I find it really interesting that the message of Monsters University is basically ‘you don’t have to go to college’ also and ‘dreams aren’t the only thing that can make you happy’, because Mike never becomes a scarer, not the kind he dreamed about in school. He’s Sulley’s manager/assistant/corner man, he’s not the guy jumping out of closets and flashing his teeth.
Mike risks his life, risks being trapped in the human world to prove his scariness–and he still never gets there. And he’s happy anyway.
How many stories give you a character who failed at their dream and are happy?
The kids who grew up watching Monsters Inc and all those other Disney/Pixar movies, all they’ve been hearing throughout their childhood is that what they really need is a Dream, a Passion, and then they’ll have it made, the outline of their life that they need to follow, all that’s left is effort. Except–it doesn’t really work like that, because there are 50-year-old waitresses and janitors and I can guarantee you this isn’t what they dreamed of when they were young, but they can still be happy. Because you are not your job, you are not a goal, you are not a failure if you don’t satisfy a childhood dream.
But everyone likes to pretend otherwise for some reason, and you’re left with a young adult whose image of college is that of a test which will define the rest of their life. Unlearning that image isn’t easy, because so many things reinforce it.
Except this movie.
It’s so interesting to me how much of it’s directed at the generation that’s grown up already. Hopefully its messages will linger with the new kids, too.
I need to see Monsters U now
