild, raging zombies.
Amid the mayhem, occasional touches of humor - one serving as a prudent reminder to turn off those. Cellphones also happen to awaken zombies ...
Pixar, too, knows something about expectations. Thanks to the gentle poetry of "Up," the cosmic romance of "WALL-E" and the unlikely artist portrait of "Ratatouille," the mantle is high for Pixar, a paragon of pop culture.
But lately, the studio hasn't been living up to its uniquely high standard. "Monsters University" follows two subpar efforts, "Cars 2" and "Brave," both of which lacked Pixar's usual inventiveness. The digital animation outfit, it turned out, is human after all.
"Monsters University" is neither a bold return to form nor another misfire, but a charming, colorful coming-of-age tale that would be a less qualified success for all but Pixar. The profusion of sequels is indeed dismaying for a studio that so frequently has prized originality. But "Monsters University" is nevertheless pleasant, amiably animated family entertainment.
A big reason is because Wazowski and Billy Crystal remain one of the best toon-voice actor combinations in animation. A lime green ball with spindly appendages, he's little more than one big eyeball. But it's Wazowski's mouth that's his dominant feature. He's ceaselessly chipper, with a stand-up's penchant for sarcasm.
He arrives on campus an eager, retainer-mouthed bookworm with his heart set on becoming a star pupil in Monster University's prestigious and competitive Scare Program, and moving on to his dream career at Monsters, Inc.
The professional scarers are like rock stars in Monstropolis, and Wazowski, blind to his diminutive size and total lack of fright-inducing menace, dreams of making the big leagues.
For Sully (John Goodman), such a future is presumed. He's "a Sullivan," a legacy, the son of a famous scarer. Blessed with a powerful roar, he boasts all the natural talent Wazowski lacks. One a jock of privilege, the other a wide-eyed aspirant: Neither can stand the other.
But both find themselves kicked out of the Scare Program by the cruel Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren), a kind of winged centipede. Their only way back in is to win the Scare Games, a tradition of competing fraternities.
Ultimately, the film makes a surprisingly sharp lesson on the hard truths of limited talent (giftedness remains an intriguing Pixar theme seen previously in "The Incredibles" and "Ratatouille"), but also of the great value in plucky determination. Pixar's "Monsters University" might not be as gifted as some of its other movies, but sometimes it's alright to be OK.
(Living) dead-cert summer hit
Jocelyn Noveck
Might there be a real-life zombie apocalypse one day? Not likely, but then again, the way zombies have chomped their way into our pop culture the last several years, it's maybe a bit less implausible than it once was.
What is increasingly quite plausible, alas, is a scary global pandemic, and "World War Z," the long-awaited Brad Pitt thriller, cleverly melds that real-life threat into the more fanciful zombie premise. Talk about more bang for your buck: Once you've settled back into your seat after a good snarling zombie chase, there's nothing like the thought of a SARS outbreak to get the blood racing.
But let's just say right here that the one apocalypse you won't see in "World War Z," is an artistic one. There was lots of talk about this mega-budget 3D movie, co-produced by Pitt and directed by Marc Forster, falling on its US$200-million-plus face, what with a postponed release, a re-shot ending, endless script drafts and major crew changes along the way.
But it's pretty much what you'd want in a summer blockbuster: scary but not-too-gross zombies, a fast-paced journey to exotic locales, thrilling action scenes, and did we mention Brad Pitt?
Oh right, we did. Surely this isn't a performance to rival Pitt's work in "Moneyball" or "The Tree of Life," but given the lack of time for nuanced character development, it hardly seems meant to be. What Pitt offers the film is pretty much what his character, a level-headed former UN investigator, offers the endangered planet: Nothing too flashy, just a comfortable, intelligent presence that keeps things grounded and just might win the day.
That last part remains to be seen: The filmmakers hope "World War Z" is just the first in a franchise.
We begin in Philadelphia, on a sunny morning in the kitchen of Gerry Lane (Pitt), his wife Karin (Mireille Enos), and their two daughters. As the family drives off for the day, though, life changes in an instant. The streets are suddenly and terrifyingly overrun by packs of wild, raging zombies.
Amid the mayhem, occasional touches of humor - one serving as a prudent reminder to turn off those. Cellphones also happen to awaken zombies ...
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