Monster House
Animation fans are surely all too aware of the dark times surrounding their local cinemas these days. With the seemingly permanent demise of 2-D animation and the exponentially average CGI fare being thrown at screens, it’s not the best time to pay for a movie ticket. I have yet to see Cars, and admitedly it looks like fun (an opinion derived from my total trust of Pixar), but the rest of this summer appears dysmal. Over the Hedge and Barnyard are two more entries in the tired Cute Animal genre, and The Ant Bully’s reviews would make an ostritch hide its head in shame. So what are ‘toon fans to do when they’re itching to have a good time at the movies? Two words: Monster House.
A saving grace in a time of sweltering mediocrity, Monster House succeeds by completely knocking its box-office peers out of the park. Creativity and care ooze from every shot, including the first, which is a mezmerizing track of a single Autumn leaf as it flies through the air. It’s a great display of craft, and this stellar work continues throughout the rest of the film. Monster House may not feature a cast of cuddly forest creatures or inanimate objects brought to life, but the humans it does sport are a wonder to behold. Their mannerisms expertly straddle the tricky line of stark realization and outright cartoon, and their overall designs are quirky and unique. Sure, their hair may not move at all, an odd features which gives them a doll-like quality, but otherwise the CGI is top notch in my book.
I’m happy to say Monster House carries on the tradition of Labyrinth and Return to Oz by spinning a yarn that is both fun and altogether eerie at the same time. Put simply, it’s the tale of three kids trying to take down a particularly nasty (and mobile) home, one bent on the destruction of anything foolish enough to come its way. I’ll avoid spoilers, as this movie is a mystery through and through, but I will say you won’t find yourself predicting the usual happy-go-lucky ending. Expectations of what a “family film” is meant to be are consistently bucked in this film, since it provides some real, downright disturbing scares. These moments include a very well-paced (and bizarre) nightmare as well as a scene in which a ghostly kite lures one hapless sap into the house’s grip. The tension is palpable, the setups and payoffs are satisfying, and the filmmaking overall is an achievement.
On the flip side, I do wish the film had allowed more breathing room for the supporting roles, all of whom are equally as entertaining as the leads. Zee, for example, a cynical and punk-obsessed babysitter (curtly brought to life by the talented Maggie Gyllenhaal), has some of the best lines in the film, but to my disappointment she vanishes completely by the third act. Mind you, I was all too happy when the overweight and incessantly annoying pizza delivery boy, Skull, made his exit. This is mainly due to Jon Heder, reprising his Napoleon Dynamite role here only with an even greater sense of his usual style of stoned line delivery. I didn’t enjoy him in Dynamite, and his presence in Monster House only mars an otherwise fun experience.
It’s too bad Monster House was released in a season as wholly inappropriate as summer. It screams to be released during the height of Fall, when a Halloween-giddy audience would surely have taken notice and thusly beefed up its box-office receipts. Circumstances aside, you should really catch this movie while it’s still in theaters, since watching it on DVD on a smaller screen doesn’t allow you to fully appreciate the work involved in its oftentimes breathtaking animation. Besides, in a time where Wanda Sykes is playing a sass-talking bovine, you know there’s no where else to turn. So go, enjoy yourselves! You’ll walk out a happier person.
