Monsters vs. Aliens | |
---|---|
Created by | Conrad Vernon Rob Letterman |
Owners | DreamWorks Animation (Universal Pictures) |
Years | 2009–2014 |
Films and television | |
Film(s) | Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) |
Short film(s) | |
Animated series | Monsters vs. Aliens (2013–2014) |
Games | |
Video game(s) | |
Audio | |
Soundtrack(s) | Monsters vs. Aliens |
Official website | |
Monsters vs Aliens |
Monsters vs. Aliens is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation. The franchise began with the 2009 film Monsters vs. Aliens and has since grown to include two short films, a television special, a television series, and a tie-in video game.
The franchise follows a group of monsters: Susan (also called Ginormica), a woman who was struck by an asteroid on her wedding day and grew to be 50 feet tall; B.O.B., an indestructible gelatinous mass who was created when a dessert topping was crossed with a tomato; The Missing Link, a 20,000-year-old macho fish man, who was thawed out from deep ice by scientists; Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D., a scientist who became a bug guy after his experiment went wrong; and Insectosaurus, a massive bug who was mutated by nuclear radiation. The monsters are assigned by the U.S. Government to defend Earth from alien invasions and supernatural threats.
Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monsters vs. Aliens | March 27, 2009 | Conrad Vernon & Rob Letterman | Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, Rob Letterman, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger | Rob Letterman & Conrad Vernon | Lisa Stewart |
Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American animated science fiction action comedy film. It was DreamWorks Animation's first feature film to be directly produced in a stereoscopic 3D format instead of being converted into 3D after completion, which added $15 million to the film's budget. [1]
The film involves the story of Susan Murphy who is excited to be married to weatherman Derek Dietl. But moments before her ceremony, she gets unexpectedly struck by a radioactive asteroid and during the ceremony, she grows up to a size of 50 feet tall. Once she grows into a giant, known as Ginormica, she gets whisked away by the United States Army and gets sent to a secret maximum security prison where she meets other monsters who had been rounded up over the past 50 years: Dr. Cockroach, (a scientist who became part cockroach during an experiment), The Missing Link, (a 20,000 year old macho fish ape who was thawed out from deep ice), B.O.B. (an indestructible gelatinous blob who was injected with salad dressing as a tomato), and Insectosaurus (a 350 grub who was mutated by nuclear radiation). The monsters do not fit in with society and are kept in the prison by General W.R. Monger, the army officer who is in charge of the facility. All the monsters get released when they are called in to save the world from an invasion by Gallaxhar, a villain from outer space, who wants to use the asteroid that hit Susan as the key to his invasion.
The film was originally scheduled for a May 2009 release, but the release date was moved to March 27, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray September 29, 2009, in North America and included the easter egg to the upcoming movies and previews. The film features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Conrad Vernon, Rainn Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, Stephen Colbert, and Paul Rudd.
Despite its success in the United States market, DreamWorks Animation's CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg was quoted in the Los Angeles Times that a sequel would not be made because of the film's weak performance in some key international markets. "There was enough of a consensus from our distribution and marketing folks in certain parts of the world that 'doing a sequel' would be pushing a boulder up a hill." [2] After the release of Megamind , Katzenberg commented these sequels: "All shared an approach and tone and idea of parody, and did not travel well internationally. We don't have anything like that coming on our schedule now." [3]
Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space is a 2009 Halloween special, directed by Peter Ramsey. It premiered in Ireland on RTÉ One on October 26, 2009, and aired in USA on the NBC channel on October 28, 2009. [4] The special was first released on DVD in the UK on September 27, 2010, exclusive to Tesco stores, and in US it was released on September 13, 2011, [5] and on September 27, 2011, [6] along with Scared Shrekless . [7] It was released on DVD [8] and Blu-ray [9] on August 28, 2012, as part of Shrek's Thrilling Tales (DreamWorks Spooky Stories).
After saving the day from Gallaxhar's wrath, Susan and her fellow monsters go back to Susan's home in Modesto, California; just in time for Halloween celebrations. Susan spends time with her parents, while the other monsters join in trick-or-treating and collect a large amount of candy. Later, it is revealed that the monsters came to destroy mutant pumpkins disguised as Jack-o-lanterns. When the pumpkins begin to eat children's candies to grow larger, the monsters and children defeat them by throwing excessive candy to bloat them up and explode them. But, in a twist ending, some of the pumpkin "blood" (a green goo that mutated the ordinary pumpkins) falls into a planting of carrots, causing a mutant carrot to be formed.
