Monsters University

It might be a little premature to write off Pixar, but as the groundbreaking animation studio ages into its 20s, it seems to have lost a creative step.

Perhaps that’s a result of increased Disney corporate influence, but the focus appears to be more on 3D conversions and sequels than creating seminal works like Ratatouille, Wall-E and Up.

Fitting into the former category is Monsters University, a follow-up to the 2001 film Monsters Inc. that’s breezy and consistently amusing yet also feels somehow uninspired.

The story is set up as a prequel to the first film, showing how mismatched monsters Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and Sullivan (John Goodman) met as adversaries on a college campus where each aims to major in scaring.

But the diminutive Mike isn’t very talented, and Sullivan is simply lazy, causing them both to become targets of the no-nonsense dean (Helen Mirren) and risk being expelled from the school. As a last-ditch effort to keep their dreams alive, the duo puts aside its differences and winds up in a fraternity of nerds and outcasts that must win the Scare Games, an Olympic-style competition to prove their skills.

The film, which marks the feature directorial debut of veteran Pixar animator Dan Scanlon, showcases the expected vibrant colors and crisply detailed 3D animation. Those characteristics should appeal especially to children, who are mostly targeted with the lessons about teamwork, acceptance and determination.

The familiarity of the main characters might draw viewers in (along with the superior voice work of Crystal and Goodman), yet the lack of freshness to the material is a drawback. Whereas the laughs in the first film seemed germane to the clever narrative, here the throwaway gags tend to hit the mark.

The pace is kept lively perhaps to disguise the flaws in a predictable story (sort of a tamer version of Animal House) about ragtag underdogs in a competition for Greek bragging rights. That leaves the best moments scattered amid the character quirks and sight gags, along with an imaginative batch of creatures with two heads, three eyes, four arms and various tentacles and such.

Overall, however, Monsters University is a mixed bag that provides more smiles than chuckles. It’s not a bad way to pass the time, but this is one origin story that could have just as well gone untold.

Rated G, 102 minutes.