The poster for the film's theatrical release.
Monster House is a 2006 computer animated motion capture horror/comedy movie directed by Gil Kenan, presented by Columbia Pictures, in association with Relativity Media and GH One, produced by ImageMovers and Amblin Entertainment, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing.
Executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, this is the first time since Back to the Future Part III that they have worked together. It is also the first time that Zemeckis and Spielberg both served as EPs. The characters are animated primarily utilizing performance capture, making it the second film to use the technology so extensively, following Zemeckis' The Polar Express.
Monster House received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $140 million worldwide. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 79th Academy Awards, but lost to Happy Feet.
Synopsis[]
A little girl rides her tricycle around the neighborhood, singing along, until she hits a bump and gets stuck on the lawn. As she tries to get out, an old man named Horace Nebbercracker snaps at her and takes the tricycle and removes the wheel to tempt her to go away. Meanwhile, 12 year old DJ Walters spies on his elderly neighbor, Mr. Nebbercracker who confiscates any item landing in his yard. DJ's parents leave town for the weekend for a dentists' convention, leaving him in the care of Elizabeth "Zee". DJ's best friend, Charles "Chowder" loses his basketball on Nebbercracker's lawn. DJ is caught by Nebbercracker while recovering it, who rages at him before apparently suffering a heart attack and being taken away by an ambulance. That night, DJ receives phone calls from Nebbercracker's house with no one on the other end. DJ eavesdrops on Zee's boyfriend, Bones who tells Zee about losing his kite on Nebbercracker's lawn when he was younger and that Nebbercracker supposedly ate his wife. Later, Bones sees his kite in the doorway of Mr. Nebbercracker's house, but he and the kite are consumed by the haunted house as he is retrieving it.
The next morning, Jenny Bennett is selling Halloween chocolates. DJ and Chowder see her going to Nebbercracker's house, and they rush out to warn her catching her before she is eaten by the house. Jenny calls the police, but police officers Landers and Lister do not believe their story.
The trio try to seek advice from Reginald "Skull" Skulinski, who is claimed to be an expert on the supernatural. They learn that the house is a "domus mactabilis" which is Latin for "deadly home"; a being created when a human soul merges with a structure. They assume the house is inhabited by Nebbercracker's soul. The only way to kill the house is to destroy its heart; its source of life. They conclude that the heart must be the fireplace, as DJ realizes that the chimney has been smoking since Nebbercracker died. Chowder provides a cold medicine-filled dummy (made from a vacuum cleaner and some other objects) that should cause the house to sleep long enough for them to douse the furnace. Officers Landers and Lister thwart their plan upon arrival and they are arrested when Landers finds the cold medicine stolen from Chowder's father's pharmacy inside the dummy. The cops place the trio in their car while they examine the house. The house eats Landers, Lister and the car. DJ, Chowder and Jenny try to escape the car but are trapped in the house.
The house falls asleep and they begin exploring. They fall into the basement and find a collection of toys accumulated from Nebbercracker's lawn, as well as a cage containing the body of Nebbercracker's wife Constance the Giantess encased in cement. The house realizes they are inside and attacks them. DJ, Chowder and Jenny force the house to vomit them outside by grabbing its uvula. Nebbercracker arrives home alive, revealing that the house is possessed by Constance. As a young man Nebbercracker met Constance, who was an unwilling member of a circus sideshow, and fell in love with her despite her obesity. After helping her escape, she and Nebbercracker began building the house. One Halloween, as children tormented her, Constance tried hurting them with an axe, but lost her footing and died in the foundations of the house. The cement buried her body. Nebbercracker finished the house after Constance's death, knowing it was what she would have wanted. Aware that Constance's spirit made the house come alive, Nebbercracker tried keeping people away by pretending to hate children.
DJ tells Nebbercracker it is time to let Constance go, but she overhears. The house breaks free from its foundation and chases the group to a construction site. Nebbercracker attempts to convince Constance that she should die while holding a stick of dynamite, but Constance refuses. As she tries to eat him, Chowder fights the house off with a back hoe, causing it to fall into a pit. DJ is given the dynamite, and he and Jenny climb to the top of a crane while Chowder distracts Constance. DJ throws the dynamite into the chimney, destroying the house. The trio see Nebbercracker with Constance's ghost for the last time before she fades away. DJ apologizes to Nebbercracker for the loss of his house and wife, but Nebbercracker thanks DJ and the kids for freeing him and Constance. That night, children in their Halloween costumes are lined up at the site of Nebbercracker's house, where DJ, Chowder and Jenny help him return the toys to their owners. Jenny's parents pick her up and DJ and Chowder go trick-or-treating, which they previously thought they were too old for.
