GERMANY: Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland Sutherland fight Aliens in Dreamworks new animated 3D feature 'Monsters vs Aliens'

Record ID: 385002

  • Title: GERMANY: Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland Sutherland fight Aliens in Dreamworks new animated 3D feature 'Monsters vs Aliens'
  • Date: 13th March 2009
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MARCH 10, 2009) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DREAMWORKS CEO JEFFREY KATZENBERG, SAYING: "Going to a movie is still the greatest bargain, and particularly for families to be able to go escape the day to day challenges that we are all having to deal with and they are difficult, and they are depressing and they are hard, all of those things. Going to a movie is still a very special treat. So I think our industry is going to be one of the few that tend to do better during these times."
  • Embargoed: 28th March 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA4CUYDVU8CO21SUTSMEARX2N6D
  • Story Text: In Dreamworks's latest animated 3D feature Reese Witherspoon lends her voice to a giant woman who fights evil Aliens with the help of other monsters.
    Reese Witherspoon literally goes green for her latest venture which she and co-star Kiefer Sutherland introduced in Berlin on Tuesday (March 10). In the Dreamworks animated 3D feature 'Monsters vs. Aliens' the actress lends her voice to Susan, a Californian woman who is hit by a meteorite on her wedding day. Susan develops a heavy green glow at the altar and grows into a 15-metre-tall woman who is expected to save the world together with a group of monsters when Aliens attack.
    Witherspoon presented the movie in Berlin on Tuesday, with co-star Sutherland and Dreamworks-CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg joining her. The actress who once won an Oscar for her role as June Carter in 'Walk the Line' says the movie is a big hit with her kids. "I definitely think this is the most excited they have ever been about anything I have ever been in, they are so excited to go and see it. It's a great thing. My children watch so many animated movies, so I have to watch them over and over and over again. So when I got the opportunity to make one that is really good, I thought, this is great, because as a parent you have to watch these things so many times, it's nice to make one that is fun for parents, too."
    Kiefer Sutherland voices the character General W.R Monger and says he has various sources of inspiration for the voice of the General: "I think of anything I have done you'd probably have the most difficult time recognizing that that's my voice. We sat and we talked about the script. For the military background, I loved the voice of the sergeant in "Full Metal Jacket" and because it's a comedy and we are trying to be funny, I also love the voice of Yosemite Sam from the Bugs Bunny cartoons" said Sutherland.
    While he's best known for tough guy roles in films and the TV series "24", he says "Monsters vs Aliens" is something that he is looking forward to watching with his grandson.
    "My date for the opening night in the States is my grandson. He is four and I can't wait to show him that. There is also another aspect of the film which is the 3D-element. You are talking about a film that is designed and aimed for children and I can't wait to see my grandson's face when the meteorites in the opening sequence surround him. The first time I saw it, I remember I watched it with a bunch adults. And they all kept looking around because they kept thinking everything was coming somehow from behind. And that part of the animation is so amazing, I can't wait to see the wonderment of a seven year old child who sees it for the first time."
    When California girl Susan Murphy is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall.
    The military jumps into action and Susan is captured and taken away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr.Cockroach, Ph.D.; the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link; the gelatinousand indestructible B.O.B.; and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, the President is persuaded to enlist the motley crew of monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.
    The Paramount Pictures release features the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd. The film is directed by Rob Letterman (Shark Tale) and Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2). The producer is Lisa Stewart. "Monsters vs. Aliens" is DreamWorks Animation`s first InTru 3D Movie. A 2D version is also available.

    "Monsters vs Aliens" opens in Europe on 2nd April. It will hit US cinemas on March 27.
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