Fret not, those who feared that Pixar could not live up the the standard set by the Toy Story trilogy! Going in, it was difficult not to get anxious that the prequel to the now classic Monsters Inc. would be an unnecessary shoe-in with an arbitrary storyline. One he contrary, everything about this story completely lives up to the original, and adds depth and context to Mike and Sully that feels absolutely right. I watched it and realized "Yes, that's them! That's who they are." It really makes watching the original a richer experience, because seeing where these guys came from adds a lot of weight to the original performances.

Since the advertisements often included original skits that weren't in the movie, I will respect the surprise that this film offers and not let on much. However, the storyline is powerful. There's no villain this time, but the internal conflicts of Mike and Sully tie in really well with Monsters Inc. and really sets the stage for it. So in other words, this is a character driven story, surrounding the journey Mike takes as he tries to break into the scaring program, encounters Sully, and learns to befriend him. They're both very flawed people, and in a very believable way. At first you would think that Mike's the one blameless character, but as the film goes on you can see how his dedication is, in a sense, his greatest flaw as he fails to see other things in life, and when Sully eventually apologized for being bad to him, Mike responds with an equal apology.

The journey here takes several twists and turns, and leads to a satisfying climax and a sense of discovery that should make for a very good crowd pleasure. It is not only true to these characters, but it exposes them for how beautiful they truly are.

And that is truly all you need to know.