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Special Features
- Filmmaker Commentary
- 7 Featurettes including: Imaginary Heroes, Beginner's Luck, The Best of Friends, Lots of Dots, Black Box Theater, Making It Real, Did You Hear That?
- Evolution of a scene: Eliza vs. Nebbercracker
- The Art of Monster House - Photo Gallery
- DVD-ROM Link to Games, Downloads & Activities
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
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
More Monster House on Amazon.com
 CD Soundtrack |  The Art of Monster House |  Playstation 2 |
Stills from Monster House (click for larger image)
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Product Description
Even for a 12-year old, D.J. Walters has a particularly overactive imagination. He is convinced that his haggard and crabby neighbor Horace Nebbercracker, who terrorizes all the neighborhood kids, is responsible for Mrs. Nebbercracker's mysterious disappearance. Any toy that touches Nebbercracker's property, promptly disappears, swallowed up by the cavernous house in which Horace lives. D.J. has seen it with his own eyes! But no one believes him, not even his best friend, Chowder. What everyone does not know is D.J. is not imagining things. Everything he's seen is absolutely true and it's about to get much worse than anything D.J could have imagined.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By G. Hughes
Format:DVD
As studio execs continue to milk the cash cow that is the CG animated feature, MONSTER HOUSE is refreshing on two fronts; firstly, we see a departure from cutesy animals/toys in peril, and secondly, it's good!
I would imagine that fellow kids-at-heart who grew up in the eighties with INDIANA JONES and THE GOONIES will feel right at home with D.J., Chowder, and Penny; all characters we've met and identified with before in other movies. The focus is on story and character interaction, and thankfully there's a complete lack of "Gee! Look what we can do with computer graphics!" We're not subjected to nauseating shaky-cam and rapid cuts of other recent kid flicks - this movie looks beautiful, and the animators allow you to appreciate it. Not surprisingly, the most interesting characters are Nebbercracker and The House. There's a good story here, ultimately with unexpected warmth and heart.
Is it aimed at the right age group? That's debatable. More sensitive kids may find it too scary. It's loud at times, there's a few in-your-face frights, and the tension builds quickly. Beyond the genre setting, there are a number of more mature themes present which parents should be aware of, notably alcohol usage and sexual themes when the babysitter and her boyfriend are on-screen. I could knock off a star for these points given the target audience, but they didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the movie.
I highly recommend MONSTER HOUSE to animation lovers, big kids at heart, and little kids with a big kid to hide behind.
I would imagine that fellow kids-at-heart who grew up in the eighties with INDIANA JONES and THE GOONIES will feel right at home with D.J., Chowder, and Penny; all characters we've met and identified with before in other movies. The focus is on story and character interaction, and thankfully there's a complete lack of "Gee! Look what we can do with computer graphics!" We're not subjected to nauseating shaky-cam and rapid cuts of other recent kid flicks - this movie looks beautiful, and the animators allow you to appreciate it. Not surprisingly, the most interesting characters are Nebbercracker and The House. There's a good story here, ultimately with unexpected warmth and heart.
Is it aimed at the right age group? That's debatable. More sensitive kids may find it too scary. It's loud at times, there's a few in-your-face frights, and the tension builds quickly. Beyond the genre setting, there are a number of more mature themes present which parents should be aware of, notably alcohol usage and sexual themes when the babysitter and her boyfriend are on-screen. I could knock off a star for these points given the target audience, but they didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the movie.
I highly recommend MONSTER HOUSE to animation lovers, big kids at heart, and little kids with a big kid to hide behind.
56 of 64 people found the following review helpful
I just saw this film today (after missing out on a sold out sneak preview last weekend) and the increased level of expectation was met with one of the most rewarding moviegoing experiences I've had in the last five years. Monster House gives us one doozy of a spooky antagonist, a decrepit domicile of living malice that gobbles errant toys and passerby with equal ingenuity and viciousness.
The house is plain old MEAN, and for really small children perhaps a little too scary to take in a gigantic room filled with strangers and darkness. But for those of us who are too grown up for a nighlight this is perfect, creepy entertainment.
