In the battle between “Monsters vs. Aliens,” it’s the audience who wins.
The new animated sci-fi comedy from Dreamworks doesn’t try or succeed at being anything more than easy, fast, crowd-pleasing fun. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Continuing to leave the heart, the socially observant nuance and narrative risk-taking in feature-length cartoons to the superior filmmakers at Pixar, the company behind the “Shrek” and “Shark Tale” franchises instead offers enough likable characters, jocular gags and eye-popping fantasy action for a sure-fire commercial hit. (It’s being released nationally today on approximately 2,000 screens in 3-D and 2,500 screens in regular 2-D.)
The veteran Dreamworks filmmakers Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon scare up monsters and aliens that both a mother and her kids can love. The family-friendly proceedings revolve around passive bride-to-be Susan (voiced with lively appeal by Reese Witherspoon) who gets hit with a supercharged meteorite on her wedding day.
It transforms her into an omnipotent 50-foot woman. She’s Ginormica! Cool! Younger viewers will love that part. Ginormica will eventually be empowered enough to not only save our planet but — even more challenging, as many adult gals know — she’ll also find the strength to confront her mortal fiancé Derek (Paul Rudd) for being such a selfish jerk.
Much of the script’s entertainment value comes from the tribute it pays to science fiction films of the 1950s and more contemporary ones. Numerous visual and verbal cues reference “E.T.,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Star Trek” and others. Meanwhile, the main ensemble of good-guy critters parodies the collection of scary monsters found in the mid-20th century’s cheesy creature features.
Insectosaurus is a giant, roaring maggot, a dim-witted would-be Godzilla. Bob (hilariously voiced by Seth Rogen) is a gelatinous, Day-Glo green version of The Blob. Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie) is part mad scientist, part household pest, just like The Fly. And The Missing Link (Will Arnett) sends up 1954’s “Creature From the Black Lagoon.”
In this light post-modern adventure, the former villains are an adorably wacky crew of heroes, now lead by Ginormica. They’ve been enlisted through a secret government program, and by a clueless U.S. president (Stephen Colbert), to defeat the megalomaniacal alien aggressor Galaxhar (Rainn Wilson) and his minions.
It’s “Monsters vs. Aliens,” just as advertised and as expected. Not much more, but not much less either.
Quick Info
‘Monsters vs. Aliens’
3 out of 5 Stars
Voice stars: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Stephen Colbert
Directors: Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon
Rated PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language
Running Time: 94 minutes
