Animation Monday: Monsters vs. Aliens TV Show

By Nathan Young on May 7, 2013

On this Animation Monday on a Tuesday. I will talk about Nickelodeon’s newest animated show titled Monsters vs. Aliens. The TV series is based off of the 2009 movie of the same name. The cast features new voice actors for the characters of Dr. Cockroach (Chris O’Dowd), Susan (Riki Lindhome), Link (Diedrich Bader), and B.O.B. (Eric Edelstein). The series is partly produced by New Zealand CG animation studio Oktobor Animation, similar to the other DreamWorks-based series The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness.

Monsters vs. Aliens follows the further adventures of the beloved monsters- B.O.B., the gelatinous blob without a brain; Link, the prehistoric fish-man; Dr. Cockroach, the half-man/half-insect mad scientist; and Susan (aka Ginormica), the incredible growing woman-as they learn to adapt to a new world filled with bizarre aliens. These aliens and monsters trains in a secret government facility called Area Fifty-Something. This 26 episode series marks the third partnership between Nickelodeon and DreamWorks Animation.

From Nick.

I have watched a few episodes and I am ready to give my thoughts about the show. The show still has the same characters you know from the movie. Yes, the characters have the same thoughts and personalities like in the movie. The show introduces some new characters that makes the story’s plot interesting. In one episode, there was a TV that forced viewers to answer a question to keep watching. If you got the question wrong, you were blasted with a ray. The monsters and aliens also go on some interesting adventures all while keeping Earth safe.

The only thing I don’t like about this show is the limited time to tell the stories. Most episodes involves two 11 minute stories. The minimal window for developing plots is just not enough to develop the characters. I wish you would get a full 30 minute episode instead. Kids will like this show, there are fun stories and the show is not too violent and everyone learns a lesson, hopefully. If this is the best Nickelodeon has got, no wonder why they have ratings trouble. They need to be developing original shows instead of relying on other franchises. DreamWorks Animation needs to lay off making TV shows off of their movies. I guess laying off employees is not getting the message to them.

Nickelodeon has some original animated shows premiering soon like Sanjay and Craig. This show is being produced by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi, the creators of The Adventures of Pete & Pete, which aired in the 1990’s. I have some very high hopes about this show premiering on May 25th! Here’s a sneak peek video!