Monsters University

For the soundtrack, see Monsters University (soundtrack).
"Monsters, Inc. 2" redirects here. For the cancelled sequel to Monsters, Inc., see Monsters, Inc. 2: Lost in Scaradise.

Monsters University
An assemble of characters (including James P. Sullivan and Mike Wazowski) all stand towards the viewer with the University in the background. A large white banner reading the film's title (and its acronym "MU") and the production companies, Disney and Pixar, appear above the characters.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDan Scanlon
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Dan Scanlon
  • Dan Gerson
  • Robert L. Baird
Produced byKori Rae
Starring
Cinematography
  • Matt Aspbury (camera)
  • Jean-Claude Kalache (lighting)
Edited byGreg Snyder
Music byRandy Newman
Production
company
Distributed byWalt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures[a]
Release dates
  • June 5, 2013 (2013-06-05) (BFI Southbank)
  • June 21, 2013 (2013-06-21) (United States)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$200 million[1][2][3]
Box office$743.6 million[4]

Monsters University is a 2013 American animated coming-of-age comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures.[5] It is the prequel to Monsters, Inc. (2001). It was directed by Dan Scanlon (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Kori Rae, and written by Scanlon and the writing team of Dan Gerson and Robert L. Baird.[b] John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich served as the film's executive producers. The music for the film was composed and conducted by Randy Newman, making it his seventh collaboration with Pixar. Monsters University tells the story of the main characters of Monsters, Inc., James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and Mike Wazowski, and their time in college where they start off as bitter rivals but slowly become best friends. They are paired in a series of competitive scare-oriented events with their fraternity, and Wazowski ultimately learns that some things cannot be taught. John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi, Bob Peterson, and John Ratzenberger reprise their roles as James P. Sullivan, Mike Wazowski, Randall Boggs, Roz, and the Abominable Snowman, respectively, while the new cast were joined by Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Nathan Fillion and Aubrey Plaza, while Bonnie Hunt, who voiced Ms. Flint in the original film, voices Mike's childhood teacher Mrs. Karen Graves.

Disney, as the rights holder, had plans for a sequel to Monsters, Inc. since 2005. Following disagreements with Pixar, Disney tasked its Circle 7 Animation unit to make the film.[6] An early draft of the film was developed; Disney's purchase of Pixar in January 2006 led to the cancellation of Circle 7's version of the film.[7] A Pixar-made sequel was confirmed in 2010[5] and in 2011, it was confirmed that the film would instead be a prequel titled Monsters University.[8]

Monsters University premiered on June 5, 2013, at the BFI Southbank in London, England, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 21. It was accompanied in theaters by a short film, The Blue Umbrella, directed by Saschka Unseld.[9] The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $743 million worldwide against its $200 million production budget, making it the seventh highest-grossing film of 2013.[2][4] An animated short film titled Party Central, which takes place shortly after the events of Monsters University, premiered in fall 2013 before being released theatrically with Muppets Most Wanted in 2014.[10][11]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "2013 Feature Film Production Report" (PDF). FilmL.A. 2014. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Shockya was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference EOGlobesSnubs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b "Monsters University (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  5. ^ a b Graser, Marc (April 22, 2010). "Disney drawing 'Monsters Inc.' sequel". Variety. Archived from the original on January 20, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference circle7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Armstrong, Josh (March 5, 2012). "Bob Hilgenberg and Rob Muir on the Rise and Fall of Disney's Circle 7 Animation". Animated Views. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  8. ^ Breznican, Anthony (March 29, 2011). "Pixar announces 'Monsters Inc.' sequel is actually prequel". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  9. ^ Chai, Barbera (January 7, 2013). "Watch an Exclusive Clip of Pixar's New Short, 'The Blue Umbrella'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  10. ^ "The Walt Disney Studios Shares Never-Before-Revealed Details About Upcoming Animation Titles with Fans at D23 Expo". D23.com. August 15, 2013. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  11. ^ "The Story Behind the Story of Pixar's Party Central Short". Disney Insider. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.