Monsters vs Aliens 3d (PG)

Apr 2 2009 Pierce Hunt, Surrey Herald

BURSTING from the screen, and just in time for the Easter break, Monsters vs Aliens is the latest film to embrace 3D animation, pulling out all the stops to wow with some out-of-this-world visuals.

When an asteroid falls from the sky and makes contact with Susan (Reese Witherspoon) on her wedding day, she is transformed into the size of a skyscraper, causing mass hysteria and culminating in the government imprisoning her in a secret facility, away from the prying eyes of the public. But while in her new-found incarceration, she befriends a group of monsters, B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), Dr Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), The Missing Link (Will Arnett) and Insectosaurus (Conrad Vernon), who have also been locked up to at various stages to avoid worldwide anxiety.

Susan, now dubbed Ginormica by her motley crew, finds it hard adjusting to living in her new bewildering environment. But it's not long before the gang are assembled by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) to defend the Earth from an alien invasion. Susan manages to overcome her fears and confront a mammoth alien robot on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, with a little help from Insectosaurus.

The battle may have been won, but the war continues with alien Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) seeking revenge for the destruction of his robot by the monsters.

Monsters vs Aliens aims high and soars into the stratosphere with a perfect balance between humour and action-packed sequences. Children and adults alike will be won over by the sleek design and comical nature of the monsters. The film proves that heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Aesthetically the film excels, but the story is by no means as accomplished as the animation, although this shouldn't detract from what is essentially a stunning 3D film.

The production is the first to be produced in real 3D, meaning that converting it into a 2D feature added more the £10million to Dreamworks Animation and Paramount's budget. But you would be doing yourself and the film a disservice if you didn't indulge in the full 3D experience.

With Disney's Bolt already having the 3D treatment and Pixar Animation Studios' Up ready for a summer release, 3D films appear to be back from the brink and have shaken off their dated 80s image.

If you see one film over Easter, make sure it's Mosters vs Aliens.

 8/10