Monster House (2006) Rated PG Starring the voices of: Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon and Maggie Gyllenhaal Rating: out of

Taking place in an upscale suburban neighborhood, Monster House tells the story of a house owned by Mr. Nebbercracker (voiced by Steve Buscemi), who is constantly telling kids to get off his lawn. If they fail to get off fast enough, he takes their toy or tricycle to make sure they never come back.

Thirteen-year-old D. J. (voiced by Mitchel Musso) lives directly across the street from Nebbercracker. D. J.'s been keeping an eye on the old man through his telescope and keeping a meticulous log of every tricycle and toy that's been stolen. When D. J.'s friend, Chowder (Sam Lerner), loses his basketball on Nebbercracker's lawn, D. J. attempts to retrieve it. As D. J. fears would happen, he comes face-to-face with the old man. Before any harm can come to D. J., Nebbercracker has a heart-attack on his own front lawn.

After an ambulance whisks the old man away, D. J. notices through his telescope that the house still seems to be occupied even though Nebbercracker lived alone. When Chowder attempts to prove him wrong, they both find that the house isn't occupied, it's alive and looking to eat anyone who walks close to the front door. Being that it's Halloween, the house is just hours from getting a smorgasbord dinner in the form of trick-or-treaters stepping on the front porch. It's up to D. J., Chowder, and their new friend, Jenny (Spencer Locke), to stop the house from eating all the town's children.

While watching Monster House, I was immediately struck by the quality of the animation. It's so detailed that I could name the actresses voicing D. J.'s mother (Catherine O'Hara) and babysitter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) from their facial expressions alone. Monster House features what I can only describe as computerized claymation that gives the film a look that sets it apart from the myriad of barnyard and zoo animal computer animated films that are being pumped into theaters almost weekly. The world of Monster House is filmed in a realistic fashion that gives it a unique depth of field that is lacking in most animation.

Monster House's script, which fleshes out its young characters in a surprisingly realistic fashion, recalls the suburban teenager adventures of the 1980s, like E. T., The Goonies, and Stand by Me. The chemistry between the main characters reminded me, if only briefly, of the camaraderie between Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter series. That's no small compliment to what could have easily been a forgettable piece of tripe.

Director Gil Kenan does a great job of balancing the laughs with the scares. Admittedly, this has been marketed as a children's movie but it might be a little too intense for younger kids. While the scares never approach anything absolutely off-limits for little ones, it is a haunted house movie after all.

Monster House only loses points for relying on stereotypes for a few characters, most notably the black rookie cop (Nick Cannon), and for some humor that might be a bit too adult for kids. Otherwise, it's an immensely enjoyable -- if somewhat more adult than usual -- animated movie.

Trivia: The little girl on the tricycle in the beginning of the film is humming the theme from Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories." (Source: The Internet Movie Database)