Monsters University

This gag-packed prequel takes the heroes of Pixar's Monsters, Inc back to their college days, before Mike (voiced by Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman) became best buddies. Thrown together in a fraternity of cowardly nerds and misfits, they're set a series of tasks under the watchful eye of Dean Hardscrabble (Helen Mirren) to prove they're worthy of graduating with the scariest of the scarers. Mirren is a glorious addition to the cast, her stony-faced dean a ringer for Mrs Danvers in Hitchcock's Rebecca. Director Dan Scanlon relishes placing the beloved characters in a fresh environment, and, while the nods to live-action frat comedies down the years come thick and fast, they never detract from what Pixar does so well time and again: telling a great story.