Monster House (2006)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Gil Kenan

Writers:

Dan Harmon (screenplay) &
Rob Schrab (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

There Goes The Neighborhood.

Plot:

Three teens discover that their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.

Plot Keywords:

House | Halloween | Kid | Neighbor | Babysitter

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 15 nominations

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Ryan Newman	...	Little Girl (voice)
Steve Buscemi	...	Nebbercracker (voice)
Mitchel Musso	...	DJ (voice)
Catherine O'Hara	...	Mom (voice)
Fred Willard	...	Dad (voice)
Sam Lerner	...	Chowder (voice)
Woody Schultz	...	Paramedic #1 (voice)
Ian McConnel	...	Paramedic #2 (voice)
Maggie Gyllenhaal	...	Zee (voice)
Jason Lee	...	Bones (voice)
Spencer Locke	...	Jenny (voice)
Kevin James	...	Officer Landers (voice)
Nick Cannon	...	Officer Lister (voice)
Jon Heder	...	Reginald 'Skull' Skulinski (voice)
Kathleen Turner	...	Constance (voice)

Also Known As:

Neighbourhood Crimes & Peepers (Philippines: English title) (review title)
Zemeckis/Spielberg Motion Capture Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

UK:PG | Singapore:PG | Ireland:PG | Sweden:11 | Norway:11 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:MG6 | USA:PG (certificate #41005) | Australia:PG | USA:PG | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Hong Kong:IIA | Malaysia:U | Hungary:14 | France:U | Philippines:G (MTRCB) | Philippines:G | Iceland:7 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Malta:PG

Filming Locations:

Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures

Trivia:

There are several references to both Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis' films in 'Monster House': The toy monkey from Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Trees that come alive is derived from Poltergeist (1982). The floating leaf at the beginning of the film is a nod to the falling feather from Forrest Gump (1994). And the basketball brand-named Wilson is a reference to the volleyball of the same name from Cast Away (2000).

Goofs:

Plot holes: Jenny says they have one hour, probably implying she has one hour until her Mom picks her up. She arrives at DJ's house early in the morning, and it is dark when her mother arrives, meaning she was there for far more than one hour. We also see her make or receive no calls to/from her mother.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Little Girl: Hello, fence!

Movie Connections:

References The Amityville Horror (1979)

Soundtrack:

Merciful Hammer

This movie caught me by surprise

Monster House was a perfect combination of kid-friendliness, horror, action and adventure. When I first walked into the theater I thought it would be "kiddy" because I went to see it with my younger cousin. You know how most animated movies are somewhat funny and about teamwork and working together or teaches life lessons or morals but I actually came to find that this movie was more scary than comical or ethical. I actually got into it. I actually ended up liking it more than my cousin. Some of the content is for older kids but it's non-stop action and the momentum of the story line never stops. And the characters seem so real. 2 thumbs up. I definitely recommend it.