Monsters vs. Aliens

Just how much were kids looking forward to Monsters vs. Aliens? If my 9-year-old niece—and the $58 million opening weekend—provide any indication, a whole lot. When an alien sets his sights on an extraterrestrial energy source that fell to Earth in a meteor, the government turns to a quintet of monsters to save the day. The newest monster is the most unlikely: Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is about to marry TV weatherman Derek Dietl (Paul Rudd) when the meteoric wedding crasher transforms her into a giantess called Ginormica. She finds herself sequestered with a buggin’ scientist, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie); not-too-brainy blob, B.O.B. (Seth Rogen); semi-suave creature, the Missing Link (Will Arnett), and the nonverbal, super-ginormous Insectosaurus. My niece called it “really, really, really good,” and uncle liked it, too, even if not quite as much. I appreciated the visuals, which looked striking in 2D and probably would be more so in 3D. Feather River Cinemas, Paradise Cinema 7 and Tinseltown. Rated PG