Fridae

There have been many animated films released this year, but other than Cars from Pixar, virtually nothing has been even close to promising. However, with Monster House the tide has finally turned — this is possibly one of the best animated films to have been released, Pixar or otherwise. Monster House has a great storyline, some truly amazing animation.

DJ (Mitchel Musso) and Chowder (Sam Lerner) are quite sure that the creepy house across DJ's home is haunted and has an appetite for human beings, and when an unfortunate incident lands the eccentric owner, Mr Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) in hospital, the house seems all the more dangerous when left to its own devices. To make things worse, it is Halloween and dozens of trick-or-treaters will be approaching the house for treats, only to find that they may become treats themselves. Aided by Jenny (Spencer Locke), the trio try ways and means to rid the house of its possessor, but to exorcise the spirit that resides in it is tougher than they think.

Although the character modelling is not lifelike, what is amazing about the quality of animation in Monster House is how fluidly everything moves. Despite the stylized look, the characters move very realistically, possibly the most lifelike to date. Of course, if all that is impressive about it is the technology employed, it would probably not have been a very good movie (think Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within).

What Monster House can boast is also some great voice work from relative unknowns (in a unique twist in using voice talents, only the peripheral characters are voiced by recognizable names), and a story that will manage to capture the attention of even the adult viewers in the audience. In fact, some of the scenes can be pretty intense and may actually be quite scary for younger viewers. The film is also peppered with scenarios and dialogue that will feel very close to real life, a feat that sometimes even live action movies cannot attain.

Monster House should be the first animated haunted house movie (if memory serves correctly), but it has managed to set a high standard not just for this niche sub-genre, but also for animated films in general. It is an impressive debut for director Gil Kenan, and it will be tough to choose which film is the superior one at the end of the year — Monster House or Cars.