Surprisingly good, still no Toy Story

Rating: 7/10 (19 April 2009)

I must admit I was a bit sceptically about seeing this film, especially in the wake of such box-office disappointments as Igor. To be honest though, Monsters vs Aliens was never going to be an Igor, its completely different, especially with the addition of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie and Seth Rogan but to name a few. It didn't take me long to see that maybe my pre-judgements were indeed premature and that maybe this film is actually quite funny. Fine, the plot isn't the most interesting, or original for that matter, but it's a kids film and it does what it should do to keep the target audience happy. The film is actually extremely funny in place, not just because of the writing but because of the characters, in particular B.O.B., the President and "The Missing Link". Most of the characters are absolutely lovable and unlike anything I've ever seen in an animation before. The President is one of the funniest things in the film, the typical "solve everything with violence" kind of leader, bumbling around thinking he's invincible. One of the funniest sequences in the film has to be the first scene that is set in the underground bunker involving the President and the General (voiced brilliantly by Kiefer Sutherland) done in the style of Dr. Strangelove, a hilarious scene which is well written and well acted (the voices that is). The only bad thing I picked up on was that for me Reese Witherspoon's voice did get annoying after a while, I do think she is a brilliant actress but for some reason I did find her a little over the top in this. On the other hand Hugh Laurie and Seth Rogan were hugely enjoyable and very funny. The plot was a little too easy to follow and even predict, but this wouldn't be a problem for most kids. Hugely enjoyable film, and very funny, which is a massive breath of fresh air as I don't think I've been this impressed by an animation since WALL-E, and by a Dreamworks animation since Shrek 2. Fine, its no Toy Story, but then again, nothing is.