The prequel to Monsters Inc. seems to have captured most of the magic of the first picture, but with mixed reviews, it won’t go down as one of Pixar’s finest moments. We take a look at some of the reviews ahead of the film’s release.

The good: “Execution matters. Verve, and energy, and inventiveness matter. And Monsters University is funny, fast, and likable, with occasional moments of real visual surprise and laugh-out-loud offhand gags,” say Vulture. “The result,” of Monsters University, says The Washington Post, “is a charming addition to the Monsters canon."

Check out the Monsters University trailer here

The fence sitters: “It's not a bad way to pass the time, but this is one origin story that could have just as well gone untold,” say Cinemalogue.com. “It's not trying to be bigger or better than the original. It's just trying to tell a good story with loveable characters in a new setting,” say 7M Pictures.

The Bad: “It's an awful disappointment-and one more reason to worry about Pixar's future under Disney ownership,” say The Wall Street journal. While The Los Angeles Times call it: “Mostly memorable for being fine but forgettable.” The Boston Herald call it, quite simply, “Depressingly uninspired.”

Watch John Goodman and Billy Crystal chat about the film

This amalgamation of reviews has resulted in 77% score on review aggregator sire Rotten Tomatoes – not bad at all, but not brilliant. Fans of the first film will no doubt want to catch the prequel to see how their favourite characters came to be, but the most ardent of film fans might not find enough here to keep them satisfied.

John GoodmanBilly Crystal
John Goodman and Billy Crystal play Sulley and Mike