Take Out A Second Mortgage On Monster House

     One of my favorite motion pictures of all time is the modern Christmas classic The Polar Express. Part of that film’s appeal is its special brand of animation called performance-capture. The process that is performance-capture animation involves filming real actors to represent the movements of the animated characters to acquire a more authentic look. Monster House, the latest animated feat to employ this technique, proves that the look is not the only thing that is more authentic as the process may also have a hand in genuine humor.

     Monster House is certainly one of the best family flicks of the year. It was produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg and directed by newcomer Gil Kenan and the collaboration is a near masterpiece. From the very first scene it is obvious that Monster House is not your average animated movie with its unique vision. The animation looks rather similar to claymation and the cinematography (something not often mentioned in reviews of animated flicks) is truly original.

     The creative field does not stop there, though, as the screenplay is filled with very realistic dialogue that feels more natural than some of your own real-life conversations. This makes the jokes significantly more effective than those in most other family flicks. It feels unscripted yet remains tight at every moment. This presents a more enjoyable experience for adults and other moviegoers beyond the target audience of youngsters.

     Unfortunately, as with far too many movies this year, the good things come to an end relatively quickly in Monster House. Cute gags and an eerie atmosphere is simply not enough to entertain those youngsters so the movie pulls out all of the stops and becomes ridiculously chaotic. These action sequences in the second half of the flick remove every bit of charm from the movie and it reverts back to being ordinary. Not only do moviegoers deserve better but they’ve seen it within the same movie.

     Monster House is worth a look, though, since the first half is superior to the other animated efforts made by studios so far this year. The premise is rather different than all of the others, as well, since it focuses on people rather than animals, insects or vehicles. D.J has been watching as his elderly neighbor repeatedly takes the belongings of little kids who get too close to his house. On Halloween, while his parents are out of town, D.J. attempts to recover his friend Chowder’s basketball which has landed on his neighbor’s lawn. The neighbor rushes out to yell at the boy but then collapses and is hauled away by an ambulance.

     D.J. and Chowder soon discover that the house is angry over the loss of its owner and is seeking revenge against the duo. D.J.’s babysitter doesn’t believe the silly story but when her boyfriend goes missing (at the hand of the house) she sets out to find him leaving D.J. and Chowder alone to fight the forces of evil. A girl named Jenny, who is selling candy to homeowners to prepare for trick-or-treating, gets caught in the mix and now the three friends must develop a plan to destroy the house for good and prevent any more people from becoming manure for the lawn.

     That is around the time the movie starts to fall below the extraordinary level. It is not a horrible way to conclude the flick but the climax and resolution is a huge letdown compared to the epilogue and rising action. It is a lot like Cars in the way that the simple scenes outperform the larger ones. Monster House ends up falling apart but it is still an amazing achievement in animation.