Monster's University Website

October 10, 2012 11:23 AM

Monsters University now has a website spoofing a real university.

Some of it is cute:
Movie Night
"Screaming in the Rain"
Thursday at 7PM

Some of the site is about as mundane a normal university.

posted by busillis (53 comments total)

That is a very elaborate front for a web store pushing Disney merch.

I'll give them a free pass because OMG Monsters Inc I love you.
posted by mcstayinskool at 11:29 AM on October 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

FAKE

love it
posted by Mister_A at 11:33 AM on October 10, 2012

So awesome. I love it. I can't wait to see if they will let a human apply when enrollment is opened for next fall because I am so sending an application!
posted by Yellow at 11:36 AM on October 10, 2012

The Basic Monster Respect program creates a safe environment for personal growth and cultural education, where students can learn to judge each other by content of character, not color of fur. A place where more arms means more hugs not more fists, where all students put their heads together to solve problems whether they have two heads or just the one.

eeeeeeeeeeee
posted by elizardbits at 11:37 AM on October 10, 2012

Needs a picture of a group of monsters of every conceivable fur colour hanging out and smiling on the quad.
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 11:39 AM on October 10, 2012 [8 favorites]

OK, so how to I login to MU.net?
posted by maryr at 11:41 AM on October 10, 2012

School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities

YES
posted by jquinby at 11:41 AM on October 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Man I love Monsters, Inc. so hard.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:42 AM on October 10, 2012

Oh man, remember when all the frat bros at Monsters U tried to prank Miskatonic by stealing our mascot before the Fictional 8 finals? Hilarious. Totally backfired as the remembrance ceremony meant the game was cancelled.

GO PODS!
posted by robocop is bleeding at 11:43 AM on October 10, 2012 [12 favorites]

There really should be an all-fictional fantastical school tornament or something. Watch the kids from Breakebills fend off against the MU Frighting Squad while Xaiver Institute totally dominates the academic contests.
posted by The Whelk at 11:49 AM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

San Dimas HS would still win at football, though.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:50 AM on October 10, 2012 [6 favorites]

Tuition costs an arm and a leg, but they don't have to be your arms/legs....
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:51 AM on October 10, 2012 [7 favorites]

OK, so how to I login to MU.net?

I was hoping for a fun puzzle here, but looking at the page source, I don't think it's setup to work at all (just a javascript to say "M.U. Net ID Not Found" then "Please Contact Admin" after three tries)
posted by mikepop at 11:51 AM on October 10, 2012

Needs a picture of a group of monsters of every conceivable fur colour hanging out and smiling on the quad.

Most of the photos on the site show green monsters but there are only like three greens in the whole school.
posted by brain_drain at 11:53 AM on October 10, 2012 [7 favorites]

OMG my day job is a web technology for an esteemed Higher Ed institution and this is pitch perfect. I've shared this so hard.
posted by advicepig at 11:53 AM on October 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

No website, but the fake Sierra Madre City College has a real marching band.

And some t-shirts and stuff for sale, too, at The Bottle Shop.
posted by notyou at 11:56 AM on October 10, 2012

I was hoping for a fun puzzle here, but looking at the page source, I don't think it's setup to work at all (just a javascript to say "M.U. Net ID Not Found" then "Please Contact Admin" after three tries)

Sherman Schrader: It was your idea to put "acceptance is just one click away"
Bartleby Gaines: Yeah, you put it as "one click away"! You don't make it... clickable!
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 11:56 AM on October 10, 2012

It's funny, but the sheer amount of content and detail pushes it to hilarious. My favourites: the "frat row" on the map (Frat names: EEK, HSS, ROR, GRR...) and the extra armed shirts in the store...
posted by sawdustbear at 11:59 AM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

maryr: "OK, so how to I login to MU.net?"

Yeah, as mikepop says, pressing "submit" doesn't do anything. It doesn't send any data over the internet.
posted by zarq at 12:02 PM on October 10, 2012

oh man, under the Alumni section:

Valued mentors for current students, all MU alumni are encouraged to participate in an innovative new program intended to make all new students feel comfortable in the dorms: Monsters University Alumni Home Away from Home Adjustment (MUA-HAHA).
posted by jquinby at 12:05 PM on October 10, 2012 [9 favorites]

Keep an eye on it though. They might flip the switch to a real login.

I know a lot of people are disappointed Pixar is doing another sequel (prequel) but I am truly excited. Monsters, Inc. is probably my favorite Pixar movie of the lot.
posted by mikepop at 12:07 PM on October 10, 2012

I think I know where they got the design.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:24 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I think I know where they got the design.

