Perfectly timed for the convergence of the nation's movie theater owners at the annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas this week, DreamWorks Animation announced the star-studded cast for its latest endeavor, "Monsters vs. Aliens." It seems the studio has signed on Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen, Rainn Wilson, Stephen Colbert, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd to lend their voices to the 3-D CG flick.

While the movie's initial character images look scarily similar to Pixar's "Monsters, Inc.," this adventure is inspired more by the classic '50s monster movies than the imaginary creepy crawlers that lie waiting in children's closets. Set in modern-day California, the action-comedy finds Witherspoon voicing Susan Murphy, a girl who grows 50 feet tall after she's hit by a meteor full of outer space "gunk." Instantly labeled "Ginormica," she's captured by the government and brought to a secret compound where she learns the military has been collecting monsters over the years, including the insect-headed Dr. Cockroach (Laurie), an indestructible gelatinous creature named B.O.B. (Rogen) and the half-ape, half-fish creature, the Missing Link (Arnett).

Aliens soon land on Earth and, as a last resort, the monsters are released by General W.R. Monger (Sutherland) on orders from the president of the United States (Colbert as Commander in Chief -- finally!). You can no doubt figure the bizarre crew of heroes will save the day, but how Wilson, playing Gallaxhar (that's gotta be an alien), and Rudd, Susan's boyfriend Derek, fit into the story is anyone's guess.

Keeping it in house, DreamWorks Animation veterans Rob Letterman ("Shark Tale") and Conrad Vernon ("Shrek 2") are directing. Before "Monsters vs. Aliens" hits theaters next March, though, the studio will release the buzz-worthy "Kung Fu Panda" this June and "Madagascar Escape 2 Africa" (formerly "Madagascar: The Crate Escape") in November.

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