Monsters Vs Aliens (PG).

Comedy/Drama/Romance. Bill Nighy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, Chris O’Dowd, Tom Wisdom, Rhys Darby, Will Adamsdale, Tom Brooke, Tom Sturridge, Kenneth Branagh, Jack Davenport, Emma Thompson.

Just when it seemed that no one could challenge the computer animated might of Pixar (Ratatouille, WALL-E), directors Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon deliver an out-of-this-world adventure.

Fast-paced and peppered with cute visual gags, Monsters Vs Aliens is a blast from eye-popping start to uproarious finish, especially in cinemas projecting in 3D.

Admittedly, Letterman and Vernon’s picture borrows heavily from Pixar’s 2004 smash hit The Incredibles, with nods to Godzilla and countless B-movies, but there are sufficient flashes of invention and a smattering of heartfelt emotion to bring a tear to the eye.

The opening section delivers one wow moment after the next as the camera drifts through space towards Earth, descending on a research facility where a scientist plays with an elasticated bat and ball (which appears to bounce out of the screen in 3D), just as an unidentified flying object hurtles towards California.

The object – a green, glowing meteorite – lands on fun-loving Susan Murphy (voiced by Witherspoon) on her wedding day, shortly before she is due to tie the knot to TV weatherman Derek Dietl (Rudd).

Before he has a chance to say “I do”, Susan grows in size until she stands an impressive 49 feet and 11 inches tall.

Wedding guests flee and Susan is held hostage by the military in a secret government compound where she learns that other so-called monsters have suffered a similar fate.

Fellow captives include brilliant inventor Dr Cockroach PhD (Laurie), half-ape half-fish The Missing Link (Arnett), indestructible gelatinous mass B.O.B. (Rogen) and a 350-feet long grub called Insectosaurus.

In a freakish twist, megalomaniac alien Gallaxhar (Wilson) dispatches a giant alien probe to Earth to retrieve the fallen meteorite.

Monsters Vs Aliens shoots for the moon and soars, melding colourful visuals and a script laden with belly laughs that should appeal to young and old alike.

If Witherspoon’s heroine is the emotional heart of the story, Laurie, Arnett and Rogen share the giggles, the latter in fine form as the brainless gloop, who thinks he has found a soul mate in a lime green jelly full of pineapple chunks.