UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE (MONSTERS UNIVERSITY)

I've a big soft spot for 'Monsters Inc.'.

It was the first Disney-Pixar film we showed our junior film critic when she was a toddler and we immediately fell for the blue monster Sulley (John Goodman) and his small, green one eyed buddy, Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal).

We've posed for photos with the odd couple in Disneyland Paris and we've bought their soft toys.

We've even downloaded the jazz theme tune.

Directed by Pete Docter 12 years ago, 'Monsters Inc.' was a smart comedy in which monsters employed as scarers enter a portal on their factory floor that takes them into the closets of human children's bedrooms.

Their aim is to generate enough energy for their city Monstropolis by sneaking into the bedrooms and terrifying the children, bottling their screams in gas canisters.

During the movie, Sully and Mike have to cope with the evil machinations of Randall (Steve Buscemi) and also uncover some corporate corruption.

But at its core is a touching story about how a little girl Boo charms Sulley and makes him realise that laughter is much more potent than fear.

Like Disney-Pixar's 'Toy Story' trilogy, 'Up', 'Wall-E', 'Ratatouille', 'Finding Nemo' and 'The Incredibles', 'Monsters Inc.' remains a high point in animated family entertainment.

While Dreamworks and  Sony Animation have since come on the scene with the likes of 'Shrek', 'Madagascar', 'How to Train Your Dragon' and 'Despicable Me', their animated movies have never really felt like serious challengers to the Disney-Pixar crown.

I've lost count the number of times I have watched 'Monsters Inc', the 'Toy Story' films or 'Up' with our daughter but, remarkably, I know each time we watch them - whether at home or at the cinema - we still laugh.

So, to say we have been eagerly anticipating Disney-Pixar's prequel, 'Monsters University' is a bit of an understatement.

So keen were we to see 'Monsters University' that we went to the first available public screening in the Lisburn Omniplex on a baking hot Twelfth of July morning, just to catch up with Sully and Mike's back stories.

'Monsters University' begins with a primary school aged Mike on a trip with his classmates to the Monsters Inc factory.

Mike is treated as the class oddball and while he is on the factory floor, he meets a legendary scarer, Frightening Frank (John Krasinski) who tells him if he wants to emulate him, he should study at Monsters University.

The junior version of Mike alarms his teacher, classmates and the Monsters Inc staff by sneaking in through one of the portals and following Frightening Frank into a child's room but they both emerge intact despite warnings that human children are toxic if they touch monsters.

His reward for bravery is Frightening Frank's Monsters University baseball cap and he sets about achieving his dream of becoming a scarer like his idol.

Mike succeeds in getting a place at the university and as a freshman he gets to room with a rather nerdy Randall.

But he is irritated when Sully, a highly talented but lazy scarer, comes on the scene, intent on coasting through his freshman year and living off the reputation of his family of scarers.

The students are informed by Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) that after the first semester, those who don't come up to the mark will be kicked off the scarers' program.

Mike studies hard and shines academically but he is weak when it comes to roaring.

Sully would rather party instead of studying the type of roars that must be deployed in different situations and both are at loggerheads with each other.

Their rivalry ends up with them flunking their first semester and being drummed out of scare school.

But the odd couple are forced to team up when the annual Scare Games - a competition for sororities and fraternities - offers them the chance to get back into scare school.

In order to get there, they must work alongside a bunch of losers (Joel Murray's mature student Don, Sean Hayes and Dave Foley's two headed beast Terry and Terri Perry, Charlie Day's Art and Peter Sohn's Squishy) in a rather lame fraternity house, Oozma Kappa where their idea of a party is to drink cocoa.

Meanwhile Randall joins the much cooler Roar Omega Roar fraternity, led by the mean Johnny J Worthington III (Nathan Fillion) - who are the favourites to win the Scare Games.

Directed by Dan Scanlon from a script he co-wrote with Robert L Baird and Daniel Gerson, 'Monsters University' certainly has its moments.

But one joke encapsulates the problem that besets Scanlon's movie.

A slug monster realises he's late for a lecture and says he must dash. But, of course, as he tries to rush he moves painfully slowly.

Like the slug monster, 'Monsters University' takes an awful long time to get going and for the first third of the movie, you doubt it ever will.

Scanlon's film lacks the pace and guile of 'Monsters Inc' which knew exactly when to switch from madcap farce to sentimentality to biting satire.

And it is kind of disappointing to see Sully, of all characters, for much of the film cast in the one dimensional role of a boneheaded jerk.

As with all Disney-Pixar films, there are keenly observed gags about American university life but the plot fails to tug on the heart strings like its predecessor.

Crystal and Goodman and indeed, the entire cast give spirited performances and the animation is, as you'd expect, first class.

However, while 'Monsters University' is better than a lot of animated fare in cinemas these days and will amuse your children,  it is disappointing to report that it barely has the edge over 'Despicable Me 2'.

It continues a dip in Disney-Pixar's form since 'Cars 2' hit our screens two years ago - a situation that the moderately amusing 'Brave' managed to improve last year without setting the world alight.

'Monsters University' is a let down because we expect so much better from Disney-Pixar. They have set the bar so high over the years with quality work.

But don't just take my word for it that 'Monsters University' is disappointment. 

Ask the junior film critic in our house. She gave it a 2:2.

('Monsters University' opened in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on July 12, 2013. This review originally appeared on Eamonnmallie.com)