Yes, I am 20 years old and yes, I’m reviewing a kids movie (again). But if you have not heard of “Monsters vs. Aliens” in your life, let me tell you, you may not be a real person. A stacked cast, a strange but hilarious plot and an unfathomable amount of adult jokes make this film such an iconic kids’ movie, one that took me until last week to watch for the first time. And let me tell you, it’s worth the time.
The plot follows Susan Murphy (voiced by Reese Witherspoon), a woman who’s about to get married to a self-centered weatherman, who gets hit with a meteor right before her wedding, full of something called “quantonium,” a substance so powerful that it turns Susan into a giant. She is taken away to a top-secret prison with a handful of other monsters, and the only way to secure her freedom is to stop Gallaxhar (voiced by Rainn Wilson) from destroying the planet by invading it with thousands of his clones.
The other monsters in question are a blue slime creature genetically made from a tomato named B.O.B. (Seth Rogen), Dr. Cockroach (Hugh Laurie), a man who experimented on himself to become a cockroach and The Missing Link (Will Arnett), a swamp-like monster, and Insectosaurus, a very large fuzzy caterpillar creature that does not speak, all of which have been in that prison for 50 or so years. So to sum it up, this movie is about Elle Woods, Donkey Kong, Dr. House and Lego Batman stopping Dwight Schrute from taking over Earth.
And I know what you’re thinking: how could this movie get any better? I say this with extreme seriousness: This movie was definitely (and secretly) made for adults more than it was for kids. The plot and visuals are absolutely made for kids, considering it’s full of fun characters and an animated DreamWorks movie, but the jokes? At least half of them I just know I wouldn’t have understood under the age of 12. The whole “Don’t rush me, Katy!” scene, the Invisible Man’s death that was kept secret as to not devastate B.O.B., Dr. Cockroach’s surprised catchphrase being “By Hawkin’s Chair,” referring to Stephen Hawking himself: there’s so much in this that I could mention but won’t because of how surprised I want you to be.
To say this, I have written a review about “Open Season” for the Equinox. And that has been a long-time favorite movie of mine for similar reasons that I like this movie. I put “Monsters vs. Aliens” as a direct comparison.
But it seems my new love for this film is not a common thing.
In fact, Rotten Tomatoes has the movie at a pretty strange standing: 73% on the Tomatometer and 59% on the Popcornmeter, meaning that this was enjoyed more by critics than audiences. I don’t know how, but here we are. This matches on Letterboxd, with a 2.8/5 rating, but a good amount of the reviews just refer to Susan being a tall and pretty woman. I won’t go much farther into the details surrounding this topic. I don’t think this article would be allowed to be published if I did.
Many of the positive reviewers on Letterboxd call it “timeless,” “fun,” and “peak fiction.” One of my favorites was, “This was Suicide Squad before Suicide Squad,” written by a user named Maxine. And I can’t argue with that statement. There was also a review posted by FTRTGlenn, stating, “This movie has the most accurate portrayal of the US military I have ever seen.” I also fully agree with this, especially nowadays. Do you think Trump has a large red button in his office that randomly gives him suggestions on things to defund instead of getting him a latte? Or maybe a locator for aliens that he can add to his cabinet.
But the negative stars outweigh the positives by a long shot. One reviewer with a two out of five star rating, Benjogotfried, stated that it was “the worst DreamWorks movie I’ve seen yet.” Yeah, okay, do you remember a little something called “The Boss Baby?” I bet you have. Don’t you deny it. Another reviewer, bimbim, called it “a waste of weed.” Is it because you thought that was a good idea for the enjoyment of this film, or primarily because Mr. WeedMan Rogen himself happens to be a part of this masterpiece?
A lot of reviews on both Letterboxd and Rotten Tomatoes talk about the animation not having the best quality, and I agree. It is a 2009 movie, so I didn’t expect “Spider-Verse” levels of animation when watching this. It’s a style of the time, I think, and it gives the movie a little bit of nostalgic charm. But this movie was obviously made in the era when 3D movies were the thing, so in many parts of the movie there are obvious 3D gags spread throughout the film. Right in the opening scene, there’s a man using a paddle ball toy, having the ball jump towards the screen and back to him many times before they get an alert about a UFO getting close to Earth. It made me laugh and remember 3D was a thing in the first place.
The critics on Rotten Tomatoes are the real stars of the show, though. While some of them rant about it being boring, charmless and for “those who desire a paddleball to the kisser or a face full of Mothra snot,” according to Keith Uhlich’s review on Time Out New York published in 2011, many call the movie fun, wonderfully inventive and for both kids and adults (see? I’m not lying). Many of the audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are just slandering the other viewers who gave it bad reviews, which I can say is very entertaining to read about people arguing over the greatness of an animated kids film. One bad review called the movie “forgettable and nearly insulting,” and in 2025, too. Have we really gone woke on “Monsters vs. Aliens?”
Is this a perfect “The Odyssey” level of greatness? Absolutely not. Expecting anything at that level in any kids’ or animated movie really says a lot about your character. And I say that in the most respectful way I can. “Monsters vs. Aliens” is a piece of its time, and it has held its spot as one of the most iconic DreamWorks movies ever made. I actually think this movie beats “Shrek,” in all honesty, but not “Shrek 2.” That is even more timeless than this wacky battle of a film.
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