Monster House [UMD] DVD

Monster House
A suburban home has become physically animated by a vengeful human soul looking to stir up trouble from beyond the grave, and it's up to three adventurous kids from the neighborhood to do battle with the structural golem in this comically frightful tale, directed by Gil Kenan and featuring the voices of Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Kevin James. DJ Harvard (voice of Mitchel Musso) lives directly across the street from a most unusual house. A malevolent entity that longs to feed on the energy of the living, the once peaceful house that looms ominously outside of DJ's bedroom window would like nothing more than the chance to feast on the children of the neighborhood. As Halloween begins to draw near and the children of the neighborhood prepare for another long night of trick-or-treating, it appears as if it may be the house that is in for the biggest treat of all. Now, with the adults turning a deaf ear to DJ's strange findings, it's up to the brave young boy and his faithful friends Chowder (voice of Sam Lerner) and Jenny (Spencer Locke) to break through the barrier of the supernatural and defeat the powers of darkness before the house grows too powerful to fight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Cast Steve Buscemi as Nebbercracker Nick Cannon as Officer Lister Maggie Gyllenhaal as Zoe Jon Heder as Reginald 'Skull' Skulinski Kevin James as Officer Landers Jason Lee as Bones Catherine O'Hara as Mom Kathleen Turner as Constance Fred Willard as Dad Mitchel Musso as DJ Walter Sam Lerner as Chowder Spencer Locke as Jenny Ryan Newman as Little Girl Woody Schultz as Paramedic Ian McConnel as Paramedic Erik Walker as Bullies Matthew Fahey as Kevin the Dog as Kevin the Dog Blanchard Marissa as Background Voices Ranjani Brow as Background Voices Kimberly Beck Clark as Background Voices Miles Clark as Background Voices David Cowgill as Background Voices McKenna Cowgill as Background Voices Harrison Fahn as Background Voices Frannie Felder as Background Voices Spencer Lacey Ganus as Background Voices Bridget Hoffman as Background Voices Wendy Hoffman as Background Voices Mary Matilyn Mouser as Background Voices Emanuel Orlando as Background Voices Zoey Poll as Background Voices Zack Shada as Background Voices Justin Moran Shenkarow as Background Voices W.K. Stratton as Background Voices Hans Tester as Background Voices Corbett Tuck as Background Voices Ariel Winter as Background Voices Lora Witty as Background Voices Tyler Zaentz as Background Voices Kayleen Ancheta as Motion Capture Models

Crew Greg Papalia - Art Director Norman Newberry - Art Director Sony Pictures Imageworks - Animator Luca Erbetta - Character Animation James Baker - Character Animation Kelvin Lee - Character Animation Robert McIntosh - Character Animation Sebastian Kapijimpanga - Character Animation Paul A. Davies - Character Animation Vince Truitner - Character Animation Jesse Sugarman - Character Animation Alex Tysowsky - Character Animation Randy Link - Character Animation Thomas Bland - Character Animation Paul Wood - Character Animation Joe Oh - Character Animation Jamaal Bradley - Character Animation Marc Vulcano - Character Animation Keith Kellogg - Character Animation Alfonso Alpuerto - Character Animation Tom Bruno, Jr. - Character Animation Bill Haller - Character Animation Benjamin Cinelli - Character Animation Brett Schroeder - Character Animation Ando Tammik - Character Animation John Wong - Character Animation Toby Michael Haruno - Character Animation Dan Wawrzaszek - Character Animation Henry Sato, Jr. - Character Animation Les Major - Character Animation Jeff Lin - Character Animation Paul Jessel - Character Animation Seth Hippen - Character Animation Nicole Herr - Character Animation Kelly Goldstein - Character Animation Christopher Endicott - Character Animation Stephanie Couture - Character Animation Alice Kaiserian - Character Animation Scott Holmes - Character Animation Angie Glocka - Character Animation Clarence Robello - Character Animation Sandra Ryan-Moran - Character Animation Paul Newberry - Character Animation Brian Scott - Character Animation Nye Warburton - Character Animation Daniel Heder - Character Animation Keith Paciello - Character Animation Jay Jackson - Character Animation Larry White - Character Animation Irene Parkins - Character Animation William R. Wright - Character Animation Patrick Lowery - Character Animation Christopher Lindsay - Character Animation Scott Fritts - Character Animation Cathy Jones - Character Animation Alex Williams - Character Animation Steve Enticott - Character Animation Eric Less - Character Animation Heather Smith Kelton - Associate Producer Bennett Schneir - Associate Producer Victoria Burrows - Casting Scott Boland - Casting Michele Burke - Consultant/advisor Ruth Myers - Costume Designer Aldric La'Auli Porter - First Assistant Director Gil Kenan - Director Fabienne Rawley - Editor Adam P. Scott - Editor Robert Zemeckis - Executive Producer Steven Spielberg - Executive Producer Jason Clark - Executive Producer Tyler Ely - Hair Styles Linda Trainoff - Hair Styles Douglas Pipes - Composer (Music Score) Tegan Taylor - Makeup Mark Landon - Makeup Robert E. Ostermann - Makeup Ed Verreaux - Production Designer Xavier Perez Grobet - Cinematographer Jack Rapke - Producer Steve Starkey - Producer Andrew Reeder - Set Designer Jason Lynch - Set Designer Kate Sullivan - Set Designer Todd Cherniawsky - Set Designer Aaron Haye - Set Designer Gary A. Lee - Set Designer Scott Herbertson - Set Designer Gary Rizzo - Sound Mixer Rick Kline - Sound Mixer Randy Thom - Sound/Sound Designer Jason Clark - Unit Production Manager Dan Harmon - Screen Story Rob Schrab - Screen Story Pamela Pettler - Screenwriter Rob Schrab - Screenwriter Dan Harmon - Screenwriter Jay Redd - Visual Effects Supervisor Dhana R. Gilbert - Production Coordinator Sharon Reynolds-Enriquez - Script Supervisor Troy Saliba - Supervising Animator Dennis Leonard - Supervising Sound Editor Crys Forsyth-Smith - Visual Effects Producer Steven McGee - Chief Lighting Technician Denis Cordova - Construction Coordinator John Villarino - Construction Coordinator Roxane Griffin - Key Hairstylist Gill Mosko - Key Make-up Dakau "Doc" Jackson - Production Accountant Susanne LaRiviere - Production Accountant Dave Lowery - Storyboard Artist Philip Killer - Storyboard Artist Dan Sweetman - Storyboard Artist William Kaplan - Production Sound Mixer Chris Appelhaus - Character Design Imaginary Forces - Title Design David Hyman - Assistant Director

