"A Lesson From Monsters" by ARK

With all this talk about monsters because of this purple creature named Boo, I am here to share a bit of my opinion about them.

Have you seen the movie Monsters University?

Here is why I think that movie was amazing.

While both Monsters Inc. and Monsters University were equally enjoyable, I think the latter offered a very unique experience for its viewers. Why? Because the lesson of the story was realistic. Depressingly realistic to be exact.

Realism is not often the focus of works of fiction, especially not the animated films that include living toys, magical princesses, talking animals and universities for monsters.


But watching this film, you will notice how different it is, though you may not be able to point out what it is. It's real. The lesson it teaches is real. It's applicable and it happens in real life.

The main character here, Mike Wazowski (former deuteragonist of the Monsters Inc. film) has recently entered his dream university, as another step closer to his life-long dream of becoming a scarer.

His optimism and determination to reach his goal is admirable. But as the story progresses, you are forced to see that Mike Wazowski is just not scary. He tries hard, he does everything he can, and eventually failure still blows up on his face, screaming "You're not good enough."

Does he give up? No. Does his determination get him where he wants to be? Still no.

It's a sad, sad reality, that sometimes no matter how hard we try, somethings are not meant to be. Is it the end of the world? Definitely not.

This is the sort of morale boost that cartoons have forgotten to imbibe. They tell us never to give up. We are told to follow our dreams. We are made to believe that love can conquer everything. And while these messages are lovely and positive, they lack the realistic view of "What comes after?", "What if I fail?", and "What if love doesn't conquer?"

I like the fact that Monsters University orients children that not all their dreams will come true. But then it backs it up, saying that you are still worth something.

Ultimately, the lesson is still never to give up. It says that instead of wasting your life away, wondering what went wrong, you can channel your energy onto other things you are good at.

Mike Wazowski eventually gains satisfaction, becoming his best friend's scare partner and using his razor-sharp wits to get them both on top.