Am I spoiled rotten? Since Pixar came along, I have been unable to watch any other animation and view it solely on its own merits. This is clearly the case with DreamWorks’ latest offering, Monsters vs. Aliens. While this is a sweet, well-paced and beautifully rendered tale, I found myself thinking, “If it was Pixar, they would have done this,” or “If it was Andrew Stanton directing, he would have done that.” Maybe I am spoiled rotten.

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with Monsters vs. Aliens. The story line revolves around a beautiful bride-to-be who is struck by a meteorite and, much to the chagrin of her vacuous and ambitious TV-weatherman fiance, becomes a 50-foot-tall “monster.” She is captured by the Army and brought to a super-secret holding facility (think Area 51) with all of the other creepy crawlers that have been collected over the years. Things seem bleak for our dear heroine until an alien invasion calls for extreme measures and this odd assortment of outcasts is needed to save the world.

One of the things that I found very endearing was the voice-over cast that populates this lightly weighted movie — with the exception of Reese Witherspoon as Susan Murphy/Ginormica (she could have been played by anyone). The cast includes Hugh Laurie as Dr. Cockroach Ph.D. (does House always play a doctor?), Seth Rogen as B.O.B. (the blob character ... typecasting?), Rainn Wilson as Gallaxhar (typecasting, for sure!), Kiefer Sutherland as W.R. Monger (a tip of the hat to the wordplay in his name), and Stephen Colbert as the president of the United States (could it be prophetic imagery?). All included clearly enjoyed themselves.

Enjoyable too is the palette used in coloring our cast: bold, beautiful colors that are enchanting to the eye. They flow well with the action sequences and, on the whole, produce a landscape that will mesmerize your average 6-year-old. Speaking of that, don’t fear that any of the scenes will leave Billy or Mary weeping in the middle of the night and begging to come share your bed. Monsters vs. Aliens is quite tame in this respect.

So, there are no surprises here. Remember ... not Pixar. No multilayered imagery or ambiguous messages; just a sweet, straightforward tale of alien invasion thwarted by homegrown monsters that only want to be loved and appreciated by the masses. So here’s the question: Can’t that be enough? Why do I have to have an Academy Award-winning film embedded with subtle innuendo every time I watch a cartoon? Oh, that’s right: I’m spoiled!

— In addition to being a great movie reviewer, Michael O’Brien Sr. owns and operates a DeLand-based catering service, Michael’s Gourmet to Go. E-mail him at movieman@beacononlinenews.com.