Pixar Teases Latest Film With Monstrously Good Ad

Going to university is a life-changing experience, so it's important to pick the right college for you. Especially if you have extra arms, big sharp teeth and maybe a tentacle or too.

The hotly anticipated sequel to Pixar's Monster's Inc. will be set at the best school of scaring, where the slimy, furry and many-eyed learn to be the best at their terrifying trade, Monsters University (MU). This ad doesn't promote Monsters University the film, it invites viewers to sign up to the university itself. 

The brilliant ad was broadcast during coverage of collegiate football competition, The Rose Bowl. It's not uncommon for universities to advertise during the game, attempting to entice youngsters into enrolling, and this clip brilliantly hi-jacked the slot.

Expertly camouflaged, the CGI trailer looks just realistic enough to fit in, touring the MU campus and showing hi-tech labs, picturesque grounds and historic buildings. But then everything changes when you meet the students.

There's a big purple furry thing, and a long-legged green scaly one, a whole campus packed with oddly cute, but very weird looking students.

The ad's sickly-sweet messages - "your future is knocking, so open the door" - is probably quite similar the college ads it's lampooning. The clip even invites viewers to visit the university's brilliant website, where visitors can check out course, learn how to "excel at the Art of Extreme Creepiness" and even buy University products.

It's a clever ad, smartly delivered to reach as many university-aged fans as possible, who are also the perfect age to fondly remember the original Monsters Inc film. Funny and witty, the pretence of MU being real is kept up on the website, making for a fun visit spotting brilliant jokes in the apparently serious text.

With over 304,000 views since it was launched 3 days ago the clip has become a hit with movie buffs, appearing on film blogs from around the world. It's not just cinema-geeks who love the clip, it has earned over 28,000 shares and created a buzz on Twitter.

While the creatures within it have some way to go before they are truly terrifying, the ad itself is scarily good.

Darth Vader Visits Disneyland (Again) To Celebrate Lucasfilm Deal

Even the galaxy's most feared super-villain has a boss. Darth Vader may have spent years leading the Galactic Empire's reign of evil, but thanks to a giant business deal, he's now working for Disney. To celebrate, Disney has re-released this ad of Vader inspecting his new workplace.

Unless you've been hiding in a galaxy far, far away, you've probably heard that Darth Vader has a new boss. Disney now hold the rights to the Star Wars franchise, along with a host of other George Lucas creations, after purchasing Lucasfilm for a whopping $4.05 billion. Mickey Mouse is Vader's new boss.

It's an odd thought to imagine the galactic tyrant taking orders from a 3ft tall cartoon mouse with a high voice, but the two empires have been working together for years. To emphasise the fact, Disney has re-released a clip from June 2011 that shows Vader enjoying a day out in one of Disney's parks.

The clip was first released to tease the parks' Star Tours: The Adventure Continues attractions, an update of rides originally launched in 1987. It sees Vader, flanked by stormtroopers, exploring Disneyland and trying out other rides while waiting for Star Tours to open.

There's very little difference between the two versions of the ad, other than the massive amount of interest the sale of Star Wars has caused. The amusing, but unremarkable clip has managed to gather over 2.4 million views and 669,000 shares since its first release last year.

The re-released version has garnered 155,000 shares since it was launched yesterday, riding the wave of interest that has surrounded the Lucasfilm-Disney deal. 

It seems a little sad that one of the world's most recognise film characters wouldn't get an original video to mark such a big event in cinema history. 

Pixar's Top 10 Trailers

Pixar has been entertaining everybody - young and old - since 1986.

From classic movies like Toy Story to short films like Geri's Game, it is undeniably one of the world's favourite animation studios.

So in celebration of their latest release, Brave, we've compiled a chart of Pixar's best loved trailers based on the number of times they have been shared on Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere.

Below is the top 10, but if you would like to see the full list, click here.

10. Toy Story 2 (1999)

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