Review of Monster House (2006) by Filipeneto — 11 May 2018

This film revolves around the obsession of a small group of children with an old neighbor, living in an old house. The neighbor, Mr. Nebbercracker, rudely drives away the children who will knock on his door or play near his house, stealing the toys that are left in his lawn. Obviously, grown-ups don't want to hear the suspicions of the little ones, who believed that something is wrong there.

This movie deals with four things: privacy, private property, fear and monsters. Initially, the old neighbor looks just like an old man who does not want to be bothered or wants anyone stepping on his ground. So far he has every right to do so, and we must see the behavior of this children as a mere voyeurism. They have no right to spy the old man or get into his private life. Its only with the development of the film that we actually find that the children were right in their suspicions. Anyway, we condemn the fact of this film, in a way, encourages voyeurism. The life of others should not be more interesting than ours. Aside from this moral detail, the film's story is good and solid. I also thought the ending of the movie was very exaggerated.

The film features voice actors such as Steve Buscemi (the old man), Mitchel Musso or Kathleen Turner. I think they all did a good job, according to our expectations. Animation was done in a very interesting way: contrary to the general trend of looking for realistic animations, this film decided for a more classic, stylized look. This made it different, with some pleasing originality. I don't think it's the right movie for young children, given the content mildly associated with horror and the moral options we already spoke. Discernment and care of parents and adults is key to understanding whether its appropriate or not. Either way, it's a family movie, where grown-up kids are likely to feel more at ease than adults.