Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2297 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-12-11
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Hindi
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 88 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Reviews
The spooky shadows and eerie creaking of a rickety old house are brought to life via lush CGI in Monster House. A young boy named DJ has suspicions about the house across the street and the cranky old man (voiced by Steve Buscemi, Fargo) who lives there. When the old man has a heart attack and is carried away by an ambulance, DJ thinks the danger is over. Unfortunately, as he, his friend Chowder, and a candy-selling prep-school girl named Jenny discover, the house itself has plans--plans that include eating all the kids who'll be trick-or-treating that Halloween night. Monster House begins with some deliciously creepy scenes that will send chills down children's spines (and may be too intense for younger viewers); animated movies rarely make such effective use of what isn't being shown. The animation is vivid and detailed (though CGI still has a ways to go in capturing the full range of human facial expressions). But like most horror movies, the anticipation of horror is much more exciting than the horror itself; as the secrets of Monster House are revealed, the movie's thrills unravel. The noisy explosions at the end aren't half as much fun as the slow twitches of a few blades of grass in the movie's elegant beginning. --Bret Fetzer

Synopsis
MONSTER HOUSE focuses on an anthropomorphic mansion, a haunted house with human characteristics that actively frightens neighbourhood folks as it attempts to reign over its inhabitants. One day, a trio of intrepid youngsters, sick of being terrorised, decide to fight back. They are cutely pubescent DJ (Mitchel Musso); his fumbling, chubby friend Chowder (Sam Lerner); and smart-as-a-whip tomboy Jenny (Spencer Locke), who immediately enchants the awkward boys. The local police are no help, so DJ, Chowder, and Jenny are left to their own clever devices, which result in a series of rollicking, hilarious, and sometimes scary adventures. A cast of colourful personalities surrounds the central characters, and they are voiced by luminaries who include Catherine O'Hara, Kevin James, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kathleen Turner, Steve Buscemi, and the brilliant Fred Willard. And teen hipsters will delight in hearing the droll voice of Jon Heder (the title character of cult hit NAPOLEON DYNAMITE) as a deadbeat pizza maker nicknamed Skull. First-time director Gil Kenan proves spirited and highly adept at mastering such a high-tech production, and followers of animation will want to pay attention to the use of new digital techniques that stray away from straightforward computer drawing. MONSTER HOUSE is executive produced by Robert Zemeckis, who helmed the innovative and sophisticated animated feature WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? in 1988. He once again proves that family fare need not be alienating to older viewers, but can appeal to on every level from childhood and upward. MONSTER HOUSE is a feat of blockbusting filmmaking--a visually stunning, witty tale that is sure to stimulate children and their parents.

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable
I found this rather enjoyable right from the start. It's not everyone's type of movie though.

You're tempted to watch the whole film though because the house the movie is based around just gets you into wanting to know what will happen in it.
It's not to creepy, may be enjoyable for younger ones, but may happen to give a scare here and there.

State of the art animation
Yes, it's a terrific story, with excellent voice talent and the twist of horror works really well. But what really impresses about this film is the human facial animation. In the first few minutes, we get long close-ups on all the main characters while they talk. This is unusual in such a film, and a very bold move, since it threatens the suspension of disbelief if the animation is in any way wanting. It isn't, and consequently this creates an extraordinary level of identification with the characters early on that the film trades on all the way through. Outstanding work.

Just a little too scary for kids.
An interesting film this one- a haunted house that trys to eat children is not your average annimated tale. However, it's done rather well and there are a few genuinely scary moments. The jokes are also thick and fast, although some will go over the heads of smaller children.

I can't fault this film overall, as my children loved it and I found myself watching and enjoying it although I got it for them. My only negative thought is that I think this might have been slightly better as a live action film. It might have been a little more magical and the characters easier to like. Aside from that though- four out of five.

Enjoy...