B.O.B.'s Big Break is a 3D animated short prequel film. The short premiered on Nickelodeon in 2D on September 26, 2009, and was released 3 days later in 2D and 3D on the Monsters vs Aliens Blu-ray and the double DVD pack. [10]
Many years before the events of the first film, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. and The Missing Link are trying to outwit Captain W.R. Monger to escape from Area 52, the government's top-secret holding cell, by disguising their escape plan as celebrating an oblivious B.O.B.'s "birthday". Cockroach's escape attempt by feeding B.O.B. a chemical mixture to turn him into a bomb instead results in B.O.B. temporarily acquiring the ability to read minds, and allowing them to find out about a secret exit from Area 52. Unfortunately, the plan fails when B.O.B. smashes the jet they were using to escape believing it to be a piñata, with the resulting explosion erasing B.O.B.'s new power. Afterwards, Link and Dr. Cockroach are forced to endure their humiliating defeat at B.O.B.'s "birthday party" by being mocked by both Monger and The Invisible Man.
Night of the Living Carrots is a 2011 13-minute [11] 3D Halloween short film based on Monsters vs. Aliens , and a sequel to Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space. It was directed by Robert Porter. First part of the short premiered on October 13, 2011, [12] and the second part five days later, [13] for a limited time, exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS video service. [14] It was released on August 28, 2012, on DVD [8] and Blu-ray [9] as a part of Shrek's Thrilling Tales (DreamWorks Spooky Stories).
Following the cliffhanger at the end of Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, the mutated carrot has spawned hundreds of zombie carrots, which can take control of a person's mind after biting them. Dr. Cockroach determines that the only way to defeat the carrots and free their victims is for B.O.B. to eat all of the carrots (specifically because B.O.B. has no brain and, thus, is immune to the carrots' mind control powers). Eventually, albeit reluctantly, B.O.B. agrees. At the end of the short, B.O.B. is turned into a giant zombie carrot, though this is never explained or followed up on.
An animated television series based on the film, titled Monsters vs. Aliens, aired on Nickelodeon between March 23, 2013 [15] and February 8, 2014. A total of 26 [16] episodes consisting of 2 11-minute segments were released. The cast featured new voice actors for the characters of Susan (Riki Lindhome), Dr. Cockroach (Chris O'Dowd), The Missing Link (Diedrich Bader), and B.O.B. (Eric Edelstein). [17] This series was partly produced by New Zealand CG animation studio Oktobor Animation. [15] The series was cancelled after one season due to low ratings and plans to refocus on more "Nickish" shows. [18]
List indicator(s)
- A dark gray cell indicates the character did not appear in that installment.
- An A indicates an appearance through previously recorded material.
- A U indicates an actor or actress was not credited for their respective role.
- A Y indicates a younger version of a character.
Characters | Feature film | Short films | Television special | Television series | ||
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Monsters vs. Aliens | B.O.B.'s Big Break | Night of the Living Carrots | Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space | Monsters vs. Aliens | ||
Susan Murphy / Ginormica | Reese Witherspoon | Archive footage | Reese Witherspoon | Riki Lindhome | ||
B.O.B. Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate | Seth Rogen | Eric Edelstein | ||||
Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. | Hugh Laurie | James Horan | Hugh Laurie | Chris O'Dowd | ||
The Missing Link | Will Arnett | David Kaye | Will Arnett | Diedrich Bader | ||
Will Arnett A | ||||||
General Warren R. Monger | Kiefer Sutherland | Kevin Michael Richardson | ||||
Insectosaurus / Butterflyosaurus | Jimmy Kimmel U | Appeared | ||||
Carl Murphy | Jeffrey Tambor | Jeffrey Tambor | ||||
Wendy Murphy | Julie White | Julie White | ||||
Gallaxhar | Rainn Wilson | |||||
President Hathaway | Stephen Colbert | Photograph | James Patrick Stuart | |||
Kari Wahlgren Y | ||||||
Derek Dietl | Paul Rudd | Nolan North | ||||
The Invisible Man | Mike Mitchell | |||||
King Coverton | Jeff Bennett | |||||
Sqweep | Haley Tju | |||||
Sta'abi | Gillian Jacobs |
Film | Detail | ||||
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Composer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributor | Running time | |
Monsters vs. Aliens | Henry Jackman | Joyce Arrastia and Eric Dapkewicz | DreamWorks Animation | Paramount Pictures | 94 minutes |
Two video games Monsters vs. Aliens were released on March 24, 2009 on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and Wii, and one for the Nintendo DS, developed by Amaze Entertainment. The game, developed by Beenox, allows users to play through scenes from the movie as Susan, The Missing Link, and B.O.B., and features drop-in/out co-op. Players can play as Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. in multiplayer co-op, as well as Insectosaurus in the Nintendo DS game. The music was composed by Jim Dooley, with live brass recorded at the Warner Brothers Eastwood Scoring Stage. [19] The Monsters vs. Aliens video game has garnered a Metacritic score of 63 for the Xbox 360 version of the title.
