What Monster House lacks in character
design, it more than makes up for in heart. While the film was
intended to be more stylized than executive producer Robert
Zemeckis' last animated feature, The Polar Express,
some of the design comes across as unrefined, rather than intentional.
The characters and texture don't have the same gloss usually
associated with digital animation, and at first this was a major
detractor for me. But then I started to get into the movie,
and I forgot about this minor detail.
Overall, Monster House is a great movie
for both kids and adults. It captures those haphazard years
(often refered to as the "tweens") when a child still
likes to do kid things, but doesn't want to be seen as anything
less than a young adult. The years when the idea of the opposite
sex is exciting and new but might still have cooties. When the
verythought of being treated like a child is abhorrent, but
it's still fun to play in the neighborhood with your friends.
You know the age. We've all been there. And Monster House
does a great job of bringing both the awkwardness and the sense
of endless possibilities back to the viewer.
The imagination behind the plot is nothing groundbreaking,
but follows the pre-established trend of Spielberg's family-friendly
fare. What really stood out for me was the voice casting. The
most memorable is Steve Buscemi, as the nasty neighbor with
a deep dark secret, Mr. Nebbercracker, resident of the titular
Monster House. He is perfect when he's a bitter maniac, stealing
and breaking a tyke's tricycle, but he's also somewhat endearing,
when recounting the tale of his departed wife (voiced by Kathleen
Turner, in flashback.) Even the smaller roles are perfectly
cast, and include the talents of Fred Willard and Catherine
O'Hara as the virtually absent parents, Maggie Gyllenhaal and
Jason Lee as the babysitter and her boyfriend (respectively),
and John Heder as the geeky pizza delivery guy.
While I started this with a somewhat negative
slant on the animation style, I must say that the fx animation
and 3-D effects are phenomenal. I didn't see the movie in 3-D,
but it was clear when they used the effect and it wasn't overbearing
like it is when you watch the 2-D version of Jaws 3-D.
That being said, I wish I could have seen it in 3-D but sadly,
that appears to have only been an option in the film's theatrical
release and not on DVD.
All in all, this was a fun hour and a half. It
did a great job of taking me back not only to the time in my
life when I was that age, but an age when my imagination was
ripe with this type of adventure. Perhaps not a must-see, but
well worth it if you have the chance.
