Monsters Vs. Aliens

In Monsters Vs. Aliens Susan Murphy (Witherspoon) is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk. She mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is instantly labeled a "Monster" named Ginormica. The military jumps into action, and she is captured by General W.R. Monger (Sutherland) and held in a secret government compound filled with other "monsters" like herself. This ragtag group consists of the brilliant but insect-headed DR. Cockroach Ph.D. (Laurie); the macho half-ape-half fish The Missing Link (Arnett); the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B. (Rogen); and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement time is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and the motley crew of Monsters is called into action to save the world from imminent destruction. Along with the main feature is "B.O.B.'s Big Break," a 3-D companion story starring everyone's favorite gelatinous hero and featuring the voice talents of Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, and Kiefer Sutherland. (Gary Reber)

Special features include "B.O.B.'s Big Break" in Monster 3D and 2D (HD 13:19) (four pairs of 3-D glasses); filmmakers' commentary; The Animators' Corner Bonus View and Trivia Track; a paddle ball game in Monster 3D; Karaoke Music Party-Ginormica, B.O.B.; D. Cockroach & And The Missing Link (HD 05:32); three deleted scenes (HD 05:29); two featurettes: Modern Monster Movie Making (HD 17:28) and The Tech Of MVA (HD 06:19); and Dreamworks Animation Video Jukebox (HD 10:28).

Theatrically shown in D-Cinema 3D and in 70 mm blow up (dual-strip 3D) in IMAX® Theatres Monsters Vs. Aliens is released on Blu-ray Disc™ in a standard 2-D 2.35:1 1080p AVC transfer. The picture quality is spectacular! Colors are rich and beautifully rendered, with warm and vibrant hues, for an eye-popping visual experience. Contrast is well balanced, with deep, solid blacks and shadow renderings that reveal impressive detail. Resolution is incredible, with very fine intricate details rendered perfectly. Every facial line, pore, and freckle is vivid, and object textures are clearly discernible. The animators also have managed to project a very dimensional picture, no doubt due to the 3-D framing in the original production. This is a fantastic picture that is impressive throughout, displaying true reference quality. It will be even more impressive when re-released in state-of-the-art 3D. At some point, hopefully, in the very near future, this film will be released in either the spatial compression format (such as SENSIO) or the uncompressed 2D + Metadata format, which are now in standards development (see Issue 138, January/February 2009 for an article on 3-D technology). These have the potential to deliver 3-D quality to the home that rivals RealD and IMAX in theatres. The companion featurette B.O.B.'s Big Break is presented in 3D. Viewed through the provided red/green anaglyph glasses, the depth of field is enhanced, but the color palette is faded and seriously deficient, as is the case with color-coded anaglyph 3-D presentations. This is the lowest-quality 3D and does not reflect the potential for the format now in standards discussion. (Gary Reber)

The reference-quality Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel lossless soundtrack is nicely produced. The soundtrack delivers aggressive holosonic® envelopment, with directionalized surrounds provided by atmospheric sound effects and panned sound effects. ADR dialogue is perfectly intelligible and effectively integrated spatially. The orchestral music score is beautifully recorded, with a wide and deep soundstage that extends well into the surrounds. The sound is, at times dynamic, with deep bass extension in the .1 LFE channel. Atmospheric sound effects and Foley create a sense of space, providing enhanced dimension and nuance to the animation. The action sequences engage the surrounds aggressively, to create a sense of spatial involvement. The sound elements are all well balanced and well integrated, to create a coherent dimensional soundfield. All ages will be enthralled with the excitement and nuances set in motion in this soundtrack production. (Gary Reber)