Another video game titled Madagascar Kartz was released by Activision on October 27, 2009, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, and Nintendo DS. [20] Mainly based on the Madagascar franchise, the game also features B.O.B. [21] and a racetrack based on the spaceship from Monsters vs. Aliens. [20]
Another video game titled Super Star Kartz was released by Activision on November 15, 2011, [22] for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS. The game features 14 different characters from DreamWorks' films – Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar, Shrek , and How to Train Your Dragon . [23]
A free mobile game based on the 2013 TV series, titled B.O.B.'s Super Freaky Job, was developed by Adrenaline and released on October 10, 2013 to iOS and Android. In the game, player must guide B.O.B. through challenges by rotating the world around him, to obtain spare parts for Dr. Cockroach, and earn stars for the Presidential Medal. [24]
Chronological order of the Monsters vs. Aliens franchise history:
Conrad Vernon is an American voice actor, director, producer, writer, and storyboard artist best known for his work on the DreamWorks animated film series Shrek as well as other films such as Monsters vs. Aliens, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, and Penguins of Madagascar. He also co-directed non-DreamWorks animated films such as Sony Pictures' Sausage Party and MGM’s The Addams Family.
Shrek 4-D is an animated 4D film based on the Shrek franchise created by DreamWorks Animation, itself based on the book by William Steig. It also is a 4D simulator ride attraction with motion-based effects and water sprayers located at various theme parks around the world. It is currently shown at Universal Destinations & Experiences in Singapore, and previously in Universal Studios Florida, Hollywood, and Japan. The Hollywood location closed on August 14, 2017, to make way for the DreamWorks Theatre attraction, the Orlando location closed on January 10, 2022, to make way for Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast, and the Japan location closed on February 9, 2024. Outside the Universal parks, the movie was shown at Movie Park Germany in Germany from May 2008 until July 2011, and Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia from September 2005 until August 2010. A spin-off attraction titled Donkey's Photo Finish is located at the Florida venue while Meet Shrek and Donkey is located at the Hollywood venue. In Universal Studios Japan, the attraction is shown in the same theater as Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic, with the Shrek 4-D film shown for the first 12 hours of the day, and the Sesame Street film shown for the next 12 hours of the day.
Shrek is an American media franchise of DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on William Steig's 1990 picture book Shrek! The series primarily focuses on Shrek, a bad-tempered but good-hearted ogre, who begrudgingly accepts a quest to rescue a princess, resulting in him finding friends and going on many subsequent adventures in a fairy tale world. It includes four animated films: Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), with a fifth film, Shrek 5, currently in production for a 2026 release. A short 4-D film, Shrek 4-D, which originally was a theme park ride, was released in 2003. Two television specials, the Christmas television special Shrek the Halls (2007) and the Halloween television special Scared Shrekless (2010), have also been produced. Two spin-off films were made centered around the character Puss in Boots: 2011's Puss in Boots and its sequel, 2022's The Last Wish. Additionally, a stage musical adaptation was made and premiered at Broadway for more than a year (2008–2010).
