Another monster hit as Sulley and co are back

But the kings of cinema cartoon adventure have still served up another solid Andy Murray-style winner here, with the usual infectious mix of oddball characters, sparkling dialogue and crackpot comedy.

This time, we know exactly how the film is going to end before it's even started, because it's a prequel to the brilliant Monsters Inc., exploring the relationship between its two star men, the diminutive one-eyed green man Mike Wachowski (Crystal) and the abominably big and fluffy Sulley (Goodman).

The colourful and fast-paced saga harks back to Mike's childhood, when the six-year-old ignites his desire to become a 'scarer' at the Monsters Inc conglomerate which, as fans of the original will know, generates power in the non-human world by the ferocity of the screams its top operatives can elicit from terrified children in the dead of night.

Attention

Mike excitedly heads off to Monsters University hoping to realise his dream, befriending shy roommate Randall 'Randy' Boggs (Buscemi) and impressing his teachers by his encyclopaedic knowledge of the scarers' rule book

However, it's lazy, cocky classmate Sulley who gets all of the attention because of his family's heritage in the scarers' hall of fame, and he is courted by the trendy Roar Omega Roar fraternity and its dashing president, Johnny Worthington (Fillion).

Eventually, Mike snaps and declares war on Sulley, saying: "I am going to scare circles around you this year!"

The rivals' fates rest on an end-of-term exam, which must be passed or Dean Hardscrabble (Mirren) will expel them from the course. She expects Mike to fail, telling him coldly: "What you lack simply cannot be taught. You're just not scary."

Unperturbed, he joins forces with the misfits from Oozma Kappa fraternity – tentacled mature student Don (Murray), lovably naive Scott Squibbles (Sohn), conjoined siblings Terri (Hayes) and Terry (Foley) and purple-striped extrovert Art (Day) – to prove that every underdog has his day.

There's no denying that Monsters University offers that same cocktail of comedy, action and touching friendship that appeals to viewers of all ages.

Dialogue zings, and Crystal and Goodman ease back into their roles as if they were putting on a favourite pair of old slippers. The script conceals few surprises, but there are some pleasing narrative detours, and the rivalry with Mirren's authoritarian – who is perfectly cast to voice the Cruella De Vil-style authoritarian – creates a frisson of dramatic tension.

And as usual, Pixar precedes the main course with a mouth-watering starter; this time a short six-minute love story between two umbrellas on a rain-lashed city street.

Maybe Monsters University does lack a little of Pixar's early innovation, and perhaps the studio is becoming guilty of turning to its celebrated back catalogue a little too often for its latest inspiration. But that doesn't mean it's not another wholesome crowd-pleaser.