By Fred Topel | Image property of DreamWorks Animation
In her on-screen acting, Reese Witherspoon often finds herself standing on an apple box to frame up with her towering male costars. The animated Monsters Vs. Aliens gave her a turnabout, voicing Ginormica, a 50-foot woman of the classic monster movie ilk.
Reese Witherspoon is Ginormica
"It was an interesting sort of challenge because my character goes from being a regular-size girl to being this giant superhero kind of girl," Witherspoon said. "They wanted me at the end of the movie to kind of talk with an action star voice, which is not a voice I know or have in my repertoire. So they kept trying to coach me to be more like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone. 'I am Ginormica!' And they were like, 'No, that sounds like a robot.' 'I am Ginormica!' 'Can you drink some tea? That doesn’t sound very good.' So that took me a long time. That was probably the hardest thing for me to do."
The Oscar winning actor also found herself directed to make basic grunts to fill in the film's action sequences. "They put together a rough cut, and I had to go in and animate all the 'effort' noises and that kind of stuff so that is always so disorienting and strange. I guess this was the first movie I ever did that had this much action in it, so I think I was sort of surprised about that and kind of thrilled, because I can’t imagine any other world in which that opportunity will present itself to me."
Monsters vs. Aliens
Monsters vs. Aliens
Monsters vs. Aliens
Ginormica is also pretty hot for a kids' movie. Even the glamorous Witherspoon was jealous. "The first thing I’d do is put on that cat suit and never take it off. No working out, no dieting, she just looks hot all the time. I was like I’m into this. My girlfriend and I saw the movie together and she brought her kids, and she turned to me halfway through the film and she was like, 'You look really hot!' I know. It’s not me! It’s awesome."
Comedy aside, the family film has a positive message for the kids too. "I think it’s got an incredible message about finding yourself and your identity. I think everybody struggles with who are you? Are you a person who lives in the shadow of another person just so you don’t have to be alone or afraid or find your own strengths, or are you someone who is willing to take a chance on being a little scared of the unknown and maybe possibly accomplishing great things in your life?"
Monsters vs. Aliens opens to theatres on March 27th.
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