Monsters University

Monsters University both thrives and struggles under the strictures of a prequel. The big advantage of returning to the world of Monsters, Inc. is that it was such a well realised concept first time around. University imagines this monsters’ parallel universe in the familiar college movie genre – complete with nerds, jocks and weirdos; an Animal House with actual animals.

Pixar’s humour is razor sharp, here, filling each frame with almost imperceptible sight gags and hilariously impractical monsters, like a legless slug playing hacky sack. It’s a pleasure to be back in such a fun alternate world and, by throwing every joke possible at the screen, this is not only one of the studio’s funniest films, it’s also one of the best comedies of the year.

However, revisiting Mike and Sully only serves to highlight a crucial aspect that’s missing: invention. Monsters University, however funny, leaves you longing for a time when the new Pixar film was original and fresh, and not a recycled past glory. [Nathanael Smith]