It takes more than well known or greatly talented voices to make a good animated film. Even with a star studded cast, “Monster House” has an understanding that brings every neighborhood’s horror to life.
A house doesn’t have to be old to be scary. Sometimes it’s the people who live there. As I viewed this film I remembered Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird”; how often is it society that makes monsters? In any other format, such frightening ideas would seem ridiculous, but through animation the lighted windows amidst the craggy darkness is just bearable. Just moving down the street across from “That House” in the neighborhood is frightening for not only children of the black and white era, but for the colorful world of today.
Director Gil Kenan solidifies the archetypal haunted house, by raising it to a new height of social understanding. This not only makes it an entertaining film, but an educational one for all but the youngest of audiences. Even the mature horror film buff will appreciate this first-step film.