Monsters University

Summer is here and along with it is a long list of new flicks, from tame animated adventures to dark, action-packed themed productions and everything in between. My kids (two of whom are teens) have pretty much moved beyond the cute Disney movies filled with cartoon creatures in favor of super-hero scenes played by Hollywood actors. However, everyone seemed on board with going to see Monsters University, which thrilled me.

It's been a dozen years since its predecessor, Monsters, Inc. was released and I can't tell you how many times that DVD played over and over in this house. Maybe that's why I didn't get any resistance from the boys when it came to seeing the prequel. I think they're as nostalgic as I am and the thought of it brought back good memories of snuggle time and Sully bed sheets.

Anyway, on to the movie. Although it might have seemed the characters couldn't be any more lovable, taking them back to their younger days just made them adorable squared (I can't figure out how to make that symbol work on my keyboard.)

The movie returns you to when Sully and Mike Wazowski met and follows their friendship and the two worked to become successful scarers. The same great actors, John Goodman and Billy Crystal lent their voices, which was essential.

I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that it offered all the good themes and lessons that you'd hope that young kids would walk away with -- the importance of friendship, rooting for the underdog, not bowing to the bullies, how perseverance and hard work pay off and many others feel-good themes.

On a scale of one to 10, I give Monsters University 8 buckets of popcorn.