Barnes & Noble

The spooky Radley place in To Kill a Mockingbird has nothing on the dread Nebbercracker abode in Monster House. Creepy. Mean. Scary. And that's just old man Nebbercracker (voiced by Steve Buscemi). The house is far, far worse -- or so 12-year-old DJ has come to fear. DJ becomes convinced that the house across the street is haunted and somehow alive. The audience already knows as much, as toys and other unfortunate objects disappear into the quicksand-like lawn. To investigate, DJ recruits his best friend, Chopper, the stereotypical chatty, fat sidekick and fellow misfit. They are joined by Jenny, an enterprising, quick-witted door-to-door school fundraiser for whom both boys feel the stirrings of a first adolescent crush. The trio can expect no help from adults who are by turns distracted (DJ's parents, who leave him for the weekend), disdainful (DJ's goth babysitter, voiced by Maggie Gyllenhaal), or disbelieving (two ill-fated cops, voiced by Kevin James and Nick Cannon). On the eve of October 31st, they will have to venture inside the house and destroy its vengeful heart before Halloween revelers get the ultimate trick. The film employs the "performance capture" animation pioneered in The Polar Express, digitally translating the movements of human actors into hyper-realistic animation. The effect is much improved this time out, if only in that the characters don't look like soulless children of the damned. Monster House is rated PG, but younger children may be upset by Nebbercracker's apparently fatal heart attack, which leaves the house unattended, and frightened by the house's attacks on those unfortunate enough to get within range of the carpet that emerges from the front door like a ravenous tongue. The climactic kid-versus-house showdown is particularly intense. Monster House is a thrilling relief from the recent spate of computer-animated talking-animal films. Its irresistible premise, as appealing as the prospect of toys coming to life in Toy Story, will evoke shivers of pleasure in anyone who ever imagined the worst about the eerie house down the street. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

A suburban home has become physically animated by a vengeful human soul looking to stir up trouble from beyond the grave, and it's up to three adventurous kids from the neighborhood to do battle with the structural golem in this comically frightful tale, directed by Gil Kenan and featuring the voices of Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kevin James. DJ Harvard (voice of Mitchel Musso) lives directly across the street from a most unusual house. A malevolent entity that longs to feed on the energy of the living, the once peaceful house that looms ominously outside of DJ's bedroom window would like nothing more than the chance to feast on the children of the neighborhood. As Halloween begins to draw near and the children of the neighborhood prepare for another long night of trick-or-treating, it appears as if it may be the house that is in for the biggest treat of all. Now, with the adults turning a deaf ear to DJ's strange findings, it's up to the brave young boy and his faithful friends Chowder (voice of Sam Lerner) and Jenny (Spencer Locke) to break through the barrier of the supernatural and defeat the powers of darkness before the house grows too powerful to fight. Jason Buchanan

Product Details

• UPC: 043396154193
• Source: SONY PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:31:00
• Sales Rank: 1,380

Features:

DVD MENU