Oh, please. Pretty much every college/university website looks like this. I work at a university and spend a fair amount of time checking out other websites in academia for comparisons, and this is spot-on. Has all the little things you start to look for (the fast-facts page, the news feed, the student-life jargon, etc., etc.) and remark upon more when they're harder to find. Whoever did this looked at a LOT of college websites.
posted by dlugoczaj at 12:31 PM on October 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

Does this university straddle students with life crushing debt too?
posted by Flood at 12:37 PM on October 10, 2012 [4 favorites]

No kidding. I love how they have at least three ways of navigating on each page and links into deep parts that leave you to wonder where you are. Let's have audience based nav. No content. No these need to be a menu too.
posted by advicepig at 12:39 PM on October 10, 2012

Not only are they not accepting applications for students, there is no job listing page for faculty / staff. I thought for sure that I would be a shoe-in for a position there. I could easily put together a 'human-monster relations' course, even though my peer-reviewed research in this area is sorely lacking.
posted by Gronk at 12:46 PM on October 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Needs more mascot.collegename.edu for the sports boosters.
posted by Blue_Villain at 12:49 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, please. Pretty much every college/university website looks like this.

Seriously? Which college's website would you call a better match?
posted by Horace Rumpole at 12:49 PM on October 10, 2012

That was really great. I might send my IT there for some tips!

(Just kidding, all Uni websites look-alike.)
posted by oddman at 12:50 PM on October 10, 2012

No - I definitely see a Harvard influence, right down to the bridge over the Charles.
posted by ChuraChura at 12:50 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Well, it's clearly not a complete joke. I mean it wouldn't have either of these two pages if it weren't for some sort of 'official' business.

The 'official-ness' of those two is something that actually does scare me, a bit.
posted by Blue_Villain at 12:54 PM on October 10, 2012

XKCD: University Website
posted by kirkaracha at 12:59 PM on October 10, 2012 [5 favorites]

Excel in the Art of Extreme Creepiness

This is like my college!
posted by spamguy at 1:03 PM on October 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

How does affirmative action and diversity work there?
posted by Seymour Zamboni at 1:07 PM on October 10, 2012

prank Miskatonic by stealing our mascot

Miskatonic grads are enough of a force in the world that Wendy's has to point out how their french fries are now natural-cut VS other nameless fast food places who use Eldritch cutting methods to make fries.

Natural cut - because you are what you eat.
posted by rough ashlar at 1:34 PM on October 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

But non-Euclidean-cut fries are so much yummier.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 2:43 PM on October 10, 2012

Are Two Heads Better Than One?
Exploring Self-Collaboration
By Maggie Stlllwater

A scientific study of creative abilities among students with multiple heads has revealed that self-collaboration leads to better results in a shorter amount of time than solo brainstorming.

Dr. Friedman Harker explained the findings recently to a distinguished group of visiting scholars. "While most individuals are either right-brained or left-brained, individuals with multiple heads are often both right-and left-brained. This allows them to see the whole picture with more clarity and in deeper detail."

Still, more work must be done to be able to put Professor Harker's discovery into practice. "We have made progress, but this is only the beginning. We now have data that supports the dual-cranium superiority theory. More experiments are needed to determine if this is always true or if environmental factors come into play."

Harker has applied for a research grant that would allow him the full funding necessary to continue, and is "hopeful but realistic" about his chances. "Alas, the decision will be made by one-headed bureaucrats."

Cuuuuuute.
posted by medusa at 2:48 PM on October 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

The School of Engineering at Monsters University offers terminal degrees in the following

• Applied Engineering
• Door Technology
• Canister Design
• Scream Energy
• Computer Science

MUA-HAHA indeed!
posted by erniepan at 2:53 PM on October 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

Glad to know that I wasn't the only one to notice it had the classic university website problems.

Some team had a lot of fun with this. One of the majors is English/Creative Roaring (dual major) which I regret not being able to obtain.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:37 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

That is a very elaborate front for a web store pushing Disney merch.

In case anyone was wondering, Monsters University is the Prequel to Monsters, Inc. due to drop next year.
posted by billyfleetwood at 4:49 PM on October 10, 2012

There really should be an all-fictional fantastical school tornament or something.

Hi! I'm doing the heaving lifting/planning for Magical University Challenge, a game show scheduled for Thursday afternoon at Worldcon. It's a version of University Challenge, which is itself a version of College Bowl. The twist is that the teams will be representing four schools of magic: Hogwarts, Unseen University, Miskatonic University, and Brakebills College.

School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities

I like the departments of Illuminati University, including the School of Anti-Social Sciences, and the School of Social Anti-Sciences.

There's no website, but miskatonic.edu is registered.
posted by Zed at 4:50 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Does this university straddle students with life crushing debt too?

Literally. It's a monstrous amount of debt, you might say.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 6:40 PM on October 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

"Looking back even further on the evolutionary tree, modern reptiles are related to chickens through a group of animals known as diaspids, which originated around 300 million years ago. Modern snakes and lizards are both descended from the diapsids—and as it happens, I have had the pleasure of eating a nice assortment of them: black spiny-tailed iguanas, green iguanas, and various snakes. What all of them had in common was a taste and a color after cooking that was like chicken, coupled with a texture reminiscent of crab meat. You wouldn’t mistake the texture of snake for chicken, but run it through a meat-grinder, and you wouldn’t know the difference."

- Tasting Like Chicken : Its evolutionary origins.

