Looking back to one’s college years and what is remembered the most could be a myriad of experiences including sleepless cram sessions, school pride in athletics, on-campus protests and stacks of cardboard pizza boxes. So what would the focus be in Monsters University?

Surprisingly, the scale of the tale is a small and simple, neither amplified by multiple layers or 3D glasses. The prequel to Monsters’ Inc. reveals how Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sullivan (John Goodman) met in college and overcame their differences to discover the best in each other while trying to get into the Monstropolis School of Scare. One is a devoted, overachieving scholar, the other a born natural and latest in a long bloodline of legendary scarers. One quick look and you know who is who, even though they haven’t gained the freshman fifteen quite yet. They don’t make a good first impression on...