Monsters vs. Aliens (franchise)

Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American computer-animated 3D 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.

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.

A computer-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]