Monsters vs. Aliens (2013–2014) User Reviews

It's Not THAT Bad

[johcafra · 6/10 · 15 December 2013]

...though it took a friend who knew I'd enjoyed the source film to point this series out to me.

Agreed, the inner Susan could be FAR better explored though the pilot episode does kinda-sorta explain her now-willfully variable ginormity.

But that's the price one pays for "media compression," especially when hyperkinetic slapstick is emphasized within mere minutes if not seconds per episode. It's supposed to be fun, and the slapstick is at times inspired, while every so often genuine wit still manages to surface (for example, an interesting take on educational television).

The creative team also likely felt it had to compensate for characterization by simply adding more aliens and giving the management and staff of Area Fifty-something more of a role. Fair enough, for we get more episodes for the effort.

The animation is good and the voice acting across the board is very good. But I need single out the actor who voices the alien Sta'abi and manages to turn the character's name into a singsong battle-cry with a Slavic dialect that just cracks me up each and every time.

Nowhere near as good as the movie.

[Shopaholic35 · 5/10 · 8 March 2014]

If your in need of something stupid to watch then give this a go. I quite enjoyed the movie version but the TV show is far less enjoyable. Upon watching the first episode I was not impressed in the slightest but it has gotten better as the episodes progress. The characters have lost some of their charisma as they no longer have star-power voicing them but nevertheless they are cute and entertaining enough.

Don't expect too much from this show and then you won't be disappointed. From the beginning it was very open about being a pretty average cartoon but it is OK to watch if you want something brightly coloured that is slightly dense.

Worst show ever and it ruined the original film

[arielsiere · 5/10 · 6 June 2022]

Come on this show is one of the worst shows on Nickelodeon since 2013-2014, like i said before it ruined the 2009 movie of the same title good thing this show got cancelled in February 8th 2014 after the 1° season.

Run far far away from this butchery of Ginormica

[Overthinker · 1/10 · 16 April 2013]

This is an utterly abysmal, cheaply made, moronic cartoon that takes the weakest character of the film and makes him the idiotic star because apparently stupid people being stupid are funny, and takes the strongest character of the film and relegates to her to being a sidekick, in the process removing everything about her that made her a strong and interesting character in the first place.

The film was concerned about how a very normal, average young woman copes with sudden, dramatic changes in her life, and how she finds acceptance with a bunch of misfits, growing mentally and emotionally stronger in the process, and culminating in her decision to reject a return to her old, normal life in favour of her new life as a giant monster. The cartoon series then promptly removes that sacrifice, giving her the ability to bounce up and down at will, though she mostly stays down: she is not, simply put, a monster any more. Considering that every single character point of the movie for her was predicated on her being a giant, and the movie ends by her deliberately choosing that over being "normal," this is a complete and utter betrayal of her sacrifice and character growth then.

While the movie had a lot to recommend it for adults, the cartoon series is aimed at people who have yet to master the art of pooping on their own, and is to be actively avoided if at all possible. If you think jokes about trying to blow up used condoms as balloons are funny, you might like this. That's the level of sophistication this show aims at.

A good series turned into trash

[Aleta_Nook · 4/10 · 24 November 2013]

Holy Cow! I was extremely excited for this series when I first heard about it in late Summer of 2009 and I was like "I wonder when it's coming out. I don't want to wait that long, I want it to come out now!" because I was obsessing over the film and I was a Ginormica fanatic.

I thought I loved the series but it had gradually gotten worse with its plot. I was expecting a whole lot better ideas from this series!

I also liked Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space and B.O.B.'s big break. The series had ruined the film and the characters by having lame plots and I had a hard time following it. Even in the bath episode, Coverton gets washed up and then Ginormica covers her eyes? Bullcrap. Can't you come up with some better ideas than all of these? Even better, don't make a show based on a Dreamworks film!

The animation was bad, Ginormica looked slightly more like Spike in Cowboy Bebop: Tsukio no Yakatata. I tried watching the camping episode and I stopped it because for the main part, it was too annoying.

They brought in lame new characters. I mean, a playful cutesy alien called Sqweep and a telekinetic alien called Coverton? Is this a variant of Covington? B.O.B. is being way too hyper now and Ginormica keeps growing and shrinking, where did she get that from? I want her to stay a GIANT!

I don't really care much for the theme song, all it repeats is "Monsters vs. Aliiiens. Monsters vs. Aliiens. It's Monsters vs. Aliens...", what? That sounds retarded.

I want the original voice actors back. These people aren't worthwhile and that was what also made Monsters vs. Aliens a gorgeous movie.

This series must stop. I cannot stand it. It may seem interesting but after several episodes, it's just plain dumb. So don't watch it.

Monsters Vs Aliens - cute and enjoyable

[COJVaztf · 10/10 · 13 July 2013]

I like the series, it is cute, absurd, and much better than any reality TV shows. The characters are a bit more juvenile, but that adds to the humor. The characters are more of themselves, enhancing the uniqueness of each. It is like watching the older TV series, it is humor for the sake of humor. There is no excess crudeness which many people today find funny. I hope that the show continues to be developed and more seasons added. Maybe, Dreamworks will make the sequel to the original movies. Sometimes, the characters are a bit too frantic, but it does add to the humor later on in the episode. Too many people are critical when a show does not have what they think it should have, just watch and enjoy the silliness.

