ArticleslgStudy

computer science

Monsters vs. Aliens

Monsters vs. Aliens is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Monsters vs. Aliens rather than just read about it. In short: Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman and written by Letterman, Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.

Monsters vs. Aliens — main illustration
Monsters vs. Aliens — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Monsters vs. Aliens belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Monsters vs. Aliens to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Monsters vs. Aliens from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman and written by Letterman, Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, it is the first installment in the Monsters vs. Aliens franchise. The film stars Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Stephen Colbert. The film involves a group of misfit monsters tasked by the United States Armed Forces to stop the invasion of an extraterrestrial villain and save the Earth in exchange for freedom. It was DreamWorks Animation's first feature film to be produced in a stereoscopic 3D format instead of being converted into 3D after completion, which added $15 million to the film's budget. Monsters vs. Aliens was released in the United States on March 27, 2009, by Paramount Pictures, to mixed reviews from critics. It was a box-office success, grossing $381 million on a $175 million budget. It was followed by two television specials, Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space and Night of the Living Carrots, and a television series in 2013.

Plot In Modesto, California, Susan Murphy prepares for her wedding to weatherman Derek Dietl, who switches their honeymoon in Paris, France to Fresno, California for a career opportunity. However, just before the ceremony, a meteorite from a destroyed planet hits her. Susan initially appears unharmed, but during the ceremony, the energy that she absorbed from the meteorite causes her to grow 50 feet and 10 inches(15.49m) tall, accidentally destroying the church. A U.S. military detachment quickly arrives to tranquilize and capture her. Susan awakens in a top-secret government facility for monsters, where she meets General W.R. Monger, the 89-year-old U.S. Army officer in charge of the facility, and her fellow inmates: Dr. Herbert Cockroach Ph.D., a human-cockroach hybrid scientist; B.O.B. (Benzoate Ostylezene Bicarbonate), a brainless, indestructible gelatinous mass of blue goo; the Missing Link, a prehistoric 20,000-year-old fish-ape hybrid; and Insectosaurus, a 350-feet(106.68m) tall bug mutated by nuclear radiation. Susan is renamed "Ginormica" by the government and is forbidden any contact with her friends and family. Meanwhile, faraway on a mysterious spaceship, a squid-like extraterrestrial alien overlord named Gallaxhar is alerted to the presence of "Quantonium", a powerful substance, on Earth; he sends a gigantic robotic retrieval alien probe. When it lands, the unintelligent President of the United States, President Hathaway, who is also Monger's boss, attempts first contact by playing "Axel F" on a keyboard, but the machine simply goes on a destructive attack straight towards San Francisco, unaffected by the military's attempts to destroy it. Monger convinces Hathaway to grant the monsters their freedom if they can stop the robot. In San Francisco, the probe detects the Quantonium within Ginormica's body and targets her. The monsters manage to destroy the probe at the Golden Gate Bridge by using parts of the bridge, so that the government sets them free. Gallaxhar sets a course for Earth to obtain the Quantonium himself while Ginormica returns home with her new friends and reunites with her parents. While the monsters cause accidental havoc due to their lack of social experience, Ginormica tries to reunite with Derek, but he breaks off their engagement, believing that she would overshadow his career. Initially heartbroken, Ginormica soon realizes that her life was better as a monster and that she achieved things without Derek involved at all and embraces her new self. Suddenly, Gallaxhar's ship arrives and abducts Ginormica, and Insectosaurus is shot and seemingly killed when he tries to intervene. Enraged by her friend's supposed death, Ginormica breaks free and chases Gallaxhar, but he traps her in a machine that extracts the Quantonium from her body, shrinking her back to her original size. Gallaxhar then uses the extracted Quantonium to create clones of himself in order to launch a full-scale invasion of Earth. Monger manages to get B.O.B., Link, and Dr. Cockroach onto the ship, where they rescue Ginormica and make their way to the main power core, where Dr. Cockroach sets the ship to self-destruct to prevent the invasion. Confronting Gallaxhar on the bridge as he tries to escape, Ginormica reabsorbs the Quantonium, restoring her gigantic size and strength. Rescuing her friends, they flee the ship and are rescued by Monger and Insectosaurus, now metamorphosed into a butterfly. The ship explodes, killing Gallaxhar and his army. Returning to Modesto, Ginormica, B.O.B., Dr. Cockroach, Link, and Insectosaurus receive praise from the people. Hoping to give himself a career boost, Derek tries to get back with Ginormica, but she rejects and humiliates him live on TV with B.O.B. swallowing Derek up and spitting him out. Monger informs the monsters that a monstrous snail named "Escargantua," mutated from falling into a French nuclear reactor, is slowly making its way to Paris, so the monsters head out to confront the new threat. In a mid-credits scene, Hathaway, pleased with Monger's work for helping the monsters save the world from Gallaxhar, promotes him to the President's senior security staff/chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as his reward (which is also his gift to him for his 90th birthday), but Hathaway's attempt to celebrate with coffee ends with him pressing the opposite button, causing their country's nuclear arsenals to launch. Realizing what he did, he then asks if anyone in the audience wants to freeze his head.

Voice cast

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Monsters vs. Aliens: Reese Witherspoon at the British premiere of the film.[8]
Reese Witherspoon at the British premiere of the film.[8]

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Monsters vs. Aliens

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Monsters vs. Aliens claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Monsters vs. Aliens before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Monsters vs. Aliens ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Monsters vs. Aliens

In research
Monsters vs. Aliens appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Monsters vs. Aliens in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Monsters vs. Aliens is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2000s science fantasy films, 2009 3D films, 2009 American animated films, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Monsters vs. Aliens outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Monsters vs. Aliens” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Monsters vs. Aliens in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Monsters vs. Aliens means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Monsters vs. Aliens out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Monsters vs. Aliens in simple terms?

Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman and written by Letterman, Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger.

Why does Monsters vs. Aliens matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Monsters vs. Aliens?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Monsters vs. Aliens.

Tags

  • 2000s science fantasy films
  • 2009 3D films
  • 2009 American animated films
  • 2009 English-language films
  • 2009 children's animated films
  • 2009 children's fantasy films
  • 2009 computer-animated films
  • 2009 films
  • 2009 science fiction comedy films
  • 3D animated films
  • American 3D films
  • American IMAX films

Keep exploring