Monsters vs. Aliens Website
DreamWorks Animated Films Stars Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie
Mar 19, 2008
DreamWorks Animation has put up the official website for its 2009 flick, Monsters vs. Aliens. Right now, there's not a lot of info on the site: there's a couple of concept art images, plus the synopsis and cast and crew list.
Monsters vs. Aliens is a pretty big deal for DreamWorks Animation, which is still looking for a bulletproof franchise that doesn't have the word "Shrek" in its title.
It's the studio's first venture into what it is calling "ultimate 3-D," the latest generation of 3-D cinema that started in the 1950's with such live-action B-Movies as Bwana Devil.
DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg has committed all subsequent CGI animated films to be made with this process, and he's not the only one. James Cameron's hotly-anticipated film Avatar will also screen exclusively in 3-D, and Disney/Pixar and Twentieth Century Fox are producing Toy Story 3 and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs in 3-D formats.
Monsters vs. Aliens' Plot
Here's the synopsis of Monsters vs. Aliens, courtesy of the official website.
"When California girl Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is instantly labeled a "monster" named Ginormica. The military jumps into action, and she is captured and held in a secret government compound. The world learns that the military has been quietly rounding up other monsters over the years. This ragtag group consists of the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie); the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link (Will Arnett); the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B. (Seth Rogen); and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement time is cut short however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country.
"As a last resort, under the guidance of General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland), on a desperate order from The President (Stephen Colbert), the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to combat the aliens and save the world from imminent destruction."
Other members of the Monsters vs. Aliens cast include Paul Rudd (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), voicing the role of Derek, Ginormica's boyfriend, and Rainn Wilson (The Office), who voices the role of Gallaxhar, the villainous alien leader.
It's being directed by Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) and Rob Letterman (Shark Tale), produced by Lisa Stewart (I Think I Love My Wife) and co-produced by Jill Hopper and Latifa Ouaou. There's still no word as to who is writing the script.
DreamWorks Unhappy With Monsters vs. Aliens?
The other big news about Monsters vs. Aliens was that it was going up against the other 3-D event flick of 2009, James Cameron's Avatar, which is opening May 22, 2009, AKA the Memorial Day weekend.
There was a big question about whether there would be enough 3-D cinemas (it's estimated that there will be 5,000 3-D screens by the summer of 2009) to warrant two movies opening that same weekend.
Monsters vs. Aliens initially jumped to May 15th. That was largely seen as an attempt to strangle Avatar at birth, since no first-run theatre would screen two movies in two separate weeks. DreamWorks then bumped Monsters vs. Aliens to its current March release date.
There are two theories about why this happened. The first is that DreamWorks wants to give Avatar a very wide berth. Cameron's last flick was the top box office movie of all time, 1997's Titanic, and everyone's looking to see what Cameron does for an encore. If Avatar goes as big as Titanic, that will tied up every 3-D theatre until Labour Day. That spells no room for Monsters vs. Aliens.
On the other hand, March is considered a "dumping ground" for movies, that just don't have the box office potential to go up against the big blockbusters of summer, or the Oscar bait of November. Could this be a sign that DreamWorks isn't that thrilled with Monsters vs. Aliens, and they're looking to open it in March, where there isn't as much competition?
Mixing more fuel to the fire is the fact that DreamWorks is only releasing one film in 2009, and three films in 2010. If Monsters vs. Aliens takes over for a faltering Avatar in the fall, that means there will be 4 DreamWorks animated films coming out within an 18-month period. Not good.
So, is Monsters vs. Aliens not what Katzenberg hoped for, or is it a way of making sure the studio doesn't pile all its product in one 18-month period? Find out when Monsters vs. Aliens hits theatres on March 27, 2009.
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