With probably the most enticing and schlocky title since the 50s B-movie monster craze (It Came From Outer Space, Earth vs the Flying Saucers, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman), Monsters vs Aliens enters our atmosphere courtesy of DreamWorks Animation to again challenge Pixar’s domination of the ever lucrative ‘toon market.
Straight from the Superman-aping opening, it’s clear MvA is going to be a lot of fun. Then when leading lady Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is hit by a falling meteor on her wedding day, you realise just how much fun. Metamorphosed into giant lady Ginormica, Susan is swiftly whisked away by the US military to a top secret compound where she is locked up indefinitely and introduced to her new monstrous family: gelatinous blob B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), mad scientist Dr Cockroach Ph.D (Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and the skyscraper-sized Insectosaurus.
But when a UFO lands in America (“The only country UFOs ever seem to land in”) and its alien operator Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) threatens the Earth with destruction, the monsters are unleashed under the command of General W.R. Monger (a voice-modulated Jack Bauer) as humanity’s last hope. Can they pull together as a team in time to save us all from total annihilation?
Playing to both kiddiewinks and proper grown-ups, MvA provides nostalgic pop culture nods (Close Encounters, ‘Axel F’, Mission: Impossible, The Fly, Dr Strangelove) and wink-wink, nudge-nudge adult humour as well as pratfalls, exciting action set-pieces and the obligatory but not preachy “be happy with who you are” message.
Following on from the superb Over the Hedge and last year’s kick-ass Kung-Fu Panda (ignoring the cash-ins Shrek the Third and Madagascar 2), MvA has its priorities right and therefore its formula right: strong characterisation, interesting plot, lots of laughs, exhilarating action sequences (that match Cloverfield or ID4 or X-Men: The Last Stand—it’s a Golden Gate bridge thing—beat for beat) and amazing ante-upping animation.
Of course it’s now almost redundant to comment that the standard of animation once again improves exponentially (but just for the record, it does). See it in 3D if you can, because the infinitely-added amount of depth and the pokey things coming out of the screen double the entertainment value. It’s another thoroughly convincing demonstration of how the resurrected and vastly improved eye-popping extra sensory experience is the future of animation (after Disney’s Bolt).
The voice cast is also perfect, each one bringing real verve to their character and obviously relishing getting to bring such outlandish creatures to life. Picking one out from the ensemble almost seems redundant, especially considering the sterling efforts of Laurie and Daily Show/Colbert Report stalwart Stephen Colbert as clueless President Hathaway in particular. But if there was one verbose gob to emphasise above all others, it has to be Seth Rogen and his signature snigger. What’s so impressive is that his moments are almost all throwaway but, ultimately, end up being the most memorable (and instantly quotable) parts of this thoroughly entertaining flick.
[etRating value=“ 4”]
Straight from the Superman-aping opening, it’s clear MvA is going to be a lot of fun. Then when leading lady Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is hit by a falling meteor on her wedding day, you realise just how much fun. Metamorphosed into giant lady Ginormica, Susan is swiftly whisked away by the US military to a top secret compound where she is locked up indefinitely and introduced to her new monstrous family: gelatinous blob B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), mad scientist Dr Cockroach Ph.D (Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and the skyscraper-sized Insectosaurus.
But when a UFO lands in America (“The only country UFOs ever seem to land in”) and its alien operator Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) threatens the Earth with destruction, the monsters are unleashed under the command of General W.R. Monger (a voice-modulated Jack Bauer) as humanity’s last hope. Can they pull together as a team in time to save us all from total annihilation?
Playing to both kiddiewinks and proper grown-ups, MvA provides nostalgic pop culture nods (Close Encounters, ‘Axel F’, Mission: Impossible, The Fly, Dr Strangelove) and wink-wink, nudge-nudge adult humour as well as pratfalls, exciting action set-pieces and the obligatory but not preachy “be happy with who you are” message.
Following on from the superb Over the Hedge and last year’s kick-ass Kung-Fu Panda (ignoring the cash-ins Shrek the Third and Madagascar 2), MvA has its priorities right and therefore its formula right: strong characterisation, interesting plot, lots of laughs, exhilarating action sequences (that match Cloverfield or ID4 or X-Men: The Last Stand—it’s a Golden Gate bridge thing—beat for beat) and amazing ante-upping animation.
Of course it’s now almost redundant to comment that the standard of animation once again improves exponentially (but just for the record, it does). See it in 3D if you can, because the infinitely-added amount of depth and the pokey things coming out of the screen double the entertainment value. It’s another thoroughly convincing demonstration of how the resurrected and vastly improved eye-popping extra sensory experience is the future of animation (after Disney’s Bolt).
The voice cast is also perfect, each one bringing real verve to their character and obviously relishing getting to bring such outlandish creatures to life. Picking one out from the ensemble almost seems redundant, especially considering the sterling efforts of Laurie and Daily Show/Colbert Report stalwart Stephen Colbert as clueless President Hathaway in particular. But if there was one verbose gob to emphasise above all others, it has to be Seth Rogen and his signature snigger. What’s so impressive is that his moments are almost all throwaway but, ultimately, end up being the most memorable (and instantly quotable) parts of this thoroughly entertaining flick.
[etRating value=“ 4”]
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