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Monsters Vs Aliens
As a kid growing up in the fifties there were a lot of different forms of entertainment but the most popular of the lot ere the old ‘B’ Sci-fi/horror flick and cartoons. When the weather was not conducive to playing outdoors or on just another lazy Saturday afternoon we would head to the local movie house to watch some monster destroy one earth city or another. The type of creatures would vary from giant insects to humongous people or perhaps some form of blob from another world. No matter what form it took it was always a lot of fun to watch it go on a rampage. Typically the theater would also show a couple of cartoons so we could pretty much make a day of it. Of course by today’s standards the animation was privative but they were fun to watch and it was all that we had. Recently there was a film that brought me right back to those carefree day by combining fifties monster flicks with twenty first century animation; Monsters versus Aliens’. To help reinforce the nostalgic feel I sat down to watch this with my best friend on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Admittedly my current home theater is a lot better in quality than the old neighborhood movie house but the overall mood set by the film perfectly brought back the full measure of entertainment. It had a silly plot and was filled with a lot of groaner puns but overall it got all of us laughing and after a tough week at work that was the most important thing about the movie. It should be noted that the primary targeted demographic is the younger set but this is the type of movie that make the old adage ‘fun for the entire family’ true. One other factor that is very important to keep in mind is that as a kid’s flicks don’t expect much in the way of character development or plot twists. This movie succeeds well in the two goals it established for itself; be fun to watch and show off the latest and greatest animation techniques. It is quite obvious that the people on the development side of this flick also grew up having their cinematic tastes shaped by the afternoon monster movies. My friends and I had a great deal of fun trying to shout out the reference movie as each of the many such references appeared on the screen. This is another reason why the home edition of this movie is so great; you get to talk without annoying a theater full of strangers. The screenplay, admittedly light ob plot, was handled by a team of very funny writers headed by a pair of proven talents. Maya Forbes had several years of experience working on the critically acclaimed comedy show ‘The Larry Sanders Show. Wallace Wolodarsky worked for years on the flagship of the Fox network; ‘The Simpson’. The direction was also done with a tag team approach with Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman sharing the helm. Vernon worked in the art department on ‘The Road to El Dorado’ while Letterman previously directed ‘Shark Tale’. In a film like this an excess of plot can get in the way. This is not the case here. They get right into the story starting with s brief introduction to set up the premise and lay the groundwork for the characters. This is in keeping with the format for those old horror flicks; get right to the creature. Susan Murphy (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is a friendly,
pleasant young woman who becomes engaged to her boyfriend Derek Dietl (voiced by
Paul Rudd. He works as the weatherman on the local TV news but has aspirations
of becoming a news anchor in a major marked. On their wedding day Susan is hit
by a glowing green meteorite and before they can finish exchanging their vows
she grows to the staging height of 49’ 11.5". This avoids copyright problems
with the classic fifties flick ‘The Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman’. Since this
is a family film her shredded wedding gown managed to stay sufficiently in tack
to retain its ‘G’ rating. Susan is whisked away by the proverbial government
black helicopters to ‘Area 52’. For decades the government has been hiding
monsters there from the public. Besides Susan, now renamed Ginormica by the
government, there was the Missing Link The theatrical release was in a new3D process but for some reason both the DVD and Blu-ray were present in the 2D variation only. With that noted I have to say that in high definition this movie is incredible. There is such an amazing level of detail shown that it is breathtaking. The way hair rustles in a breeze or how you can notice muscles moving under the skin brings a realistic feel that will have you forget this is animation. What blew me away was how far along animation has come so that the emotional nuances in the face come across. The Blu-ray also has enough extras to keep the entire family laughing for hours. Includes 4 Pairs Of 3D Glasses (for use with the included short) Posted 10/04/09 |
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