“MONSTERS UNIVERSITY” TAKES THE PREQUEL CHALLENGE
Prequels are taking trends in the movies recently. It all started with Star Wars because most were curious what happened in the Clone Wars. Recently, The Hobbit movie was shown as a prequel for The Lord Of The Rings although it was written ahead and Lord Of The Rings was really a sequel. Monsters University follows suit to explore the world of Monsters. Below is an official release article from the production.
“MONSTERS
UNIVERSITY” TAKES THE PREQUEL CHALLENGE
Ever
since “Monsters, Inc.” opened in theaters on Nov. 2, 2001, the team at Pixar
Animation Studios knew that Mike, Sulley and the monster world had touched
audiences worldwide in a significant way. So the idea of bringing them back to
the big screen in “Monsters University” was a welcome one. How to do it,
exactly, was another story—literally.
Says
executive producer John Lasseter, “When we create an original film at Pixar, by
the time we’re done with it, we know the characters—they’re like friends;
they’re like family; they’re part of us. It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye
to characters like that. It’s so much fun to start thinking of new ideas that
you can do in a world you already love, but we had to come up with a story that
is as good or better than the original.”
To
fuel Pixar Animation Studios’ well known collaborative process, the creative
leadership team, dubbed “the brain trust,” hosted a brainstorming session,
inviting some of Pixar’s best storytellers, including several members of the
original “Monsters, Inc.” team. The idea of doing a prequel was certainly
appealing to this group. Imagining the backstory for Mike and Sulley—a natural
part of the filmmaking process—had been happening since the original film was
made.
But
filmmakers were well aware of the challenges surrounding prequels. Says
co-screenwriter Robert L. Baird, “When the idea came up, we said, ‘Okay, let’s
go back through movie history and study all the great prequels.’ Then we
realized we couldn’t think of any.”
Explains
director Dan Scanlon, “One of the challenges with a prequel is that by
definition, everyone knows how the story ends. So it can be difficult to
uncover the drama because we already know everything’s going to work out. It’s
hard to define those stakes. You have to learn something new about the
characters—which we ultimately do in ‘MU.’ We had to push the drama far enough
that it almost threatened the way people felt about these characters, while
ensuring that when the movie ends, we actually do the opposite by bringing the
audience even closer to Mike and Sulley.”
Adds
producer Kori Rae. “It can be insanely difficult to make a prequel that isn’t
predictable—to create a story with unexpected twists and turns and surprising
character arcs. But the storytellers really dug deep and developed details
about these characters to make a fun, yet emotional plot that audiences will
never see coming.”
According
to story supervisor Kelsey Mann, knowing how the story ends actually presented
filmmakers with some exciting opportunities. “You may know where they’re going
to end up,” says Mann, “but you don’t know how they got there. So it’s the
journey that really matters, an idea that ultimately underscores the whole
movie.”
Scanlon
agrees. “The whole filmmaking process mirrors the path our characters take in
this movie. It’s not a straight line from beginning to end—but one filled with
dips and peaks, left turns and a lot of rerouting. But—like Mike’s story—it all
works out exactly like it should.”
The
director tips his hat to his Pixar team. “The collaborative environment here is
unique and extremely valuable. I get feedback from some of the most talented
people in the industry. I’m not expected to incorporate all of it—or any of
it—but I’m better because of it. And so is the film. You better believe I
relate to Mike and Sulley’s story.”
Their
journey isn’t easy, to be sure, but according to Scanlon—it’s an adventure.
“It’s a college movie, a coming-of-age story, so we wanted it to be really fun
and capture that experience of self-discovery. We’re definitely going for
laughs, but also an emotional story that’s relatable. The most important thing
for us is to tell a story that makes people feel good. Maybe someone’s just had
some failure in life or feels like a big dream has fallen apart. That person
might walk out of the theater feeling that there’s hope—that it happens to
everyone. Their dream might have to change course, but it’s not the end of the
world.”
Opening
across the Philippines on June 26
in Disney Digital 3D, 2D and regular theaters, “Monsters University” is
distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through
Columbia Pictures.
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