Monsters University facts for kids

Logo of 2013 film 'Monsters University'

Monsters University is a 2013 computer-animated comedy movie. It is a prequel to Monsters, Inc. that has Sulley and Mike at university before they became friends. It was directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae. John Goodman, Billy Crystal, and Steve Buscemi reprised their voice-roles as Sulley, Mike, and Randall for the movie.

Cast

• Billy Crystal as Michael "Mike" Wazowski
  • Noah Johnston as Young Mike
• John Goodman as James P. "Sulley" Sullivan
• Steve Buscemi as Randall "Randy" Boggs
• Joel Murray as Don Carlton, the founding member of Oozma Kappa fraternity
• Sean Hayes as Terri Perry, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
• Dave Foley as Terry Perry, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
• Peter Sohn as Scott "Squishy" Squibbles, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
• Charlie Day as Art, an Oozma Kappa fraternity member
• Frank Oz as Jeff Fungus
• Helen Mirren as Dean Hardscrabble, the headmistress at Monsters University.
• Alfred Molina as Professor Knight
• Nathan Fillion as Johnny Worthington, president of Roar Omega Roar
• Aubrey Plaza as Claire Wheeler, Greek Council president
• Tyler Labine as Brock Pearson, Greek Council vice-president
• John Krasinski as "Frightening" Frank McCay
• Bonnie Hunt as Karen Graves, Mike's grade school teacher
• Bobby Moynihan as Chet Alexander, a Roar Omega Roar fraternity member
• Julia Sweeney as Ms. Squibbles, Scott's mother
• Beth Behrs as Carrie Williams, leader of Python Nu Kappa sorority
• John Ratzenberger as Abominable Snowman

Development

A second movie of Monsters, Inc. had been planned since 2005. Following disagreements between then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-Pixar owner Steve Jobs, Disney (who at the time owned the rights to make sequels to all of Pixar's films until the movie Cars was released) announced that a sequel to Monsters, Inc. would be made by Circle 7 Animation. Circle 7 were also working on an early draft of Toy Story 3 at the time.

The movie was originally going to be named Monsters, Inc. 2: Lost in Scaradise. The movie would have been about Mike and Sulley visiting the human world to give Boo a birthday present. However, they find out that she had moved to a different house. After getting trapped in the human world, Mike and Sulley split up after disagreeing on what to do (Sulley wanting to look for Boo, Mike wanting to find a way to get back to Monstropolis).

Screenwriters Rob Muir and Bob Hilgenberg were hired to write the script. They storyboarded an early draft of the script.

A sequel made by Pixar was officially announced in 2010. The movie was originally planned to be released on November 16, 2012. However, it was later changed to November 2, 2012 (eleven years to the day after the release of its predecessor) to avoid direct competition with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2. On April 5, 2011, it was announced that the film's release date had been pushed back farther to June 21, 2013 due to the success of Pixar movies that are released in the summer. This is according to Disney distribution executive Chuck Viane. It will be the studios' fourteenth feature film.

In early 2011, there were claims that Monsters, Inc. 2 was going to be a prequel which focuses on Sulley and Mike's studies at the University of Fear, where they start off as rivals but soon become best friends. This is similar to how Woody and Buzz Lightyear start off in the first Toy Story. On March 29, 2011, it was confirmed that the movie will indeed be a prequel and the new title Monsters University was shown. The movie will be directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae. It was also announced that John Goodman, Billy Crystal and Steve Buscemi will be reprising their roles. New voice cast includes Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Joel Murray, and Peter Sohn.

On August 12, 2011 Billy Crystal went to a 20th anniversary screening of City Slickers. When he was asked about his return to the role of Mike Wazowski he said, "That's why I'm a little hoarse. I spent five-and-a-half hours today for our fourth session on Monsters Inc. 2." Crystal has said that he and co-star John Goodman are having a blast together and describes the script as "really great" and "hilarious". Crystal also gave little details of the story of the movie. He described, "It's college pranks with monsters. And I wear a retainer. Mike has a retainer."

See also

In Spanish: Monsters University para niños