The scariest thing about Monsters University, Pixar's sequel to its animated 2001 hit Monsters, Inc is how closely the story resembles that of the amiable but forgettable comedy The Internship, also currently in cinemas. But don't fret too much. Even though this isn't quite A-game Pixar, it's still great fun, imaginatively and cleverly executed. Fans of the first film will recall one-eyed grape Mike Wazowski (voiced by Billy Crystal) and big, blue yeti James 'Sulley' Sullivan (John Goodman) as two of the best employees of Monsters, Inc, which dispatched all manner of beasties into kids' bedrooms at night in the hope of snaring a few screams. Ah, but terrifying the little ones is a skill that needs to be taught, and if you want to excel at it, there are few finer institutes of higher learning than Monsters University. Young Mike knew from an early age he wanted to attend 'MU', and he's come prepared to study hard and become the scariest he can be. Not quite as diligent, however, is Sulley, who comes from a long line of top-shelf horrifying monsters and is content to coast through his classes while partying hard. But circumstances see the unlikely pair run afoul of Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren at full imperiousness) and nearly kicked out of school, and striking a deal to win the uni's annual Scare Games tournament is their only hope of staying enrolled.

From there, it's your regulation underdog story, with Mike and Sulley enlisting the aid of the campus oddballs (and given the nature of the school, they're pretty darn odd) to win the contest, all the while becoming friends and learning a thing or two from one another. Even if you've seen it before (or recently seen The Internship!), there's still a freshness and vivacity to Monsters University that perks things up a bit, whether it's in the eye-candy visuals or the surprisingly nuanced treatment of dreams, ambitions and hard work.

In cinemas now.