My advice: if you can’t get to an IMAX theater when this film opens, call ahead to your other options and find out which has the biggest screen, the key concept here being massiveness…

To clarify a bit, I just got back from catching Monsters vs. Aliens, so expect a full review in a couple of days. In the meantime, please allow me to share some background and highlights as well as an interview with the nine-year-old who enjoyed all the fun with me.

One of the most unexpected things for me about this film was the tremendous voice work done by its eclectic and impressive cast. To start with, then, here are quotes from some of the stars culled from the nearly fifty pages of productions notes that accompany the film…

Hugh Laurie (who’s wonderful) on Monsters vs. Aliens: “First of all, I love doing animated projects. You wear your own clothes. I love the freedom of messing around and trying to create something in a voice. It’s exciting and a fun challenge. But also, now these animated films have sort of really become the summit of modern entertainment.”

Hugh Laurie on being wooed by DreamWorks for this project: “After a lovely tour around the place, I was presented with this massive amount, almost like a museum, of artwork that they’d already composed… to start to get a sense I suppose, for their benefit and for prospective actors or designers and so on of the world they were trying to create. I was immediately entranced by that wonderful ‘50s feel, which is not only wonderfully relevant to the style of the story they were trying to tell, but it also was a great period of American design. I was sold as soon as I walked in through the door. I didn’t tell them that, of course. I hemmed and hawed and stroked my chin and I tried to play hard to get, but I was in for a ride from the word ‘Go.’”

Stephen Colbert (best line: “Commander, do something violent.

”): “To find a voice for The President, I tried to be just as declarative and authoritative as I could without actually thinking about anything I was saying. The result: ‘Hollow certainty.’”

Kiefer Sutherland (unrecognizable vocally, and a really neat comic surprise): “When we did the larger passes in the script, there were many times that we would stumble on something and I would have to stop because I was laughing or they were laughing and you could hear them. As an actor, there’s a wonderful part of the job about putting something on its feet, and I don’t get to do a lot of comedy. So when I was trying stuff, sometimes, out of sheer embarrassment, I would laugh because I thought it was funny. The film is funny, but it’s sweet and there's a charm to it. It’s about people that really want to belong, and the fact that, not only are they able to belong, but they overcome great adversity to do that.”

Finally, here’s an interview that provides a kid’s reaction to the film. I think it’s relevant not just because you may consider taking in MvA with a youngster, but also because it’s hard to enjoy unless you’re prepared to be a nine-year-old again and generally respond to entertainment that makes you feel that way.

Firefox News: What did you like most about Monsters vs. Aliens?

Carson Gutierrez: I liked that there was a lot of action.

How was the 3-D?

It made the movie even cooler.

What was your favorite 3-D moment?

When the meteorite came out at you with the special thingee inside.

Do you think the movie would be just as enjoyable without IMAX?

Yes!

Whom is this movie for? Who would enjoy it?

Um, my brother would enjoy it.

I mean, what kind of person?

A person who likes action.

Who wouldn’t enjoy it?

A person who’s stupid.

Who is cooler, the monsters or the aliens?

The monsters.

Who’s your favorite monster?

Insectosaurus.

Anything else that people should know about this film?

No. –oh, yes: it has a lot of explosions.

(Well, that pretty much sums things up…)