The new animated film “Monster House” boasts Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg as Executive Producers. While they may not have been too hands-on during the making of this film, as they were both working on their own films while this was in production, one can easily see the influence that their movies had on the writers and director. “Monster House” is a rollicking suburban adventure, much like “The Goonies,” offering up thrills, chills and laughs for the entire 90 minute running time.

D.J., a young man in a nice neighborhood, is obsessed with the spooky home across the street. The house is owned by an angry old man named Nebercracker, who scares children away from the house and confiscates any toy that ends up on his property. When Nebercracker is out of the picture, the house begins to come to life, eating anything that dares cross the property line. D.J., his friend Chowder and a neighborhood girl Jenny, attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery, while trying to avoid being swallowed by the house.

The film has an all-star cast, but unlike films where it seems that the star is the big attraction, the voice talent here truly gets into their characters. Perhaps that is because the actors had to don motion capture suits and act out their parts on a 20’x 20’ black box stage. Going into the film, I did not know who any of the major stars in the film were and I never gave any thought to who was voicing what character. When I watched the credits at the end of the film and saw who was who, I was pleasantly surprised and with some characters I was amazed.

“Monster House” moves along at a terrific pace and starts off with lots of great dialogue, introducing us to the characters and their relationships with others very quickly and efficiently. In a summer with movies bloating close to and over two and a half hours, it is refreshing to see a film hit its marks in a decent amount of time. “Monster House” is a lean, mean machine that knows who its audience is and what it wants to give them.

Now, let’s talk briefly about the audience. “Monster House,” while animated, is not appropriate for the very young. A four or five year old who enjoyed “Cars” or “Over the Hedge” will be freaked out by some of the more intense scenes in “Monster House.” I would recommend the film to a very brave six year old and up. The film is about as scary as the haunted house at Disney World and there is nothing wrong with being a little scared. It can actually be fun and this film will probably not give anyone long-lasting nightmares.

In a head to head competition of animated summer films, “Cars” wins by a nose, but “Monster House” is a great flick and should be enjoyed by all.

***1/2

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