Female Superhero Battles Outer Space Invaders in 'Monsters Vs Aliens'

"--------------" It certainly is a strange way for perky, petite Susan Murphy to begin her wedding day; but things get even stranger when she reaches the altar. " --------------" Suddenly Susan starts growing taller and taller. " --------------" Almost a 50-foot tall woman (49 feet, 11 inches), Susan - now  nicknamed 'Ginormica' - finds herself locked away in a super-secret facility along with some other unusual characters. " --------------" But when an alien spacecraft arrives and threatens the entire planet.. "-------------" ... only one thing can save us - Monsters! Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon does the voice of Susan, a.k.a. 'Ginormica.' "I guess this was the first movie that I ever did that had this much action in it," Witherspoon says, "so I was sort of surprised about that and kind of thrilled because I can't imagine any other world in which that opportunity will present itself to me. It was kind of awesome creating a female super-hero. It feels like a unique opportunity." "-------------" Among her "Monster" cohorts is Bob, a cheerful gelatinous blob with no brain. Comedy star Seth Rogen was the natural choice for that voice.

"I was glad to see it was animated; but, yes, I've played a few gelatinous blobs with no brain," Rogen jokes. "It's time I do it in the animated world as well as the live action one. I'm in on the joke. I get it. I was flattered more than anything. " ---------------" "I think it is actually a lot easier to be funny when you have hundreds of geniuses who are paid to animate your every facial expression with painstaking thought and minutiae," he adds. "These guys really put a lot of thought into every second of the movie that winds up in front of you guys; and I think they add a lot of the humor that's in it. I actually didn't know a lot of the stuff that Bob does until you see the movie. I watched it and thought 'this is hilarious. I wish I was that funny.' " Also in the voice cast: Hugh Laurie as the mad scientist 'Dr. Cockroach,' Will Arnett does the amphibian 'Missing Link' and Rainn Wilson is the evil alien 'Galactar:' "I play an evil alien guy so it's not like I have necessarily such a difficult, textured nuanced role to play. I just had to be …just evil," Wilson jokes. Kiefer Sutherland, who portrays the pompous General Monger, says it is fun, but there's also a message he appreciates. "What I liked about it is it was geared to young people and it told them that it is all right to be different; and not only was it all right to be different, but the thing that might make you uncomfortable or make you feel weird could be your greatest quality," says Sutherland. "That quality in the context of our movie allows Ginormica to save the planet and certainly when I was growing up I felt different than other kids. That scared me a lot, so what I liked about this movie is that it told children and young people that it was all right." "--------------" Monsters Vs. Aliens is co-directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman. It is among a growing number of features filmed in three-dimension or 3D making the characters and action pop off the screen in theaters equipped with 3D projection equipment.

Alan Silverman, Voice of America in Hollywood.