Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space

Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space is a 2009 Halloween television special, based on the film Monsters vs. Aliens. It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Peter Ramsey. The special premiered in Ireland on RTÉ One on October 26, 2009, and aired in the USA on the NBC network on October 28, 2009.[1]

Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space
DVD cover
Created byRob Letterman
Conrad Vernon
Screenplay byAdam F. Goldberg
Story byRob Letterman
Conrad Vernon
Directed byPeter Ramsey
Rob Letterman (uncredited)
Conrad Vernon (uncredited)
StarringReese Witherspoon
Seth Rogen
Will Arnett
Hugh Laurie
Kiefer Sutherland
Music byHenry Jackman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersRob Letterman
Conrad Vernon
Adam F. Goldberg
ProducerLatifa Ouaou
EditorLynn Hobson
Running time27 minutes
Production companyDreamWorks Animation
DistributorDreamWorks Animation
Release
Original networkNBC
Original release
  • October 28, 2009 (2009-10-28)

Plot

One night, an unidentified flying object (UFO) appears on Earth and drops a strange green goo into a large pumpkin field. The owner, Farmer Jeb (Peter Ramsey), comes outside to investigate, but is captured by something off-screen.

Meanwhile, Ginormica (Reese Witherspoon) and her monster friends prepare for Halloween celebrations; Missing Link (Will Arnett) practices scaring, and B.O.B. (Seth Rogen) tries to decide what he will be for Halloween. Dr. Cockroach P.H.D (Hugh Laurie), however, has no interest in Halloween because of his sad childhood on that same night. Their prospect of Halloween is cut short when General Monger (Kiefer Sutherland) tells them that aliens have been detected in Modesto, California and orders them to investigate. At Farmer Jeb's patch, pumpkins are mysteriously being given away for free, with one family taking the largest one.

That night, Ginormica, B.O.B, Dr. Cockroach, the Missing Link, and Insectosaurus visit her parents, who have prepared for Halloween eccentrically. The monsters investigate the suburbs for aliens while Susan investigates the patch. Doc then uses his scanner on various people, Link tries to scare people (getting mistaken for Shrek at one point) and B.O.B. has trouble remembering what to say when walking up to houses for candy. Cockroach's interest in Halloween is suddenly rekindled when an old lady presents him with a swirly pop, his favorite candy.

At a house belonging to the family that bought the largest pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, the pumpkin, nicknamed Wicked Jack (Rainn Wilson) by the family's son, comes to life and attacks the family. At the patch, Ginormica discovers that all the pumpkins have also come to life, a result of saturation from the green goo. All the pumpkins in the suburbs come alive and attack the children, prompting Cockroach, Link and B.O.B. to protect them. B.O.B. attempts to reason with one of the pumpkins, but fails. Cockroach discovers that the pumpkins are not after the children, but their candy and that the more they eat, the bigger they will get.

At that moment, Wicked Jack emerges, now a giant pumpkin and assumes leadership of the Mutant Pumpkins. B.O.B.'s bungling leads the pumpkins to the Murphy house, the place with the most candy. The children and monsters rally against the aliens just as Ginormica turns up, but Wicked Jack fuses himself with the other pumpkins to become an even bigger giant. The monsters' attempts to defeat Wicked Jack seem to prove futile until Cockroach realizes from seeing B.O.B. suffering from indigestion that they must overfeed the pumpkins with candy to bloat them up. He helps by making a Gatling gun platform for that purpose.

All the candy is eventually used up, allowing Wicked Jack to recover. Cockroach realizes he must give up his swirly pop, which he does, to push Wicked Jack to indigestion. At that point, Ginormica's parents come outside and are shocked to see the whole thing. Ginormica sucker-punches Wicked Jack's head off, allowing him to escape until she whistles for Insectosaurus (dressed as Elvis Presley) to destroy him. All the candy that had been consumed by the pumpkins comes out unscathed, including Cockroach's swirly pop, which he gives to a young girl. Ginormica's parents also admit that they will have to get used to sharing her with the whole world.

Unnoticed, a surviving pumpkin tries to sneak away but is found by Link, who scares it into exploding. General Monger arrives to congratulate the monsters as well. But, in a twist ending, some of the green goo from the pumpkin Link scared saturates a planting of carrots, causing a mutant carrot to be formed.

Cast

Home media

The special was first released on DVD in the UK on September 27, 2010 exclusively at Tesco stores.[2][3] In the US it was released as a stand-alone version on September 13, 2011,[4] and on September 27, 2011,[5] along with Scared Shrekless.[6] It got its Blu-ray release on August 28, 2012, as a part of Shrek's Spooky Stories.[7]

Sequel

A sequel titled Night of the Living Carrots was released in October 2011 in two parts exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS video service. Directly following Mutant Pumpkins, Dr. Cockroach, Link and B.O.B. try to defeat hundreds of zombie carrots.

References

  1. Lowry, Brian (October 23, 2009). "Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space". Variety. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  2. Potter, Mark (September 30, 2010). "Tesco seeks to spook rivals with Halloween drive". Reuters. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  3. "Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space". Tesco. Retrieved April 11, 2012.
  4. "Monsters Vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins Outer Space (2009)". Amazon. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  5. "Scared Shrekless & Monsters Vs Pumpkins Halloween". Amazon. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  6. "Scared Shrekless and Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space Halloween Party Double Pack". Starpulse.com. August 22, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
  7. "Dreamwork's Spooky Stories: Shreks Thrilling Tales / Scared Shrekless / Mutant Pumpkins From Outer Space (Blu-ray) (Widescreen)". Wallmart. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
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