While Monsters vs. Aliens' $381 million haul wasn't enough for DreamWorks Animation to justify green-lighting a feature-length sequel, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Company liked the flick enough to bring the gang back for a couple of animated shorts.
Luckily, the MvsA crew's second reunion, Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space, is a vast improvement over their previous outing, the underwhelming B.O.B.'s Big Break. A fun little spoof of 1950's horror flicks, Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space unfortunately runs out of gas at the climax.
DreamWorks Animation Presents Monsters vs. Aliens - Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space on DVD
It's Halloween and the Monsters are stuck in their cells with nothing to do. Susan (Reese Witherspoon) can't find big enough pom-poms for her zombie cheerleader outfit, Insectosaurus thinks he'd make a awesome Elvis, and Link (Will Arnett) wants to get out there and scare some kids. However, Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie) refuses to get into the holiday spirit - citing bad childhood memories - while B.O.B. (Seth Rogen) isn't sure how this whole 'trick or treat' thing works.
Luckily, General W.R. Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) has a mission: something strange happened in Farmer Jeb's pumpkin patch (involving a flying saucer's toilet system) and the Monsters must check it out. Can our heroes have their Halloween and save the world too, or will they become the next victims of the Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space?
This special has a great set-up, and the film nails the atmosphere of those 1950's horror flicks, but the ending seems like a cop-out. Okay, the mutant pumpkins' objective fits the special's family-friendly vibe but to also make that goal their Achilles' Heel? That's far-fetched, to say the least.
That complaint aside, there are a lot of great laughs in this special and some wonderful moments - Link and Cockroach's interactions with some pint-sized doppelgangers are just about worth the price of admission.
Monsters vs. Aliens - Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space DVD Extras
DWA decided to be environmentally friendly with their extras here, recycling them from previous DVD's. The 'Karaoke Music Party' feature was pulled directly from B.O.B.'s Big Break.
But the real forehead-slapper is the Modern Monster Movie-Making featurette where DWA CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg extols how 3-D is going to revolutionize the movie industry. Not only is it pulled directly from the Monsters vs. Aliens DVD, but it's hilariously dated when viewed in the current context. While 3-D is still a going concern for CGI animated films, it's clear that the process has not been well-received by audiences. So it's ironic to see Katzenberg raving about a revolution that's already fizzled.
Monsters vs. Aliens - Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space is 2/3 of a Great Halloween Special
If this special hadn't run out of gas at the end, I'd be giving it a lot more positive review. It has a wonderful set-up, and the voice cast nails their parts (that said, my comments about Reese Witherspoon from the original movie still stand).
A wickedly funny premise that doesn't quite come together at the climax, Monsters vs. Aliens - Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space gets a 3/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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