The absolute worst movie inspired cartoon show I have ever witnessed!

[onelegobuilder · 1/10 · 5 July 2013]

I really enjoyed the film Monsters vs Aliens, and when I heard a cartoon series based on the film was in the works I was thrilled. I thought this could be a very Hellboy-esque show where the monsters fight alongside the government against more evil aliens, and a brand new mythology could have been built from the ground up.

Four years of waiting and this is the best they could come up with!

The jokes are lazy, the animation is cheap, the perilous situations are half baked, the aliens are lame (ones that just sit around and do nothing in area 50-something), the stakes are non-existent, but worst of all is it's NOT FUNNY!

I could go on and on about Ginormica not being giant-sized, opting instead for a size shifting ability, thus making everything that made her very endearing in the first place is now completely irrelevant, but there's so much wrong that that's only a minor problem.

No my biggest problem is that the episodes are two back to back 11 minute episodes, which is not nearly enough time for an action-comedy premise to unfold. Those half-baked perilous situations (i.e. the base blowing up, Earth blowing up, etc.) is usually caused by the monsters own stupidity. And the threat of destruction is quickly averted by the lamest of solutions. In other words the episodes are over just as they started building momentum.

Another downside is that the stories are self-contained. There is little to no ongoing narrative, so watch them in any order you want. So no consequences, no repercussions, are you having a blast yet?

But wait it gets worse. Eventually the show stopped airing two new back to back episodes, and then started rerunning old episodes from last week after the first new episode. WHO DOES THAT!? No show ever did that! Especially in its first season! Either give your audience full half hour episodes, or double order and give them two new episodes back to back. Don't do this half new/ half rerun bull crap.

Boycott the hell out of this show. Let Dreamworks know that this is 2013, We hold cartoons to a much higher standard then we did long ago.

One of the worst shows ever made!

[huxianfromeluxus · 10/10 · 6 April 2013]

I was wrong when I made my first review,the reason I gave it a 10 is I actually was excited and hoped that it would be like the movie. But no, everything was a huge let down. Instead of getting clever plots with monsters trying to defeat the aliens we get them doing things that are just clichéd, we have an episode where B.O.B. takes a bath and starts giving one to everyone, really? For god sakes! Can't you treat the audience well? It's just outright dumb! Try to dramatize the show like the movie, give it an interesting plot to fall in love with. Every single episode has been just a huge let down, I expected a lot from it, but sadly I was wrong, again. The animation is also a bunch of CGI vomit,it has the same animation quality of the video game( honest)but what you expect? It was produced in the same animation studio that made Fanboy and chum chum,which sadly is getting another season, even the little kids in my school tell me how much it sucks, which means the're smart enough to notice this. In conclusion, the show is worst than terrible, it treats the audience like retards, it's really unoriginal, It's always a let down, and the animation is just abysmal.

has a surprising lack of monsters VERSING aliens

[BigDaddy4000 · 3/10 · 26 August 2022]

For a show thats literally called "monsters vs aliens" theres not a lot of monsters fighting aliens here. Its more like monsters LIVING with aliens and less-than-funny hijinks insue, but to be fair i guess that just doesnt roll off the tongue as good.

Also, what happened to insectosaurous?

Oddly enjoyable, but still not good.

[a-70607 · 3/10 · 4 July 2021]

There is no mistaking that this is an objectively bad series. From the horrendous animation, to the revolting gross-out humour, it is actually hard to watch. For the most part, I am able to handle gross-out humour - Bob's slapstick comedy is actually pretty funny at times - but Coverton, who is the alien with the most screen time, and his design, sound affects, voice, and behavior is extremely off-putting. His legs crackle when he tries to stand, and so does his mouth when he tries to smile. Too many times, I had to walk away from the show because it was making me nauseous. And the animation is just too underdeveloped - not necessarily incompetent, but there clearly was no care given. It almost reminds me of Toy Story 1 animation, but worse. For example, the main alien was supposed to be the same alien species as Galaxar from the film, but they look nothing alike. And although Galaxar's weird quirks from the film were pretty unique, the alien from the series is just gross. And the last issue I have is the story build; most episodes, the story cuts off immediately when the issue is resolved - the is no conclusion. I don't get that decision. Like, instead of clearly cramming two 10-min episodes into each 20-min runtime, why not just properly develop one plot and use the full 20 minutes?

However, with that being said, the series does have a certain charm to it, which made me watch every episode. I can't explain it. It's just enjoyable despite all its faults.

But it is definitely not for everyone.

P. S. I saw that someone else brought this up, and I agree that making Ginormica have the ability to go smaller is extremely lazy. Instead of creating some fun plot ideas, instead of creatively getting around her stuggles, or instead of just writing an interesting story conflict, they just cop-out in the first episode. It's a waste.