As the credits roll, those who were eaten by the house emerge from the basement. Bones finds that Elizabeth is now dating Skull, Officer Landers and Officer Liter leave to "investigate" some of the trick-or-treating candy, and the dog urinates on a nearby jack-o'-lantern enough to put out its flame.
Music[]
The original score is composed by Douglas Pipes and conducted/orchestrated by Bruce Babcock. In addition, director Gil Kenan composed and performed music of the ficitonal game-within-the-movie "Thou Art Dead".
- "Eliza's Song" (uncredited) - Ryan Newman
- "A Little More Love" - Olivia Newton John
- "Merciful Hammer" - Ralph Saenz, David Sardy (as D. Sardy), John Shmersal, and Bobby Jarzombek
- "Thou Art Dead" - Gil Kenan
- "Halloween" - Siouxsie and the Banshees
- "Eliza's Song" (End Credits/Reprise; uncredited) - Ryan Newman
Soundtrack listing[]
The movie's full soundtrack was released by Varése Sarabande.
| # | Name | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'Opening Titles" | 1:02 |
| 2 | "Eliza’s Song" (Ryan Newman) | 0:48 |
| 3 | "Awesome Kite/Bones Tossed Out" / "Construction" | 3:43 |
| 4 | "Through The Telescope" | 0:39 |
| 5 | "Parents Drive Off" | 1:20 |
| 6 | "Go to Your Room" | 0:41 |
| 7. | "Jenny Walks Up/Jenny’s Close Call" | 1:41 |
| 8 | "Elegy" | 1:37 |
| 9 | "Ding Dong/House Comes Alive!" | 2:39 |
| 10 | "Cops Emerge" | 1:33 |
| 11 | "The Chimney" | 0:38 |
| 12 | "The Plan/Dummy Feed" | 3:14 |
| 13 | "Cop Car Gets Eaten" | 0:54 |
| 14 | "Trapped/Constance’s Tomb" / "Escape" | 7:37 |
| 15 | "Cops Get Eaten" | 1:15 |
| 16 | "The Flashback" | 3:34 |
| 17 | "Chowder To The Rescue" | 1:19 |
| 18 | "Nebbercracker Returns" | 2:06 |
| 19 | "House Chase" | 3:36 |
| 20 | "The Battle" | 5:13 |
| 21 | "45 Years" / "Tricycle" | 1:33 |
| 22 | "We’re Back!" | 0:49 |
| 23 | "End Titles" | 1:09 |
| 24 | "The Dance" | 0:42 |
Home video releases[]
The film had its DVD, Blu-ray and PSP releases on October 24, 2006. It even had a Blu-ray 3D release on September 14, 2010 and the Blu-ray and DVD releases were later reprinted on August 23, 2015 and October 18, 2016.
October 24, 2006
October 24, 2006
October 24, 2006
September 14, 2010
August 23, 2015
Blu-ray and DVD are reprints from 2006
October 18, 2016
DVD is a reprint from 2006
Edits[]
- On some Cartoon Network airings, Jenny's "Let's cut the crap" and Chowder's "So it's a girl house" were cut out. Also, DJ says "I'm serious" instead of "I suck" before he gets run over by an ambulance.
Cast[]
| Voice actress/actor | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Ryan Newman | Little Girl |
| Steve Buscemi | Nebbercracker |
| Mitchel Musso | DJ |
| Catherine O'Hara | Mom |
| Fred Willard | Dad |
| Sam Lerner | Chowder |
| Woody Schultz Ian McConnel |
Paramedics |
| Maggie Gyllenhaal | Zee |
| Jason Lee | Bones |
| Spencer Locke | Jenny |
| Kevin James | Officer Landers |
| Nick Cannon | Officer Lister |
| Jon Heder | Reginald 'Skull' Skulinski |
| Kathleen Turner | Constance |
| Erik Walker Matthew Fahey |
Bullies |
| Uncredited | |
| Brittany Curran | Jenny |
| Marc Musso | Additional characters |