The same motion capture technology used to create The Polar Express (a film which I have still yet to see) is a very interesting and appropriate choice for this film, where the only truly fantastic element is the demented house that will not suffer trespassers. It works so well because the eerie realism that depicts the characters is so starkly contrasted with the insanity that ultimately drives the Monster House to be, well, so monstrous.
Now I fully expected to be entertained by the antics of the house, but I didn't expect there to be much of a story. Again I was pleasantly surprised by what I think is a script that I believe is just as worthy of an Oscar nomination as the script for The Incredibles was. There is, beneath the floorboards of this film, more heart than horror. A tale of love, retribution, acceptance, forgiveness, and ultimately letting go.
Monster House is, beyond a doubt, one of the coolest Horror movies for kids ever made. A Halloween tradition in the making that dares to answer that age old question: Can a house be haunted?
The answer is a resounding yes with a disquieting post script.
Whatever is haunted may also be hungry!
The house is plain old MEAN, and for really small children perhaps a little too scary to take in a gigantic room filled with strangers and darkness. But for those of us who are too grown up for a nighlight this is perfect, creepy entertainment.
The same motion capture technology used to create The Polar Express (a film which I have still yet to see) is a very interesting and appropriate choice for this film, where the only truly fantastic element is the demented house that will not suffer trespassers. It works so well because the eerie realism that depicts the characters is so starkly contrasted with the insanity that ultimately drives the Monster House to be, well, so monstrous.
Now I fully expected to be entertained by the antics of the house, but I didn't expect there to be much of a story. Again I was pleasantly surprised by what I think is a script that I believe is just as worthy of an Oscar nomination as the script for The Incredibles was. There is, beneath the floorboards of this film, more heart than horror. A tale of love, retribution, acceptance, forgiveness, and ultimately letting go.
Monster House is, beyond a doubt, one of the coolest Horror movies for kids ever made. A Halloween tradition in the making that dares to answer that age old question: Can a house be haunted?
The answer is a resounding yes with a disquieting post script.
Whatever is haunted may also be hungry!
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Watched Monster House in 3d last night with my 12 year old. It was fantastic, the 3d was great, next to no ghosting and i was paying attention to the detail of the movie. Lots of laughs and fun. The quality was alot better than Monsters vs Aliens and cloudy with a chance of meatballs, which i noticed much more ghosting around images. Buy it and enjoy, the last 15 minutes i kept saying wow.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Monster house is my sons favorite movie he is 3
My son started likening this book last halloween, it has practically been his night night movie ever since. I have downloaded the movie now on my iPad now we can watch it anywhere.
Published 4 days ago by Malissa M. Hiill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful
Very different. The family really enjoyed this quirky tale. The animation was pleasantly unique. The story was one both kids and grownups could relate to. Read more
Published 4 days ago by barbara silkstone
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious!
Great movie! Maybe not for small kids . I got this for my son and he was terrified within the first 10 minutes, and decided to save it for when he was older. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Jennifer Erin Hughes
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dated 3d
It's a good addition to your 3d collection bit as the title for the review suggests it's dated but the kids love it
Published 13 days ago by mmamaddman
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun Movie
I watched this in 3D when it came out. My husband didn't want too at the time. It was awesome in 3D. My husband and I really enjoyed watching it together. Thanks
Published 19 days ago by Anita Craver
5.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining Everytime
I had to buy this for my 4 year old and 9 year old. They watch it over and over and to them it never gets old. Read more
Published 29 days ago by lemonademom
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inexpensive and in good shape!
My 2 year old snapped our original Monster House DVD in half. This replacement was perfect for us being the DVD only. Since we already had a perfectly good case for it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by deb
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ever have that house up the street that creeped you out?
I watched this with my son recently. The plot moves quickly and there is always something happening. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert J. Torres
5.0 out of 5 stars
monster house
my grand daughter loves this movie she sits for hours and watches it, this is a great movie from 3 years to teen age to adults
Published 1 month ago by sherry Payne
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie
I was impressed with this movie over all. As a grown man, 26 years old, I thought this movie had very clever adult humor although it was aimed for kids. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ty
