- [Voiceover] Here's a quick recap of Ratatouille.
Remy is born with a gift.
Pursuing his gift leads him on dangerous exertions
but also brings him immense satisfaction.
His brother doesn't understand him
but is supportive,
his father wants him to stick to the family business
and not leave town, but Remy insists.
He moves to the best city imaginable
to pursue his talent, Paris.
There he realizes he is at the bottom of the food chain.
No one will even let him inside a restaurant.
No one thinks a rat has what it takes.
Supported by the words of his idol and mentor, Chef Gusteau
Remy pushes through.
He befriends some people and gets his foot in the door.
This creates more danger.
Sabotage by a jealous boss,
an attempt to co-op his talent to create mundane products
solely for monetary gain,
and above everything else, the threat of failure.
Will Anton Ego, the embodiment of all critics,
of all criticism, approve of him?
Will he like his work?
Will he support it?
Or will he knock him down like so many before him?
Remy doesn't know but he tries.
He picks a dish and send it out to Ego.
Eagerly waiting his verdict.
Does that sound familiar?
It should.
Any aspiring artist probably
deeply relates to Remy's situation.
That's the power of theme.
Ratatouille encourages those of us who love cooking,
writing, film making, singing, programming or anything else,
to pursue it.
To not let any form of adversity, a push to conform,
unsupportive peers, a closed industry
and of course critics, to hold us back.
Of course Ratatouille has a happy ending
as Remy wins Ego's approval and support
he clearly has a gift.
But not everyone does.
Monsters University focuses exactly on that kind of person.
Mike Wazowski knew he wanted to be a scarer
ever since he was a kid.
When he finally makes it to the best Scaring program
higher education has to offer,
he knows he will succeed.
He studies harder than anyone.
He knows everything there is to know about scaring.
And he is still kicked out of the program
because as the dean puts it, he simply isn't scary.
- You're not scary.
- [Voiceover] A school competition offers a chance
back into the program.
Mike whips a group of misfits in shape
and brings them together to the finish line.
However he learns that no one
not even his friends believe he is scary.
- You don't think I'm scary.
- [Voiceover] Alone and for the first time,
unsure of his calling,
Mike puts himself to the ultimate test.
He breaks school rules and risks his life to find the truth.
He tries to scare real human children and fails.
Only then does he realize he isn't scary.
- You look funny.
- [Voiceover] After he and Sully are expelled,
they find a want ad in the school newspaper
for the mail room at Monsters Inc.
They climb their way up the corporate ladder.
And while Mike doesn't become scary,
he becomes a great coach, the best coach.
We've seen him become a coach.
It happened while he was trying
to get back into the scare program.
He'll never be a scarer.
He gave up on that dream.
But he did find something else he's good at.
As well as friendship and satisfaction.
That could happen to you.
You may discover that you're not meant to be a great cook,
writer, filmmaker, singer, programmer
or anything else you're pursuing,
and that's okay.
Monsters University tells us two things
about giving up on our dreams,
the first is that we only get to do that
after we've worked hard to get it.
Mike doesn't quit when the dean kicks him out.
He doesn't quit when all his friends fail him.
He quits only when he is faced with
objective, irrefutable evidence that he isn't scary.
When he has no other option rather than to accept who he is.
The other thing Monsters University tells us
is that Mike's pursuit of his dream was not in vain.
Not only because he made friends,
but because the pursuit led him to his calling.
It just wasn't what he thought.
Mike ends up being the coach
of the best scarer in Monstropolis.
And he never would have discovered his talent
if he hadn't followed his dream.
These ideas are deeply embedded into the stories
of Ratatouille and Monsters University.
From setting to character to dialog to plotting.
They are constructed in ways that explore
issues of talent, greatness, mediocracy, criticism
and failure.
Apart from the immense craftsmanship
and shear entertainment value of these films
they also offer us important advice.
Don't let anyone stop you from pursuing your dream.
And don't let pursuing your dream
stop you from finding something that you're good at
and makes you happy.
Thanks for watching.
(peaceful music)