THE big movie release for children this week is MONSTERS VS ALIENS (PG). When California girl Susan Murphy is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk, she grows to 50ft and is instantly labelled a monster called Ginormica. She is cap

THE big movie release for children this week is MONSTERS VS ALIENS (PG).

When California girl Susan Murphy is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk, she grows to 50ft and is instantly labelled a "monster" called Ginormica.

She is captured and held in a secret government compound.

And it seems the army has been quietly rounding up other monsters over the years, including insect-headed scientist Dr Cockroach, half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link, indestructible BOB and 350ft grub Insectosaurus.

Then a mysterious alien robot lands on Earth and the government turns to its motley crew of monsters to save the world.

Reese Witherspoon is the voice of Susan, while Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogan, Kiefer Sutherland and Paul Rudd are among the other stars doing vocal duties.

Witherspoon says of her character: "Susan is a great character, and it's fun to see somebody become a superhero - to suddenly have that kind of super strength. Don't we all sort of dream about those things?"

And Laurie, who does the voice for Dr Cockroach, says: "I love doing animated projects. You wear your own clothes.

"I love the freedom of messing around and trying to create something in a voice. It's exciting and a fun challenge.

"But also, now these animated films have sort of really become the summit of modern entertainment."

Find out how you could win a pair of tickets to see the film for free, in this week's Recorder.