*** 1/2

Susan (Reese Witherspoon) is a woman who is getting married to weatherman Derek (Paul Rudd). She and Derek love each other, and everything is fine. That is, until Susan gets hit by a meteorite and grows to almost 50 feet tall. She unintentionally causes property damage until she is caught and knocked out by the military.

When Susan wakes up, she is in Area 51 (maybe), never allowed to see or speak to anyone in the outside world again. Her only companions are the half amphibian half man named the Missing Link,(Will Arnett), the indestructible blob named B.O.B (Seth Rogan), the “mad scientist” Dr. Cockroach, PHD (Hugh Laurie) and Insectosaurus. All of these “monsters” have been captured since the 1950’s by General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland). Poor Susan! She has also been renamed Ginormica by Monger.

The situation changes however when the evil Gallaxhar (Rainn Wilson) sends a giant robot down to earth to collect the material from the meteorite that hit Susan. Ordinary defenses, of course, can not stop it, and so, with the okay of the President (TV’s Stephen Colbert), Monger sends the monsters down to defeat the alien robot in exchange for their freedom. It seems to be the end for our heroes until Susan steps in and, with the help of her fellow aliens, takes the robot down.

This movie is filled with laughs, most of which are references to other movies (“Spaceballs,” “E.T.”, etc), so adults might laugh more then kids. One monster, Insectosaurus, is useless and annoying. There are few 3D effects, so I don’t think people have to see it in 3D to like it. The film is again full of laughs and Stephen Colbert as the president is hilariously moronic. The movie is animated by DreamWorks, the people who brought us great original films like the Shrek trilogy, Spirit, the Madagascar films, and “Chicken Run.” Like these and other DreamWorks films, the actors and actresses they selected for the characters goes directly with his/her personality.

This movie has been advertised as one big stunt after another with little to no character development and humor only small children would enjoy. That is not what this movie is. There is good character development, more laughs for adults then kids, and the short scene the previews have shown (the one concerning the giant robot) is actually about a 5-10 minute sequence.

“Monsters Vs. Aliens” is a fun family comedy that most everyone will enjoy.

Rated PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor, and mild language

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