Monsters Vs. Aliens and the Missing Writer
There’s something odd about the latest DreamWorks Animation project “Monsters vs. Aliens”. The trailer was recently ‘leaked’ onto the net and honestly had me laughing. It has a very “Incredibles” visual style going for it and the basic plot is goofy enough to warrant some interest, but the DreamWorks track record, despite being the number 2 CG studio, is mired with a lot of crap. For my tastes, the original Shrek was fun but its sequels fell into comedy tedium. Why God is a fourth necessary (2010) or for that matter, a Puss in Boots spin-off (2011)? Madagascar was a pathetic reason to gather the biggest celebs at the time to do voice work and certainly doesn’t warrant a (gag) sequel OR a third slated for 2011. Don’t even get me started on Bee Movie.
So I was pleasantly surprised to get a laugh from the MvA teaser. The voice cast looks good, the animation quality isn’t original, but it’s clean and comfortable. A friend and fellow animation fan and I started discussing a few things. First the flic has two directors, which I thought wasn’t allowed under the DGA, but I digress. Rob Letterman ranks in first. Letterman’s credits include Shark Tale (a film he also wrote) and a 6 minute CG short called Los Gringos. Director number two is Conrad Vernon. Vernon does have a directorial credit on Shrek 2 (1 of 3 helmsmen) and an otherwise moderate resume… of voice acting.
That in and of itself isn’t all that horrid, actors frequently step behind the camera, some with impressive results. What really has me concerned is the writing credit for the film: There isn’t one. IMDB.com tends to be up on these things, but neither they, nor the official website or any other major animation or film based website across the net has record of a writer. The core of any film is its story and the writers credits typically give a strong indication as to what can be expected. Here we got nuthin. I found a single mention on a smallish site, The Big Cartoon Databse (bcdb.com), listing the writer as Scott Rosenburg. Rosenburg is credited most recently with the Life on Mars TV series (which I hear is doing rather well) as well as High Fidelity, Gone is Sixty Seconds and Con Air. Then again, he also wrote Kangaroo Jack. That aside though, how is it that every other crew member is listed on IMDB (et al), but the writing credit, particularly if it is a relatively well-traveled scribe like Rosenburg, is invisible.
Not a good sign, no matter how you look at it. This could be a similar tactic studios use when releasing a film they know is bad by denying early views to the media before a film hits wide release.
I hope I’m wrong. I hope DreamWorks pulls themselves up out of the outhouse to be a true contender with Pixar, but this little stain raises a big red flag.
