“Monsters vs. Aliens” — A Variety Review

Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy

Film: “Monsters vs. Aliens”
Directors: Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon
Writers: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger and Conrad Vernon
Voice Actors: Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Paul Rudd, Julie White, Jeffrey Tambor, Amy Poehler, Ed Helms and Renée Zellweger
Genre: Animation, Scifi
Theatrical Release Date: March 27, 2009

“In a picture that could quite accurately be described as ” ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Meets ‘War of the Worlds,’ ” the filmmakers flex their 3-D muscles right out of the gate with some nifty asteroid-belt vistas and, in a cutely self-conscious gag, having the first human character bounce a rubber-band paddle ball straight at the audience.”

The concept is higher than the execution in “Monsters vs. Aliens,” a funny enough animated face-off between some famous monsters of filmland and would-be conquerors of Planet Earth. More congenial and less crass than some of DreamWorks Animation’s big titles, this why-didn’t-anyone-think-of-this-before dust-up involving one-of-a-kind mutants and space invaders boasts sufficient jokes and eye-popping action, especially in the preferred 3-D format, to more or less satisfy anyone attracted to the premise. All the same, that extra inspiration needed to truly knock this one out of the park is noticeably missing. Even if not as many 3-D venues are ready to show the film as Par and DreamWorks had originally anticipated, the heavily promoted picture looks to dominate commercially during the early spring, followed by outsized ancillary returns and a likely sequel.

“Destroy All Monsters!” is the mission of the hostile interlopers here, and it’s also the title of the 1968 Japanese picture that had the bright idea of throwing numerous superstar behemoths together in one big monster mash. The brains behind the new picture, Rob Letterman (writer-director of “Shark Tale”) and Conrad Vernon (director of “Shrek 2”), could have minted some fresh creatures for their battle of the titans, but instead they have drawn on some legendary sci-fi critters of the ’50s to step into the breach and battle an enemy against which conventional armed forces haven’t got a chance.

We highly recommend a full read of Todd’s review: — GO HERE.