Taken For Granted

Rating: 7/10 (25 September 2009)

Now here is something that is close to my heart. An animation film based on 1950's sci-fi fodder - it's just got to work. Or has it?
Thankfully, yes it does. As film lovers in the digital age, we have become so spoilt for choice over the last ten years, what with Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Wall-E to name but a few - that we are quick to knock films of this genre with even the slightest flaw - forgetting the time, patience and effort that goes into producing one of these modern day miracles.
Monsters Vs. Aliens isn't a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but is ludicrously good fun if you're a fan of science fiction. There are too numerous references to list here, but needless to say if you've ever watched a black and white sci-fi flick, you'll recognise plenty here.
Technically, the film holds it's own, and at the same time manages to resist the temptation to overwhelm the viewer with flash/bang trickery. The monsters all have their own endearing qualities that children and adults alike will love - while the aliens thankfully fall into the category of 'so smart they're stupid' that made the likes of 'Mars Attacks!' so much fun. The vocal acting is competent and manages to keep disbelief at bay for the best part.
As mentioned before, MVA isn't great great - but it's not bad bad either, and there are plenty of animations that fall into that category that really do get a bad time in the press, simply for not being a Pixar movie. All aside, kids will love this - and if you're a big kid like me, you'll love it too. Good stuff!