Monsters University

True to the spirit of the original film, "Monsters Inc.", and matches its tone. But it never seems content to turn over old ground. Read full review

Speaking of second chances, Monsters University is exactly the rebound Pixar needed after 2011's "Cars 2" left some wondering if the studio had lost its magic. Read full review

It’s easily the most enjoyable animated film so far this year, one that is visually stunning, wickedly subversive, incredibly funny (Day's character is a hoot), and (at times) lump-in-your-throat emotional. Read full review

Keep your ears tuned for Helen Mirren as the imperious Dean Hardscrabble. Hogwarts would have loved her. Read full review

While Monsters University can’t claim outright originality, this is a far richer movie than most were expecting. Read full review

The animation is photoreal – startlingly and mesmerisingly so. And the depth of feeling the tale of their friendship evokes is matched only by your incredulity, as you paw at your eyes six minutes later, that you are crying about two computer-generated umbrellas. Read full review

Dazzlingly clever and hugely funny, it succeeds both as a broadening of the Monsters universe and as a film in its own right. Monsters University had a tough task, and it’s passed with honours. Read full review

Monsters University aces a two-part test—first, appealing to kids with gorgeous, hyperrealistic animation that teases out every pink hair on a beastly art student; then luring in parents with several knowing jokes about strumming your guitar on the quad or playing beer pong. Read full review

Even when the story mechanics feel more than a bit secondhand, the exquisite interplay of vibrant pastel hues and almost photorealist textures (smoothly but not crucially enhanced in 3D) makes the film a continual pleasure to behold. Read full review

A charming, family friendly endeavor and, although it falls short of the best Pixar has brought to the screen over its long association with Disney, it's nevertheless worth a trip to the theater, especially for kids. Read full review

The visuals are impressive, while the goodhearted and endearing story is a little slight. Read full review

Crystal, 65, and Goodman, 61, are a long time out of college, but they somehow manage to carry off the callowness of youth. Read full review

It's all infectious fun, despite the lack of originality. In the art of tickling funny bones, Crystal and Goodman earn straight A's. Read full review

The ending takes an unfortunate detour that stretches the running time, but this is still quality Pixar work.

True to its name, Monsters University brims with cleverly designed creatures, a student body worthy of the recently deceased Ray Harryhausen. What the movie lacks is its precursor’s human ace-in-the-hole—that pint-sized, inadvertent agent of chaos, Boo. Read full review

The movie is mostly fun and ultimately disposable, which is a letdown after Pixar's previous greatness. Read full review

Monsters University, the latest Pixar offering, charms in an excessively familiar way that illustrates a troublesome eventuality: Pixar has lost its edge. Read full review

Though this is a sweet, clever, gorgeously animated movie I’d be glad to take my kid to on a Saturday afternoon, I’m not sure it’s one I’d insist all my grownup friends drop what they’re doing to see. Read full review

Perhaps only Pixar could give us such a rare beast: a delightful disappointment. Read full review

It’s cute, funny, exciting to look at but not quite magical. Read full review

What hasn't advanced is the plotting, which was nothing special last time and is so formulaic now that it's basically surprise-free. Read full review

The background designs are beautiful and there are plenty of lively sight gags, but magic isn’t in the cards. Read full review

Though colorful and sweet-natured and occasionally capable of producing the mild chuckle, this is a safe, predictable, edge-free, nearly bland effort from a studio that rarely hedges its bets. Read full review

Despite its brainy title, Monsters University only earns a passing grade on its looks. Read full review

This is not a bad movie, and to small children it will be a very good one. But it is closer to average than one would wish from the company that gave us “Up,” “Wall-E,” “The Incredibles,” and “Toy Story 3." Read full review

Monsters University is a prequel that is far more conventional, not nearly as witty or clever as that original. Read full review

Pixar falls back on the tried and tested in an entertaining caper that will be a surefire kid pleaser this summer. Old favourites are always welcome, but it would have been nice to see some more new ideas too. Read full review

As a piece of summer entertainment, this strenuously upbeat prequel to Pixar's "Monsters, Inc." passes with vibrant colors and will, of course, excel at the box office...But as an offering from Pixar, the studio that set the platinum standard for contemporary animated features, it's an awful disappointment — and one more reason to worry about Pixar's future under Disney ownership.

While it’s a visual enchantment (there’s a knockout compendium of horror film clichés), its reversion to a largely male domain after “Brave,” its first and only female-driven story, is a drag. Read full review

The movie is not up to the company’s highest standards, but it’s certainly better than most other kid flicks you’ll see this year. Read full review

Monsters University feels not like the work of artists eager to express something but like that of likable pros whose existence depends on getting a rise out the kids. It's like the scares Sully and Mike spring on those sleeping tykes: technically impressive but a job un-anchored to anything more meaningful. Read full review

A fun, disposable watch. Read full review

This is design work of the highest caliber and it is impossible to not enjoy simply watching these little buggers run around. It is unfortunate, however, that the creativity, originality and propulsive storytelling found in the original “Monsters Inc.” just didn’t matriculate with them. Read full review

The animation is snappy in the way it handles an extremely eclectic-looking bunch of monsters. The 3-D effects are nifty but, as with so much about "MU," not necessary. Read full review

Less an awful movie than a totally uninspired one. The under-5 set may find it funny, though I suspect their parents will be checking their watches a lot, as I did. Read full review

Monsters University feels half-hearted and lazy, like they weren’t even trying. At least show a little effort, guys. Read full review

No better or worse than the average (and I mean average) time-filling sequel cranked out by other animation houses. Read full review

It’s not like Monsters University is a bad movie. It’s just not a terribly interesting one. Read full review

Unfortunate proof that the animation studio previously known for its brains is now resting a little too heavily on its nominal brawn. Read full review

A humdrum straight line of a film, Monsters University never surprises, goes off in unexpected directions or throws you for a loop in the manner of the best Pixar stories. Nor does it come close to elating through the sheer imagination of its conceits and storytelling. Read full review

What Monsters University fails to do, though, is to scare up any real emotion. Read full review