Many older neighborhoods have that old, creepy house at the end of the block. There are rumors about ghosts and murders; the old cat lady or the crazy old man. In 2006, those tales were brought to life in Monster House and who better than Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemekis to executive produce and bring the tale of a living house to the big screen. With the feel of Spielberg’s The Goonies while Zemekis bringing his animation magic from The Polar Express, the end result is a great film for the Halloween season. So, grab you bowl of Boo Berry and sit down for a Saturday cartoon.
Young D.J. Walters spies on the house across the street. Old man Nebbercracker chases everyone away from his creepy home. When D.J.’s friend Chowder loses his basketball in the yard, he dares D.J. to go in the yard and get it. No sooner does D.J. step on the grass, Nebbercracker comes out, screaming and grabbing the boy. But then, he suffers a heart attack and is taken away in an ambulance. It doesn’t take long for the boys to finally see that the house is indeed alive, eating anything that comes close. With Halloween coming up, the boys need to do something. Aided by young Jenny, the threesome set out to solve the mystery. As the tale evolves, we have elements like a circus sideshow and ghosts; it really is a lot of fun for an October afternoon.
I must admit, I did a blind buy on this one years ago and then never got around to watching it. When my kids were younger, I saw just about every animated movie but as they got older, some of them get passed me. I’m still a big kid and love good animation. Add in some horror and it’s even better. Needless to say, I loved Monster House and highly recommend for anyone with kids or just a big kid at heart (like me). Using performance capture technology, as did The Polar Express, the result is a very lifelike appearance to the characters. It was nominated for an Academy Award and was nominated by the American Film Institute as one of the all-time best animated feature films. Check out the trailer and go buy it today!
Monster Movie Kid 