The first thing that struck me while watching Pixar’s new film ‘Inside Out’ is that it isn’t ‘Monsters University’.

Literally.

This film shares absolutely nothing—be it plot structure, characters, voice actors, or visual cues—with Pixar’s 2013 film ‘Monsters University’. Surprisingly, and despite the fact that both films originate from the same studio, this film just isn’t that film in anyway whatsoever. A fact all the more absurd when one considers the proximity in time to the production of both.

Following the development of a young girl named Riley (who isn’t Boo!) as experienced through her five “emotions,” Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, Hope and Sadness must learn the value of cooperation and growing together. Especially as Riley faces the difficult move from her hometown in Minnesota to San Francisco. They are also aided in their quest by an imaginary friend named Bing Bong.

Now if you’re scratching your head on this one, trust me when I say that you aren’t alone. For this film does have a monster character in it, and then one also devoted to fear. And to think it isn’t ‘Monsters University’!

Why Pixar would stray so close to ‘Monsters University’ territory without so much as the same plot or cast of characters is certainly the great enigma of the film. Perhaps Pixar has gotten overconfident following the success of ‘Up’ (which wasn’t ‘Monsters University’ either!), or maybe they’re just not in possession of the incredibly talented staff that composed ‘Monsters University’, either way who is to say for sure.

So to claim that the film missed a valuable opportunity in choosing to make an entirely different film from ‘Monsters University’ is a shame to say the least. Viewers will surely notice quite early on that all five of the “emotions” aren’t in any capacity Mike Wazowski, James P. “Sulley” Sullivan, the devious Randall Boggs, or the lovable and geeky Don Carlton. None of the other staring or supporting characters are them either. It’s like putting Hamlet on without Hamlet and calling it A Merchant of Venice.

The voice actors also clearly stand apart from anyone who voiced in ‘Monsters University’. Missing here is John Goodman, Billy Crystals, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, and Bob Peterson as the hilariously stern Roz. I’m not disparaging those who did voice this film, but it can’t be pointed out enough that they had zero involvement in ‘Monsters University’.

Pixar has gained something of a high reputation lately, and when people go to see one of their films they generally expect it to involve a rag-tag group of monster undergraduate outcasts trying desperately to win the vaunted Scare Games in order to redeem their scaring potential. And nothing even remotely like that is present here. The animation studio’s reputation for putting out hard-hitting children films regarding the rise-to-the-top story of world class scarers just doesn’t, sadly, manifest itself on the screen this time around. And surely the world is all the poorer because of it.

Now I don’t want to declare ‘Inside Out’ a total failure, but it’s tough to review the film without stating the obvious: this film isn’t ‘Monsters University’. To what degree this ruins the movie as a whole is up to the viewer’s individual discretion, but I find it hard to believe that anyone would see this film and not be hit, and hit hard, by this simple fact.

Am I telling people not to see it? Not necessarily, but I am telling people that if they expect to see the rousing and lively adventure of Mike and Sulley battle strict Dean Hardscrabble for academic respect, than they are going to be sorely disappointed.

Nice try Pixar, but no cigar.