A very good friend of mine is buddies with a production coordinator over a DreamWorks. A friendship such as this entitles you to advanced screenings of DreamWorks’ latest pictures. The screening for their newest animated film Monsters vs. Aliens, took place at the Gibson Amphitheater and came with the perks of popcorn, soda, cotton candy and 3-D glasses. DreamWorks had rented out 2,000 seats to be used for three different screenings throughout the day on Sunday, March 22. During the brief announcement prior to the film, Jeffery Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation had this to say:
“This is the largest showing of a 3D movie ever”
Also in attendance was Producer Lisa Stewart and Director Rob Letterman among other DreamWorks employees that were there thanking their friends and family’s, and the cast and crew for their support.
The animated film is about a woman (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) who gets hit by a meteor on her wedding day that makes her 49 and 1/2 feet tall. She meets up with a group of monsters (voiced by Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen and Will Arnett) and is commissioned by the government to fight the invading aliens.
The people over at DreamWorks got smart and set up a Twitter account for the movie, which of course links you to their website where you can watch trailers and make your very own monster. Twitter is also helping the movie gain exposure through some of the actors that have their own accounts and worked on the movie, like Seth Rogen and StephenColbert. Just in case your not on Twitter, there is a Facebook page, a wiki, multiple youtube videos and a huge MySpace ad campaign to catch your attention.
So how was the movie? My friend reported that she was worried about it being in 3D. She didn’t want to sit through a Captain EO experience. But surprisingly the way the film was shot was perfect. The animation was spectacular, strangely similar to that of The Incredibles when you compare the characters facial movements and structure. Not saying that anything was ripped off here but that they have a similar look. The texturizing was way better than The Incredibles. Over all good story, amazing animation, great 3D.
This film comes out in theaters on Friday, March 27th, 2009. I honestly wasn’t that excited to see it, but now hearing how well the 3D was done, and after watching a special on how they accomplished an almost organic feeling with the 3D movement in the film, I have to say I am a bit intrigued.
(Photo from Monsters vs. Aliens website)
