Halloween is just around the corner and DJ Walters (Mitchel Musso) is pre-occupied spying on the house across the street where old Horace Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi) lives. For a while DJ has suspect that something odd is happening across the street, but he hasn’t been able to prove it. Chowder (Sam Lerner), DJ’s best friend, is looking forward to Halloween, but when he accidentally throws his ball on Mr. Nebbercracker’s lawn an opportunity arises for DJ to find out what is happening in the mysterious house. When Jenny (Spencer Locke) joins the duo, the three kids decide to investigate further and enter house. The three of them never expected to discover the macabre secrets that lie within that makes the house act against everyone that gets near.
Monster House is a film about the old idea that certain things out there are alive that walls can hear you, windows can see you, etc. This fear is brought to life in this animated film. The film follows the three young kids as they face their fears and enter the house only to find its deep secrets. I have to say that for a movie aimed at a younger audience there are a few details that maybe a tiny bit scary, however, the title itself should be a pretty good indication of what’s to come once the film starts rolling. Monster House is one of those films that end up being judged by its name, but Monster House is far from being a bad animated film. Monster House has a great mixture of fantasy, story, characters, and voice acting that makes it stand out on its own.
For starters, the story is stupendously well written for an animated flick. The film works on various levels that ends up leaving a satisfactory feeling once is over. The animated style used is perfectly fitting for the darker theme the film employs. Each character is unique in their own way that makes each of them an integral piece in the way the story moves on. To make it an even better production, the voice acting is superb. Musso and Lerner do an excellent job with the lead characters bringing them to life with their passionate voice acting. I will probably continue to remind you that In order to view these 3D titles you need a 3D ready television and a 3D Blu-ray player in order for this to play back, for the latter if you have a PS3 I am sure you know that September 21st will be the date that Sony gives it the firmware to playback Blu-ray media in 3D. Don’t forget that each television set requires its own (same brand) pair of 3D glasses.
Monster House 3D arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC (MVC for 3D) encode framed at 2.40:1. Monster House looks absolutely amazing without a doubt. Colors are bright and vivid. Black levels are exquisitely well reproduced throughout standing out during the dark scenes of the film. The image is clean, clear, and extremely detailed. Every little thing in the screen will reveal all its intricacies in the texture. As for the 3D of the film, I must say it looks very impressive for being the second title that Sony prepares. Sony did an outstanding job bringing even the most remote objects 3D. Branches, leafs, slinkies, the grass, etc. all bring that extra engrossing feeling. There are a few things that show some ghosting, but is never a distraction and does not take anything away from the movie. Monster House looks fantastic!
Monster House 3D arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. This time around the lossless track is replacing the LPCM track that was found on the previous release and I must say it sounds fantastic. Dialogue is clean, clear and crisp and perfectly prioritized. The rears do an exceptional job with ambience and atmospheric effects, reproducing the minutest sounds throughout the film. Everything g from the cracking in the wood to the leafs brushing in the background. The bass is used often to give that extra power to all the odd things the house does and an explosion scene roars through the soundstage. Overall, Monster House sounds incredible.
Audio Commentary – This track is a rough as they come, not exactly well put together, it’s just very difficult to make sense of what is going on and who is talking behind the microphone. For all it’s worth I would probably skip it if I was you.
Inside Monster House – This is a 7 part documentary that includes: Beginner’s Luck, Imaginary Heroes, The Best of Friends, Black Box Theater , Lots of Dots, and Did You Hear That?
Evolution of a Scene: Eliza vs Nebbercracker – This is another extensive piece that looks at the creation of a few specific scenes of the movie.
The Art of Monster House – This is comprised of three different galleries.
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Monster House was already a solid animated film since released in 2D and now that is released on 3D the film’s quality has increased a bit more. Sony’s exemplary work on the new 3D format is outstanding considering it’s their second 3D release. The Blu-ray video and audio quality is superb and is a complete treat for any movie lover. The film is packed with a good amount of supplements that will keep fans entertained. The quality of the 3D imagery is excellent and if you already have the 2D version this is the perfect excuse to double dip or replace your current copy, after all this release also includes a 2D version.