:edit: oops.
posted by sebastienbailard at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

So there's a cafeteria menu too?
posted by sneebler at 7:29 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

HARVARD

Because not everyone can go to Monsters University!
posted by maryr at 8:13 PM on October 10, 2012

I love the four-armed shirts and sweatshirts in the store (alas, not for sale). This is soooo well done.

I really want a Monsters University ID card.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:28 PM on October 10, 2012

This is actually a lot better than many university websites. Typical university website:

- Stuff our successful alumni (read: donors) recently did!
- Press releases not interesting to anyone, written by our overpaid president!
- Disproportionately large alumni section that really is just soliciting donations!
posted by deathpanels at 8:38 PM on October 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

All those saying how much you love Monsters, Inc... Hold tight to those feelings. Because there is NO WAY Monsters University is going to be good.

1) It's a prequel. There are very few prequels which are worthwhile. Especially ones made of whole cloth for the movie industry. With the exception of Godfather II and maybe Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, you probably can't name any which you would watch again.

2) It's Disney-fied Pixar. Since Disney swallowed Pixar, the movies they've started production on and released under that umbrella have been Toy Story 3 (which was actually great), Cars 2, and Brave. Ratatouille, Wall-E and Up were all conceived and started before Disney took over. What is Disney pushing forward with? Monsters University and Finding Nemo 2 are both in the pipeline. Originality is going out the window, and we're going to be stuck in recycling-hell.

3) Dan Scanlon is directing. He might turn out to be a surprise, but having storyboarded Cars and a couple of Disney sequels doesn't impress me. (Not much about that movie impresses me, aside from the exquisite dust rendering.) His previous writing/directing experience is Tracy [which is actually amusing, I must admit, but how does this feed into a quality Pixar film?] (trailer, in 14 parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14), and the Cars-derived short Mater And The Ghostlight.

4) They're already marketing it, aggressively, 9 months before its release. You think you like it now, but after you've endured everything between now and June 21 of next year as the Disney juggernaut continues rolling forward, exactly how sick of it are you going to be even before you've seen it?

Seriously, I don't think there's anything to be excited about with this movie. I love love love Monsters, Inc. But I haven't yet seen anything which makes me excited about this movie. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I won't be rushing to the theater to see it.
posted by hippybear at 8:49 PM on October 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Good to see this realized. Funding dried up, and construction for a Scream Energy Lab here at the University of Illinois had to be abandoned in mid-construction.
posted by Kronos_to_Earth at 9:54 PM on October 10, 2012

I'm applying to college now, and I can add that it's totally like a real website. ZOMG so tired of digging around college websites I can't even express it.

Also, monsters! It's been many many years - I was, what, eight, when the first one came out.

and Brakebills, I sit around wishing I could be disappeared into their admissions test, never mind I'm not American or genius
posted by undue influence at 2:52 AM on October 11, 2012

I'm applying to college now, and I can add that it's totally like a real website.

The best part is the fake faculty pages the Uni's administrators puts up when what you really want is the real prof's page to see what they and the school are like.
posted by sebastienbailard at 2:58 AM on October 11, 2012

hippybear, I do indeed have a good amount of trepidation mixed in with my excitement. But I guess I'm just a little more optimistic.

1. prequels - I would also include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. I was actually less excited hearing about a MI sequel, since the original wrapped up nicely.

2. Disney didn't swallow Pixar, Pixar reverse-acquired the animation division (and theme park division) of Disney, putting its people in full creative control. That doesn't mean that Pixar isn't recycling a bit more these days, but I don't think all the blame, or even most of it, can be put on Disney. That said, Toy Story 3 - great, Cars 2 - bleh, Brave - at least pretty good? I actually haven't seen it yet due to child-discipline related reasons (who's really being punished here?) but reviews seem to line up pretty well. In any case that's still not a bad run of three movies.

4. If the marketing is as good/creative as this website then I say bring it on! If it gets too much I'll avoid it. Generally, I try to avoid finding out too much about a movie I'm looking forward to seeing.

From 2001 to 2009 Pixar had an incredible run of introducing new characters every year. And their creators love them even more than their biggest fans. It's no surprise that these characters, rattling around their memories like a favorite uncle you haven't seen in a while, can generate new story ideas. Plus, MI came out over ten years ago. If Nemo 2 happens, it will also be over ten years post-Nemo. This is not exactly a case of the Disney Sequel Engine kicking into high gear. And as we've seen with Toy Story 2/3, Pixar can revisit these characters and turn out a great movie. And as we've seen with Cars 2, eh.

In the meantime, Pixar has non-sequels slated for 2014 & 2015. Hoping for more great stuff, but aware all creative endeavors have peaks and valleys. I think Pixar still has some peaks in them.
posted by mikepop at 6:14 AM on October 11, 2012

How does affirmative action and diversity work there?

Each year, a quota of only-creepy-when-you-think-about-it admissions are permitted. Previous alumni who graduated under this scheme include the Teletubbies, the Snorks, and the green spray-painted bubble-wrap from the 4th Doctor's Ark In Space episodes.
posted by Sparx at 1:55 PM on October 11, 2012