Monsters vs. Aliens
Director: Rob Letterman, Conrad Vernon
Slip on your 3-D specs and dig the 1950s-ish angle of this animated comedy: Patriotic Yankee monsters who are summoned to save the planet from a four-eyed alien nerd.
These monster mash-ups are rad, dad, all blasts from classic films. The best of them are Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon), a giantess just one inch shorter than the title freak of Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, and B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), a sapphire splodge getting jiggy with the icky entity from The Blob.
It’s a bit of a stretch to say they’re fighting “aliens.” It’s really just one megalomaniac midget who goes by the vainglorious handle Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson).
Co-directors Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) have packed everything but a tray of Rice Krispie squares into the tale (although there is a Jell-O mould), and it’s clear the project was near and dear to their geeky li’l hearts.
It’s almost too much love. Combining outer-space Armageddon with female empowerment makes for an embarrassment of riches.
But the characters are fun, and now that we’ve met them, let’s hope for a boffo sequel.
Extras include four pair of 3D glasses, a commentary track, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes and a bonus cartoon about Rogen’s B.O.B. character.
