Monster House (2006)

Directed by: Gil Kenan | 91 minutes | drama, animation, adventure, family, fantasy | Original voice cast: Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Matthew Fahey, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jon Heder, Kevin James, Jason Lee, Ryan Newman, Catherine O’Hara, Kathleen Turner, Erik Walker, Fred Willard | Dutch/Flemish voice cast: Jacob de Groot, Paul Codde, Beatrijs Sluijter, Hannelore Vander Elst, Marjolein Touw, Jef Demets, Koen Van Impe, Magali Lybeert, Marc Peeters, Rouwe Verveer, Sien van Schoor, Joost Wijnants

The animation movie genre seems to be getting more popular every year. While it was first mainly animals that took the lead, the ‘ordinary people’ now seem to be gaining ground.

So in ‘Monster House’ no animals – okay, apart from one dog – but a monster. And whatever monster, one in the shape of a house. A toy and people-devouring wooden house. It would just stand in the street…

‘Monster House’ was created by a collaboration between Robert Zemeckis (‘What Lies Beneath’, ‘Gothika’) Steven Spielberg (does he need an explanation?) and newcomer Gil Kenan. As can be deduced from these names, ‘Monster House’ is not an ‘ordinary’ children’s animation film. One that is only exciting for children up to about eight years old. Zemeckis and Spielberg do have some experience in making an entertaining and exciting film, not only for children, but also their adult supervisors. And ‘Monster House’ is a good example of that. The animations may not be as lifelike as, say, ‘Over the Hedge’, but have certainly improved since ‘The Polar Express’, which used the same performance-capture technology. And by the way, after a few minutes of watching it is not even noticeable that the hair looks like that of a plastic Lego doll. All attention is sucked in by the story, which even parents who come along can’t escape.

‘Monster House’ thus keeps the attention through a good alternation of tension and humor (humor that will especially appeal to adults), thanks in part to the sharp dialogues. The funniest character, Office Lister (Roué Verveer) unfortunately has a small role and works like the saying: short but sweet. The evil neighbor Nebbercracker (Jef Demets) is probably one of the most terrifying characters, but a very nice animation. It’s actually a shame to reveal even more of the story; but at least it has almost all the ingredients of a good movie – friendship, love, lots of humor, drama and most of all, very, very suspense. The viewing guide advises 6 years and older, but perhaps this film is just a bit too exciting for the little ones, a supervisor is a must anyway. In any case, ‘Monster House’ is the film of choice to introduce children to the thriller/horror genre.

It has been decided that ‘Monster House’ will only be shown in the cinemas in the Dutch/Flemish version. Although this cast does well, this choice is very unfortunate. Not least because we now don’t get the chance to hear the original voice cast that has been very well received abroad. ‘Zee’ the babysitter, for example, voiced in the original by Maggie Gyllenhaal, has, like the other characters, clearly inherited traits from her voice giver. Then it’s a shame that fans can’t enjoy the original. There will also probably be a large number of potential visitors who are not going to the cinema right now, as they would rather see the original version. So a pity for the fans, but also for the number of visitors to ‘Monster House’. The most unfortunate for the film itself, because it is really more than worth watching. Also for adults. Be sure to stay seated during the credits for some extra – fun – scenes.