Peter A. Ramsey is an American illustrator, storyboard artist, and filmmaker. He is best known for directing DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians (2012), becoming the first African American to direct a major American animated film, and co-directing Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). For Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he became the first African American to be nominated for and win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Leslee Feldman is the Head of Casting at Amblin Partners and is the former Head of Casting at DreamWorks, the studio which produced such films as Shrek, The Prince of Egypt, Road to Perdition, Old School, and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, among others. Feldman's old DreamWorks position is currently held by her former colleague Christi Soper Hilt. This change came soon after NBCUniversal acquired DreamWorks in 2016.
Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American animated science fiction action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Letterman, Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, and the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger based on a story by Vernon and Letterman. Featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Stephen Colbert, the film involves a group of misfit monsters hired by the United States Armed Forces to stop the invasion of an extraterrestrial villain and save the world in exchange for freedom.
Raman Hui Shing-Ngai is a Hong Kong animator, film director, and film producer. He is best known for directing the films Monster Hunt and Monster Hunt 2.
Digital 3D is a non-specific 3D standard in which films, television shows, and video games are presented and shot in digital 3D technology or later processed in digital post-production to add a 3D effect.
InTru3D was a brand that identifies content that may be viewed in stereoscopic 3D. Motion pictures or other visual media bearing the brand are developed through animation technology developed by Intel in partnership with DreamWorks Animation in 2008. InTru3D enables animators to author films directly in 3D for what is described as "a more realistic 3D experience." Animated films authored with InTru3D are shown in theaters using 3D stereoscopic projection technology such as that provided by Real D Cinema and IMAX 3D which both require polarized glasses to view the 3D films.
Madagascar is an American media franchise owned and produced by DreamWorks Animation. The voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith are featured in the films. It began with the 2005 film Madagascar, the 2008 sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the third film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted in 2012. A spin-off film featuring the penguins, titled Penguins of Madagascar, was released in 2014. A fourth main film, Madagascar 4, was announced for 2018, but has since been removed from its schedule indefinitely due to the studio's restructuring.
Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 video game based on the film with the same name. The game was released on March 24, 2009 on PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Microsoft Windows.
Scared Shrekless is a 2010 American animated Halloween horror comedy television special based on the Shrek franchise. Set shortly after the events of Shrek Forever After, the film is told in anthology film format, using a frame story to introduce three horror tales. The special premiered on the American television network NBC on October 28, 2010.
Madagascar Kartz is a kart racing game developed by Sidhe and published by Activision. Based on DreamWorks Animation's Madagascar, It was released in 2009 for various consoles as the second game on Madagascar's spin-off series. The Nintendo DS version developed by Virtuos was re-released as a multicart that also includes Shrek's Carnival Craze Party Games.
The 37th Annual Annie Awards, honoring the best in animation for 2009, were held on February 6, 2010, at Royce Hall in Los Angeles, California.
Monsters vs. Aliens is an American animated television series based on the 2009 DreamWorks Animation film Monsters vs. Aliens. First announced in 2009, the series premiered on Nickelodeon on March 23, 2013, after the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, then began airing in its regular timeslot on April 6, 2013. A total of 26 episodes consisting of 50 segments were released, with the last episode airing on February 8, 2014. It was the third and final Nicktoon produced by DreamWorks Animation after Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and The Penguins of Madagascar. Following this, the series was not renewed for a second season.
Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space is a 2009 Halloween television special, based on the film Monsters vs. Aliens. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Peter Ramsey in his directorial debut. The special premiered in Ireland on RTÉ One on October 26, 2009, and aired in the USA on the NBC network on October 28, 2009.
How to Train Your Dragon is an American media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the eponymous book series of the same name by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: How to Train Your Dragon (2010), How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). The franchise also contains five short films: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010), Book of Dragons (2011), Gift of the Night Fury (2011), Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014), and How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019). A live-action remake of the first film is scheduled for release by Universal Pictures in June 2025.
Night of the Living Carrots is a 2011 American animated short film produced by DreamWorks Animation and based on the film Monsters vs. Aliens. A sequel to the 2009 short, Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, the short follows the monster team taking on a mutated carrot army that can mind control others. Dr. Cockroach determines that the only way to defeat them and free their victims is for B.O.B. to eat all of the carrots, which ultimately stops the invasion.