As is, the story is pretty bland with characters who seem like clones of stereotypes you’ve seen before. The dialogue threatens to be witty but doesn’t quite get there. It’s an entertaining enough summer movie with more idiosyncratic quirks than most studio fare. Sorry Harry, I wish I’d liked this special screening better.

Alert to Parents: The scary stuff is too intense for most small children. I’d think twice before taking someone 8 and under. Every kid is different, but there’s enough scary stuff out there without adding additional nightmares.

- Psychedelic

Here's GCWB from Chicago...

I went to the Chicago screening and wanted to just throw out a big thank you for throwing this fantastic 10th anniversary event. It was a blast seeing this movie with friends and people who share the same interests. I would like to especially thank Capone for finally getting a Chicago event going. And i am sure it wont be the last.

Now to the review.

Overall, I really did like the film. It was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something so strange about this movie. The lines were funny, each character had an interesting personality, and the direction and cinematography was quite stunning....but something throughout the whole movie seemed off. I ran into this problem with Polar Express too, it certainly wasnt as bad as Polar Express though. I know its not the same film technique (correct me if I am wrong), but it sure came off as similar.

I think the main problem was that the bodies had alot of awkward movement that was slightly off. They were so close to getting it right, so close to being natural...that it looked overly forced. It was like...Okay, this person made a joke..so now they react, and then once they react they move onto the next line. The reaction time was slightly off.

The atmosphere was beautiful, everything about it was amazinly photo realistic. Infact, I dont think it could have been anymore realistic. I think that goes along with the same problem. The atmosphere was so real, that they tried to make the humans look just as real as the atmosphere. But, they got stuck with the same "Polar Express" syndrome.

The jokes were really spot on. Props to the writing crew. They made alot of cliche ideas seem fresh. For instance, the bitchy babysitter that we always see (fairly oddparents for one-which kids can connect to) ended up being pretty funny and she was the most boring character in the movie! I also loved the videogame dude, he was halarious.

I think alot of kids are going to want to see this film cuz for some reason the public sees animation films always aiming towards children. but alot of this animation film might be just a bit too scary for the younger crowd. (1-6) The house can be really frightening in some scenes and some of the characters are frightening to look at.

One last thing, I feel like this is not the best release date for the movie. This really feels like a halloween movie, and a really enjoyable one at that. But i dont go see Halloween movies in July. I enjoyed it, but my friends were pretty unsure if they would have actually payed to go see this.

Even if this a strategic move, so they can get the DVD out by Halloween to see those sales skyrocket...i still say its a bad move. I say release it around Halloween, get the box office money and then release a normal DVD early february. They could then release a Special Edition Monster House the next Halloween and see the same money come in. Maybe they just figured people love halloween stuff year round. Well, im personally not one of those people.

Overall, a highly enjoyable film despite the fact that it runs into the problem of its release date and stiff character animation.

GCWB

Johnny "Chuck" Deth saw the film in New York City...

Harry,

Thank you for the screening last night!

I had just finished viewing a screening of FEED (not terrible still not great but gross) and MONSTER HOUSE was just what I needed to wash the taste of that film and a long day out of my system.

Pure joy!

Wonderful 3D (and I have made a 3D feature in the early 80s so I know) with no eye strain!

Adults and kids both laughing (not always at the same things) and/or screaming with the fun.

The voice performances were terrific and I did not see the 3rd act "twist" coming at all. Even Scott from NJ's Comic Explosion smiled (and he aint known for his grin)!

I really loved the film and can not wait to take my lovely wife Battina. Heck it was even set on Halloween (my wedding anniversary!). What more could anyone ask for? PURE ENTERTAINMENT!

Johnny "Chuck" Deth

Secretlibrarian attended Capone's screening in Chicago...

Hey Harry,

First let me say thanks to you, AICN and Capone for the chance to see this great film gratis. Monster House was THE movie I was looking forward to all summer and to see it early was such a great treat.

So how was it? Let me tell you, this is an important movie.

I'm a librarian and I work mainly with young adults (ages 11ish-high school). These are kids who are a little too old for the Pixar stuff and way too young for nostalgia. Pitching something to tweens is a real pain. You can't be too intense and you definately can't baby them. You need a fin brush to reach these kids and most hollywood flicks are painted with rollers.

Monster House is the perfect tween movie. And that is important.

DJ and Chowder are right at that moment in your life as a boy when girls suddenly go from icky to...interesting. DJ is obsessing over his scary old neighbor and his scary old house. The scene in the beginning where he scribbles notes and mutters about the tricyle is something every boy at that age does. I opened a detective agency in my garage when I was 11. Wore my best suit and everything. He's playing at being an adult. Chowder is still a big kid but he plays as having charm and being suave.

There's a line where he asks DJ for beer that my girlfriend and I could not stop repeating on the way home. I love Choweder because I was the fat kid too, all tumbs and screw-ups. His line "I looked back!" is exactly what he'd say. Jenny...sigh. Yeah, she's every girl you ever had a crush on at that age.

It's the exactness that makes this movie work so well. The kids feel like kids. They're not hollywood kids trying to sound like someone from the flyover states, they feel genuine and fun. They're not funny because they're trying to be, they're funny because they're kids and kids are hysterical.

There's so much that just works in this movie. The video game geek whose about 20 seconds more mature than the boys but he's they're god. The babysitter who gets the best burns on the boys ("No more mountain dew") the cops who could have their own movie ("No, no that's loaded!") the parents who do the best thing and disappear for the film. Nebbercracker, who looks like Gollum one minute and a sweet....well I won't give that away. No character in this film is functional, everyone is fleshed out, funny and means something to the story.

