Or at least it would have been, were it not forCars 2.
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You come from a story background, Dan.
What were the story sticking points and breakthrough moments with the various iterations ofMonsters Universityover the years?
We thought thatd be a great way to do it.
So that was a huge moment.
As every Pixar movie does, we had our ups and downs throughout.
That was a big move for us.
Does that make your job easier, or present its own challenges?
So, it has its challenges.
Is your approach with a sequel or prequel to have a go at improve upon the original film?
Kori Rae:Absolutely, sure.
Its our own bar that we take a stab at reach.
I wanted to freeze-frame the crowd scenes to spot all the details.
DS:There is one in there forThe Good Dinosaur.
Youll have to look very hard for it, but its in there.
We did our homework!
And all the other Easter eggs, A113, the Pizza Planet truck etc.
are all in there?
DS:Theyre all there.
Presumably its not just a case of getting a better parking space?
My job was really just to tell the story, but it was interesting how fast everybody was.
How do those experiences compare?
DS:Not just in the animation community.
DS:I kind of like it, I take it as like, fighting words.
Were you more or less left alone to make the movie you wanted to make?
DS:Surprisingly, yes.
There was a lot of trust there.
DS:Yeah, exactly.
They were really great about saying, you know what?
I cant let something like that hold back the story.
You have to tell the right story.
KR:Its just what came out, and we werent sure if it would be G or PG-13.
DS:PG, not PG-13!
I was about to say, what must be on that cutting room floor!
KR:Thank you, yes, PG!
KR:Hardscrabble, and even Sulleys scare at the end is pretty intense.
But his scares in the first one were also pretty intense.
Does that chime with your experience?
Weve had some college screenings of the film and so far, the feedback has been really fantastic.
Theyre really relating to it, and again having that connection to Monsters Inc. has been huge.
Sulley plays beer pong without the beer, for instance…
DS:[jokingly]Thatsnot beer pong… without having them drink beer.
The parties still feel pretty party-like.
KR:But without having to go there.
And if you might get Helen Mirren…
KR:Shes amazing.
Pixar is synonymous with research, so what was the field trip forMonsters University?
KR:We visited universities!
So, we went back to school.
To get you into the college spirit.
[DS looks somewhat sheepish, KR laughs like a drain.]
Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae, thank you very much!
Monsters University is released in the UK on Friday the 12th of July.
