(Warning: Minor Spoilers ahead)
Monsters University is a very character involved movie, and it's main characters Mike and Sully are a lot more dimensional and realistic then Pixar characters have been in a while, and definitely much more then the average modern day animated film. Mike (Billy Crystal) is someone that works hard but feels like he's always being shown up by Sully, who can just waltz in and get away with anything because of a family name and expectation to be scary. Meanwhile, Sully (John Goodman) feels like he can't live up to the Sullivan name and is a disappointment due to how he failed classes. The characters are ones that have been done before, but rarely to this level of depth, and the two play off each other excellently. The relationship between the two main characters isn't just played for the sarcastic insults they make toward each other, but in actually having them talk. They help each other, they hate each other, they argue with each other, they reveal their emotions to each other, and in they end, the friendship between them feels stronger because they were able to work through differences.Meanwhile, Despicable Me 2 doesn't care nearly as much about dimensional characters. They're more like devices used for jokes. That's not necessarily the worst possibility for characters, it's not like there particularly annoying or unlikable. Still, when the new character of Lucy (Kristen Wiig) is introduced, and a love story between her and Gru (Steve Carell) strikes up, their relationship, where the characters should be developed, is barely touched on. When they're doing detective work, it doesn't feel like they have any chemistry as a pair. Every conversation they have is just moving the plot forward, it doesn't feel at all like romance is beginning to kindle. They don't really have distinct personalities that separate themselves, so they can't differ or argue, and there's no romantic tension. Because of a lack of romantic tension, their bond isn't tested, they don't have to push through any differences or issues, and they also don't have any moment where passion is displayed between them. When Lucy decides to literally jump out of an airplane and use a hang glider just to get back to Gru, basically abandoning her job and quitting, it feels extremely unfounded. They haven't done anything together besides share one, tiny emotional scene, but it doesn't feel like you should come out of that with a strong love. Nothing about the two of them, ever, throughout the whole movie, says "passionate love".
Both films are also similar in that they display, or at least try to display, a few funny minor characters. You would think Dreamworks would do well with a colorful entourage, since they do it more of their movies then Pixar, but Despicable Me 2 feels like it's filled with wasted set-ups. Take Gru's oldest adopted daughter, Margo. Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), begins to date a pretentious and air-headed boy named Antonio (Moises Arias), and an overprotective Gru tries to keep him away. So okay, this could be a very solid basis for an emotional arc between Gru and Margo. Gru could learn that he eventually has to let her daughter go, and Margo can learn that she needs to be more thoughtful in who she wants to date. But, the arc ends with Margo being upset that Antonio has moved onto another girl, then being uncaringly whisked away by Gru for the epic action story to resume. Mind you, this is after the whole subplot is given only several lines of development, and a dance scene. Margo's plot is never bought up again afterwards, so we're not even sure if either Gru or Margo learned anything. We can really just assume Margo continued to date stupid guys that would break her heart, and Gru continued to be overprotective.
Even putting aside the undeveloped and unfinished character arcs, Margo and Antonio's couple is not given nearly enough jokes for the story to be worth putting in for comedic effect. Guess how many jokes the two of them get in the whole movie. (Drum roll please)...A whole one. Yeah, throughout the whole movie, they get two scenes and one joke. And it was a pretty good joke too. Antonio says he wants to play video games professionally, to which Margo begins to fawn over him and call him deep. I really wish they kept with this style of comedy throughout the rest of the movie, poking fun at dumb teenage relationships, but nothing else is done with them after that one exchange.As the supporting characters (along with the main) in M.U. show, Pixar is much better at creating full stories and characters then Dreamworks. The minor characters in Monsters University come in the form of the members of Oozma Kappa, the least respected, dorkiest fraternity in the college. Mike and Sully have to make the four members of O.K. into the scariest on campus, in order to win the difficult Scare Games so all of them to get back into the prestigious scaring program. The best example of a solid, subtle minor character is Don (Joel Murray), a salesman in his thirties. He has returned to college for the sake of going after his dreams, but has lost self confidence because of his age. He also has the ability to slither up walls and along ceilings because of his tentacles. These both come into play in Don's personal arc in the climax, but aren't necessary in the main plot. So little kids can follow the plot without having to notice this, but it adds something extra for the parents and older kids who do notice it.
But as mainstream 21st century animated films have taught us, all animation is worth is making little toddlers laugh, so how do these two measure up on that front? Well, to put it simply, Despicable Me 2 is just hilarious. Mostly that's because of the fantastic minions, who are somehow able to never become annoying. They stay consistently funny with their completely random endeavors from the thin plot, and it's mainly what holds the movie together. Their is occasionally a good moment with Gru, the girls, Lucy, or some of the other characters, but it's the slapstick of Gru's minions that makes the movie soar above the average.
The problem with Pixar's sophistication is that when they try to do comedy, they can't allow themselves to take 15 or 30 second plot detours like Dreamworks. So, it becomes harder to add jokes in when they confine themselves like this, and the movie can move slow as tar at some points. There are definitely moments, sure, but they're all lukewarm. None of them are awkward and over drawn, but none of them are gut busting hilarious or particularly memorable. I don't want Pixar to change entirely, it's fantastic to have that mature alternative to Dreamworks, but really, they should have gone with either an entirely drama centered plot like Wall-e, or have done the polar opposite and go with a kiddy, slapstick filled comedy.
Overall, it's hard to pick which of the two is better. Monsters University is so much more character involved and dramatically realistic, but Despicable Me 2 is phenomenally funnier. I keep dodging between the two, but at this moment when I'm finishing the review, I think I will pick Pixar's thought out plot and character depth over some slapstick... But I might change my mind later.
Despicable Me 2 Monsters University
3.5/5 4/5
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