Monsters vs. Aliens
Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American animated science fiction action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by American director, producer, writer, storyboard artist and voice actor Conrad Vernon and American film director and screenwriter Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Letterman, American screenwriter and television producer Maya Forbes, American screenwriter, television producer, film director and actor Wally Wolodarsky, and the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger based on a story by Vernon and Letterman. Featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd and Stephen Colbert, the film involves a group of misfit monsters hired by the United States Armed Forces to stop the invasion of an extraterrestrial villain and save the world in exchange for freedom.
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 $15,000,000 to the film's budget.
Originally slated for release on May 15, 2009, Monsters vs. Aliens was released 2 months later on March 27, 2009, in the United States in 2D, RealD 3D, IMAX 3D, and 4DX. It grossed $381,000,000 worldwide on a $175,000,000 budget. It was the start to the Monsters vs. Aliens franchise, and despite not being followed by a sequel, it was followed by two television specials, Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space and Night of the Living Carrots, and a Nickelodeon television series in 2013, that all take place after the film.