Classic creatures from the 1950s get a high-tech makeover, with a healthy amount of attitude, in this 3-D animated adventure. The Blob, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Fly – they’re are all here, led by The 50-Foot Woman. Far from being menacing, they’re optimistic misfits who just want to be loved and understood.

Rather than destroying each other, they’re loyal friends who’ve been trapped together as government test subjects, only to be unleashed on the world when an alien invasion requires their unique powers. It’s an enormously clever concept with a choice voice cast. Who else but Seth Rogen could play a lovable blue blob named B.O.B., who always has a smile on his gelatinous face?

Will Arnett essentially revives his hilariously cocky-but-clueless “Arrested Development” character, Gob Bluth II, as the half-fish, half-ape Missing Link, and Hugh Laurie lends his rich voice to the British mad scientist Dr. Cockroach.

Directors Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon, working from a script from about a half-dozen people, maintain a high energy throughout, although the explosive climax feels bombastic and repetitive. While bright and colorful, the three-dimensional effects in these situations never really inspire a sense of awe. Rather, they provide a tangible sense of depth but fall short of completely immersing you.

Rated: PG for sci-fi action, some crude humor and mild language. Running 94 minutes. Rating: 2½ out of 4 stars.

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