If you’re a parent of a young child, I’m sure your family has been anxiously waiting for “Monsters University” to come out. It seems like forever since there has been a movie that I could take my preschooler to that was age appropriate!  Even though I was concerned that the movie might be too scary for my 4-year-old, she was insisting that we go see it as soon as it came out, so I really didn’t have a choice in the matter anyway! After looking at some previews of the movie, though, I decided that it would be okay, so our entire family got up early and went this morning.

“Monsters University is the prequel to the movie “Monsters Inc.”, and it gives us the background of how the popular monsters Mike Wazowski and James “Sulley” Sullivan met in college. After being kicked out of the School of Scaring at Monsters University, they join forces to win the Scare Games in an effort to be readmitted into the program. Their friendship is not instant, though, and the movie shows how they get over their differences and learn to work together as friends. The movie is hilarious and witty, and Terrence and I probably gasped and laughed even more than Ayva. Terrence’s take on “Monsters University” was that it’s like other college movies that we’ve seen, but written for kids! I agree, and must say I’d much prefer to see a college movie with yucky monsters than half nude co-eds!

Alright, so, let’s get to it. Is “Monsters University” okay for preschoolers?

YES

-The story is funny, and there are a lot of sight gags that will make preschoolers laugh.

-This movie is visually fun! There are a lot of bright, poppy colors, and most of the monsters look more silly than scary.

-We LOVED the music in this movie, and so did a lot of the other children in the theater! If nothing else, the soundtrack will please your preschoolers.

-The movie has a happy ending, and none of the “bad” characters are bad at the end. The character transformations are very clear and specific so little children will have no question about how someone turned out.

-We did not see the movie in 3D. It was action packed and gave us a rush in 2D. I think 3 D might have been too much.

NO

-It’s a movie about monsters learning to scare, so there is a lot of loud screaming that is pretty startling. Ayva and I both jumped several times throughout the movie.

-The film depicts the monsters going into the children’s bedrooms while they are sleeping. If your little one has a tough time with nightmares already, this movie is definitely not going to help that.

-While there isn’t a lot of violence, some of the sight gags are pretty physical. Little children might not be able to see the difference between those gags and fighting, and it might scare them.

-I’m not sure younger preschoolers would really get the message that Mike and Sulley learned about themselves. It’s kind of sophisticated and might go over their heads.

-I would NOT recommend this movie for parents of children with sensory issues at the movie theater. Wait until it comes out on DVD so that you can control the volume.

Please remember, these are just my thoughts on “Monsters University”. Every child is different. You should take your child’s individual behaviors and needs into consideration before seeing any movie. If you decide to check it out, let me know what you think!