Monster House
Monster House is a glorious return to form for exec producers (and masters of escapism) Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis -- and within the realm of computer animation, it's a welcome respite from the assembly line of movies in which zoo animals team up together. Gil Kenan's wellspring of imagination hearkens back to such Spielberg-produced classics as Gremlins and The Goonies, and it shares a motion-capture technology with Zemeckis' most recent directorial effort, The Polar Express. But Zemeckis has learned from the criticisms directed at Express. These animators have designed the characters as stylized versions of the vocal talent, rather than attempting the photo-realistic recreations of Express, which gave Tom Hanks a kind of zombie look. Monster House is indeed a technical marvel, its colors vibrant, its camera swooping through the frame (especially the opening, which follows a blowing leaf and a singing girl on a tricycle). But to focus just on that would short-change this terrific story, which is both funnier and scarier than children's movies usually get to be. In fact, so edgy is the script (by Dan Harmon, Pamela Pettler, and Rob Schrab), that it's almost more adult-oriented than child-oriented. There's real darkness and danger in this world of absentee parents, but there are also real children, real babysitters, and real video-game geeks -- this last a memorable cameo voiced by Napoleon Dynamite's Jon Heder. Bringing the marvelous dialogue to life are Maggie Gyllenhaal as the punked-out sitter, Jason Lee as her sketchy boyfriend, Steve Buscemi as a crotchety neighbor, and child actor Sam Lerner, whose spasmodic best friend falls somewhere between Eric Cartman and Chunk from The Goonies. The film's one failing is Nick Cannon's mouthy black police officer, whose character design and persona are uncharitable almost to the point of racist. Fortunately, the rest of Monster House is so good that it overpowers any such hiccups. Its star, the anthropomorphic mansion with the living lawn and the wooden jaws, is as creative a monster as Hollywood has produced in years. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
 

Gil Kenan: Chicago Film Critics Circle, Most Promising Director (nominated) Jack Rapke: Producers Guild of America, Producer of the Year in Animated Theaterical Motion Pictures (nominated) Steve Starkey: Producers Guild of America, Producer of the Year in Animated Theaterical Motion Pictures (nominated)

Broadcast Film Critics Association, Best Animated Feature (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Animated Feature (nominated) Las Vegas Film Critics Circle, Best Animated Film (winner) Online Film Critics, Best Animated Film (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, KO Subtitle Options: English, French, KO Sound Processing: Additional Features: DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1: Alternate Wide Screen MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 91 min