Trivia / Monsters vs. Aliens

• Divorced Installment: The movie was originally going to be an adaptation of the horror comic Rex Havoc before the story was completely rewritten.
• Franchise Killer: While a planned sequel got scrapped, DreamWorks still tried to turn the series into a multimedia franchise early on, with the movie getting animated shorts (Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, Night of the Living Carrots) and crossover video games (Madagascar Kartz, DreamWorks Super Star Kartz), but the failure of the short-lived TV series ultimately killed any further projects the studio may have planned, and the series itself hasn't seen any major acknowledgement beyond the occasional multi-franchise crossover like DreamWorks Universe of Legends. So as of present day, Monsters vs. Aliens is the only DreamWorks franchise to receive a show, but not during DWATV’s streaming era that began in 2013.
• Kids' Meal Toy: McDonald's released a set of eight interactive toys. B.O.B.'s toy could spin around, Dr. Cockroach's toy was in a pull-back spaceship, and Ginormica's toy could bend and roller skate.
• Missing Trailer Scene: The Team Shot of the five monsters marching purposefully toward the camera.
• Role Reprise: In a rarity for a movie full of Celebrity Voice Actors, Reese Witherspoon, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen and Rainn Wilson all reprise their respective roles as Ginormica, Missing Link, B.O.B. and Gallaxhar for the tie-in game.
• The Other Darrin:
  • In the tie-in game, James Horan and Fred Tatasciore replace Hugh Laurie and Kiefer Sutherland as Dr. Cockroach and General W.R. Monger.
  • Night of the Living Carrots had - along with Horan replacing Laurie again - David Kaye replacing Will Arnett as the Missing Link.
• Playing Against Type: Paul Rudd is usually cast as the Nice Guy or a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, rather than the unrepentant, selfish Jerkass Derek.
• Stillborn Franchise: Much like its fellow DreamWorks movie, Shark Tale, Monsters vs. Aliens did well in its home country of America, but its poor overseas intake led to a sequel being scrapped. However, it did result in a short-lived TV series a few years later.
• Throw It In!: What you get when you hire an improv comedian. "Evidently they eat lead" was one of them.
  • BOB's line "I think that Jello gave me a fake phone number." was ad-libbed by Seth Rogen.
• Viral Marketing:
  • A rather believable (read: amusing) conspiracy nut website has teasers for the movie amid the alien coinage and mind-control candy.
  • Nickelodeon created an ad which started out as a True Jackson, VP promo before abruptly going to static and then shifting to an announcement warning people of the arriving monsters.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Susan was originally more of a Statuesque Stunner resembling a typical 50's B-movie star, but a more modestly cute approach was taken for her final design to make her more relatable.
  • Several early promotional images for the movie depict Ginormica wearing a red version of her monster uniform, suggesting it was changed to black late into development. She also had brown eyes instead of blue.
  • Susan's "Zombie Cheerleader" costume from the Halloween Special.
  • A female Gallaxhar who is basically the parallel version of Susan.
  • The original pitch was an adaptation of Rex Havoc and the Asskickers of the Fantastic, an obscure satirical comic from Warren Publishing (the same folks behind Vampirella). The monsters were mostly established by this point, although B.O.B. was called The Ick! and Ginormica was referred to as the 50,000 Pound Woman.
  • The monsters would have been imprisoned in Alcatraz at the end of the second act. One draft had the monsters going on the rampage after Derek breaks up with Susan, while another had the President make them take the fall for the destruction of San Francisco.
  • Mariana Ximenes was originally going to voice Susan in the Brazilian dub, but scheduling problem prevented that, so the role went to Evie Saide.

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