Monsters Vs. Aliens 2nd Trailer
DreamWorks Animation Film Stars Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie
Dec 29, 2008
It's so far, so good for DreamWorks Animation's next CGI animated movie, Monsters vs. Aliens.
MSN managed to score an exclusive look at the 2nd trailer for the flick and, while it's not a blow-you-out-of-your-seat affair, it looks like this film could be a good time.
Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Kiefer Sutherland in Monsters Vs. Aliens
This trailer follows Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon), a shy girl from Southern California who gets hit by a meteorite on her wedding day, causing her to grow to 49' and 11" tall. She's promptly captured by Gen. W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) and placed in a top secret facility with other monsters: fish/ape hybrid Missing Link (Will Arnett), B.O.B. the blob (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie) and the gigantic Insectosaurus.
However, when an alien overlord named Gallaxhar (The Office's Rainn Wilson) invades the Earth, only this team of random freaks can save humanity.
Cue random (and hopefully humorous) references to Dr. Strangelove, Army of Darkness and The Incredibles. And a scene where B.O.B. tries to romance a gelatinous dessert begs the question: does anyone still use Marvin Gaye's 1970's hit "Let's Get It On" as seduction music?
Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) are sharing the director's chair for this flick.
It's obvious that DreamWorks Animation is still going for the cheap laugh instead of making great stories. It's forgivable when done right (Kung Fu Panda) but really sucks when the funny isn't there (Shrek the Third). So far, it seems that Monsters vs. Aliens falls into the former category, but the truth will hit when this film hits theatres.
Monsters vs. Aliens First "Tru 3-D" Animated Movie
DreamWorks Animation has been pushing this flick for quite some time now. Not only is it the Glendale studio's sole 2009 offering (DreamWorks usually offers one new flick and one sequel per year), but it's also the first movie rendered in what studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg is calling "Tru 3-D."
Instead of converting the flick to 3-D after it's made (what most studios have been doing up until now), DreamWorks Animation along with Intel computers is making Monsters vs. Aliens a 3-D flick from the ground up.
Katzenberg hopes the process – a 21st century version of those funky 3-D glasses that have been offered in theatres since the 1950's – will be the next big thing in movie watching and lure all those naughty boys and girls who have been watching movies via Bit Torrent back into theatres.
He's not alone. Über-filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic, Terminator 2) is going the same route with his big-budget CGI-plus-live-action flick Avatar, and Disney/Pixar is re-releasing their classic Toy Story franchise in 3-D, in preparation for 2010's Toy Story 3.
However, the fate of 3-D (like most other cinematic bells-and-whistles) rests on one thing: can the filmmakers harness it to a great story? Disney made feature-length animation a reality with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937– and Pixar turned the world onto CGI animation with 1995's Toy Story – by pairing gee-whiz visuals with compelling stories.
Hopefully, DreamWorks Animation and James Cameron will keep that in mind when trying to repackage 3-D for the new millennium.
Monsters vs. Aliens invades theatres on March 27, 2009.
 |
