Mountain FogMONSTERS vs. ALIENS: STEAL A KID, TAKE THEM TO SEE IT
April 21st 2009 07:18
The monsters prepare to do battle. From left: B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), Susan (Reese Witherspoon) and The Missing Link (Will Arnett).
While Dreamworks and Pixar (backed by Disney, with Mickey Mouse’s singularly-produced films being virtually a sideshow) are ostensibly in competition for king of the hill when it comes to computer-animated features, it’s interesting to note the differences in approach from the two studios. Pixar’s films, while frequently very funny, are jam-packed with artistry and often carry a distinctively elegiac tone. Dreamworks, on the other hand, tend to keep things a little more straightforward and target their films at kids first, adults second. In recent years, Katzenberg and co.’s films have become increasingly frivolous in the face of Pixar’s thoughtful epics and continuing this trend is Monsters vs. Aliens.
On the eve of her wedding in Modesto, California – the B-movie references start early – model bride, Susan (Reese Witherspoon) has the misfortune of being struck by a glowing meteorite. Apparently unharmed, the bride-to-be recovers to make her way down the aisle, only to suffer the pre-vows ignominy of growing ten times her size. As her horrified husband-to-be, family, and friends look on, Susan’s speedy growth destroys the Church from within and, with a pace that suggest they’ve done this sort of thing before, the army arrives to wheel Susan off to a spacious incarceration. Once inside the secret government facility, Susan meets the other detainees: Doctor Cockroach, a mad scientist who’s half man, half household pest (Hugh Laurie); Missing Link, a former frozen fish turned half-ape (Will Arnett); B.O.B., a one-eyed jelly-like brainless blob (Seth Rogen); and Insectosaurus, a timid but giant orange and yellow furry insect-grub. But the newly acquainted inmates have little time to become accustomed to each other as a nefarious alien (Rainn Wilson), hungry for the very substance that caused Susan’s ginormous condition, attacks Earth, forcing the President to spring the monsters out of confinement and call on them to defend human civilisation.
Monsters vs. Aliens is keenly conceived entertainment. Screenwriters Glenn Berger, Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky have penned a tale that is simple enough for the children while containing enough grit for adults get involved also. By concentrating on Susan, there’s a solid character arc to carry the story, which also manages to eschew rival Pixar’s obsession with subplots that have tended to drag down their recent stories (with the obvious exception of Wall-E). The sci-fi gags come thick and fast throughout, with references to The Blob, The Fly, Dr. Strangelove, House of Wax and Close Encounters of the Third Kind among others, but the in-jokes never bog down the plot, which marches indomitably onwards.
The onscreen action in Monsters vs. Aliens has been rendered in startling detail, and even without the benefits of a 3D cinema the animation is involving and at times hair-raising. Directors Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon keep the performances thrifty and have worked closely with the animators to give each scene admirable pep, while editors Joyce Arrastia and Eric Dapkewicz have done the film great service, cutting it to within an inch of its life.
B.O.B. attempts to smooth talk his way into the soft centre of a plate jelly.
While Monsters vs. Aliens probably doesn’t stack up against Pixar’s best – the jokes can at times be clumsy while the story doesn’t have quite the strength or the subtext of films such Wall-E or Toy Story – this is still highly entertaining stuff. The film doesn’t take itself too seriously, with laughs and age-appropriate thrills at the forefront, but it does manage to include a nice message for the younger ladies about self-respect as Susan realises that her former beau-to-be, Derek (Paul Rudd), may just be a smarmy git. There’s a great balance here between entertaining the youngsters and oldsters, for which the filmmakers deserve plenty of kudos. If you have a sprog, definitely take them to see this. And if you’re childless, go and see it anyway.
Check out the trailer for Monsters vs. Aliens below:
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