Susan (who’s endearingly voiced by Reese Witherspoon) is living
the dream. Her best friends and bridesmaids wake her up at five am on her
wedding day so she can watch Derek, her husband to be--who’s also the local
weatherman--give a special message just for her. Later, Susan goes for a walk
before she’s about to get married in the perfect little chapel when she gets hit
by a meteorite. Staggering into the chapel just in time for the ceremony, Susan
is charmed by Derek’s remark about how she’s glowing--until she realizes that he
means literally, that Susan is glowing, and growing. She grows to such a large
size that she bursts through the roof of the chapel, scaring away her
wedding guests. Before Susan can even get a grip on what’s going on, she’s captured by the military.
Susan’s taken to a secret facility under the command of General W.R. Monger (very well voiced by Kiefer Sutherland, who’s unrecognizable), where monsters like her are kept safely away from the public eye. Susan meets the other monsters, like Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie); B.O.B. (Seth Rogan), a fun-loving blob-like creature; Link (Will Arnett), a sea-creature with a healthy libido, and Insecto, a large bug that’s even bigger than Susan. Although Susan wants nothing more than to return to her former perfect life, she’s stuck in the prison with the other monsters--until nefarious aliens visit earth looking for trouble, first with a massive killer robot. Susan and her monstrous comrades are then asked to fight for all humanity.
Monsters Vs. Aliens is a wonderfully entertaining flick that’s enjoyable for the kids, while also being loads of fun for adults--especially if you’re an adult who enjoys 1950s monster movies. Susan’s story is taken straight from 1958’s Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman, while Dr. Cockroach is reminiscent of 1958’s The Fly, with Vincent Price. B.O.B. is a funny update of the Blob, which is also from 1958 (what a golden year that was for b-movies!). Link is obviously inspired by 1954’s The Creature From The Black Lagoon, which is my personal favorite of the Universal Classic Monsters. And Insecto is a tip of the hat to the original Godzilla, which was also released in 1954 (another good year for classic B movies).
The MvA filmmakers even pay homage to these classics with black and white
footage of the boys doing their thing before they were captured, and Link has a
hysterically funny monster moment during a pool party when he gets chlorine in his eyes.
While the characters are played for laughs, the action sequences--such as Susan’s
frenetic face-off with the robotic monster in San Francisco--are handled very
well, with a cinéma vérité style that’s impressive to see. With a great voice
cast, a strong script and an imaginative team of animators, Monsters Vs. Aliens
is a genuinely funny adventure story that recalls the best of the 1950s monster
movies that’s effectively blended with today’s CGI wizardry. See it with the
kids, or enjoy it with the kid within yourself.
--SF
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