DreamWorks animation studios can claim credit for Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar and the phenomenally lucrative Shrek franchise. Despite having persistently lagged behind Pixar in animation techniques and Oscar acclaim, DreamWorks’ bright, unashamedly childish efforts have brought them inconceivably vast box office success. Shrek 2 is the 10th highest grossing film of all time and made $919.8 million at the cinema alone. The DVD and Shrek 2 merchandise are estimated to be worth a further $800 million. Just one film about a green ogre with a suspiciously Scottish accent made DreamWorks nearly $2 billion. No wonder they’re starting production on Shrek Goes Forth with greedy haste. But first they aim to take a technical leap past Pixar with Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D.
You have to admire the cheerful simplicity of any title which manages to capture a film's plot and playful spirit in just three words. When aliens attack Earth, a desperate President turns to a crackpot general W.R. Monger and his ragtag team of monsters to save the day. The monsters and their foes of robots and alien clones are all joyously ripped straight from classic sci-fi B movies. The prospect of watching them duke it out for the fate of the planet is appealingly silly and unpretentious.
Like most of DreamWorks’ efforts, the film’s vocal cast sparkles with unquestionable A-List calibre. Reese Witherspoon is typically endearing as Susan, a young woman whose wedding day is ruined by a meteorite which turns her into the towering 60 foot ‘Ginormica’. With much of the film focusing on her struggles to accept her newfound monstrousness, this character could easily have been irritatingly timid and hysterical. Luckily, Witherspoon’s trademark plucky charms translate well to animated form. The rest of the cast also seems equally well chosen.
Taking a rare break from all Jack Bauer’s bad days, Kiefer Sutherland clearly enjoys playing the gruff and battle hungry general W.R. Monger. Likewise, Hugh Laurie revels in the chance to show off his rare comedic gifts as a Mad Scientist turned into a cockroach by an experiment gone deliberately awry. Seth Rogen feels strangely typecast as BOB the likably brainless and indestructible blob. His attempt to romance a bowl of jelly is perhaps also one of the films funniest moments. Meanwhile, skyscraper sized bug ‘Insectosaurus’ just might be the most adorable thing to ever terrify on the big screen. Arrested Development’s Will Arnett plays Neanderthal fish-man ‘the missing link’, while political funny-man Stephen Colbert fulfils the secret wishes of many Americans by playing the President.
Recent 3D Movies have ranged from the sublime Nightmare Before Christmas re-release, to the ridiculous Spy Kids 3-D. The concept had previously found more consistent success in theme park rides than feature films; remaining a novelty rather than establishing itself as a filmaking norm. Perhaps, new technology and the recent wave of successful 3D movies, finally marks the real arrival of a new dimension in cinema. The added depth and sense of motion compliments the playful cartoonish action of films like Monsters vs. Aliens. Of course there’s a couple of scenes where things fly off the screen into the audience, startling kids and parent alike, but such tricks are sparingly used. Overall, 3D is less jarring and distracting for animated films than it often seems to be for live action.
Considerable time and effort has clearly been put into Monsters vs. Aliens with evident visual and casting success. However, my one major reservation would be that the action focused plot is quite insubstantial for more grown-up audiences; the film really has little to offer beyond a traditional "it’s okay to be different" moral. Unfortunately, the sophisticated brilliance of Pixar efforts like Wall-E and Ratatouille has permanently raised expectations for children’s cinema. Compared to the endlessly re-watchable magic of those films, Monsters vs. Aliens seems disappointingly simple and ironically two dimensional. There is just enough silliness and action to cling to an audience’s attention once, but certainly not much to merit a second glance. It's good... it's just not Pixar good.
A link below to the history of 3D for all those who prefer to know how magic tricks are done...
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