The look of the film is so damn pretty. From the opening shot of fall leaves you're instantly in this hyper-real world. It's not Jimmy neutron/dreamworks stuff here, the characters all have weight and emotions and they live in a very real world. So when the house goes evil and starts it's rampage it has so much more impact. You must see this in 3-D. There's no SCTV "Ooohh...pancakes!" moments in there but when the mouth of the house opens wide you'll have to be a very brave soul not a cringe just a bit.

Tweens will love this movie because it's honest about their lives. They feel trapped, no one is listening and they have something great/wonderful/terrible to say. This is an important movie for them to see because it shows them that their stories are great stories. That all that imagination of childhood can come rushing with you into puberty and high school.

It's ok to grow up but you can always have adventures with your friends. I wish every YA book could have this big a heart and that every young adult movie could be this much fun.

Thank you again Harry, Capone, everybody.

Jim was in Austin...

Hey now

Was at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin last night seeing POTC "Dead Man's Chest" and came out and saw that a private screening of "Monster House" in 3D was being presented by Harry Knowles.

This is funny cause this is what he said on his website last night:

This one older couple were at the Drafthouse seeing Pirates - asked what the glasses were for - decided to stick around for the screening on the chance of getting in on standby. And did. They came up to me afterwards just so blown away. That's great, when you get people to be completely blown away by the film.

We were that older couple (heck I'm only 53 and my wife is nine years younger than me). The movie was beyond great. It is the finest example of film making I've seen in many years. The story line is superb, the characters are real and the animation is over the top. I laughed out loud the whole movie.

Thanks to everyone who produced this gem.

I look forward to telling everyone about Monster House, and will go see it again with friends and family.

Monster house is a new computer animated feature film that will be released later this month. I was lucky enough to win a couple of tickets to AICN's 10th anniversary digital 3d screening of the movie at the Alamo Drafthouse South here in lovely Austin, TX. This is the second time AICN has given me a chance to attend a free early screening (the first was the premier of Sky Captain) and I will be forever grateful to them. I think it's great how they make normal people feel like Hollywood VIP's.

When I arrived at the Drafthouse I was given a cool little badge as a ticket and some Buddy Holly-style 3D glasses. These are the same kind of glasses I remember wearing when I saw Captain Eo at Walt Disney World a long time ago. Except these look like Buddy Holly glasses... so they're better. By the way, the Drafthouse has some awesome Queso.

Monster House is an 80's style preteen supernatural movie, so they showed trailers for Monster Squad (a classic!) and the Explorers before the movie. This really set the right mood. In fact, Monster House reminded me a lot of my memories of Monster Squad, which is a good thing because I have very fond memories of Monster Squad.

The first shot of the movie is a wide shot of a typical suburban neighborhood in the fall, with leaves falling and trees swaying. This first shot really brought home that this was 3d, and I actually heard people gasp. It only got better from there, as the movie made full use of the 3d to throw all sorts of things at us. If you can, you really need to see this movie in 3d.

The biggest strength of Monster House was the characters. They were all likeable, funny, and well animated. I imminently related to the main character, but maybe that's because I pretty much WAS that kid 15 years ago (although my overweight neighbor buddy wasn't nearly as funny as Chowder). There are lots of great supporting characters, from the babysitter's annoying boyfriend ("He's in a band") to the overweight cop (voiced by Kevin James). There's even a cameo by Napoleon Dynamite.... Who could ask for more?

The movie's not perfect. It seemed a tad too long, and it might be too intense for little kids. I think I would have liked to have seen a little more mystery... as it is the supernatural element is revealed right away. These are all small things, though... Monster House certainly gets two thumbs up from me.

If you can see this movie in 3D... do it. The 3d effects are fantastic and extremely entertaining. If you can only see it in 2d, it's still worth the price of admission.

Thanks again, AICN!

- Cody

I was one of those lucky souls that got to attend the Chicago premier of Monster House. Let me tell you first of all how great it was to be part of a living, breathing, AICN event. We are part of a community of soul brothers and sisters online that live for the same things. It was nice to see others in the flesh. It was easy to spot others that share the same passion. There were Back to the Future, Skywalker Ranch, Land of the Dead, and Batman T-shirts...all making their appearance.

Anyway, on to the movie. This is GREAT movie. The story was well-crafted and works to entertain both adults and children.

I will say that I have toddlers and I'm not sure I would take them to see this one. It may have been a little too scary for them, but different kids mature at different rates, so parents be warned. I felt like this would have been great for kids over 5. Besides a great story, what really captivated me were the characters. I don't think that I have ever cared for computer-animated characters before.

This movie had me caring. One character in particular stood out to me and that was Chowder, one of the two boys in the movie. Chowder, from the get-go reminded me of Chunk from Goonies in animated form. Yes, Chunk lives again. I was just waiting for him to do the 'Truffle Shuffle.' A couple of times, he nearly did.

Let me switch gears here and also say that the 3D was flawless. There were many opportunities presented here to enjoy the marvels of 3D, but they did so within the context of the story. You didn't have gratitous objects flying at you just to see something in 3D. I came out of the movie believing in the magic of 3D again and very hopeful of the marvels that Cameron might bring to us.

The opening sequence shows a leaf at the top of a tree in perfect 3D. It's autumn, and the leaf falls from the tree, floating gracefully towards the ground. We follow it on it's journey and it's our first introduction to the 3D in the movie. I really enjoyed this. I know that it sounds like a relatively non-cool moment, but it really worked well.

I'm going to keep this review short. I really enjoyed this one. I think kids and parents alike will like it.

It's a must see summer kids movie.

Emanuel sent in his thoughts...

I loved this film.

It's rare to see a film these days that you thoroughly enjoy from start to finish like Monster House.

It was extremely fun, which is something many other films lack these days.

The characters and plot were all engrossing and the computer animation was amazing.