Monster House

Directed by Gil Kenan

Rated: PG

(three stars)

By Bruce Bulloch

Cranky old Mr. Nebbercracker confiscates any toy or ball unfortunate enough to wander across his property line giving his yard the mythic status of no man's land for every kid on the block. For DJ and his friend Chowder, old Nebbercracker holds a particular fascination, adding a little dash of spice to their quiet suburban childhood.

Then, one day, on an undercover mission to retrieve Chowder's basketball they're ambushed by Mr. Nebbercracker and the chase that follows sends the old man to the hospital - possibly for the last time.

Poor DJ is racked with guilt until he discovers it may not be Nebbercracker who was the sinister force across the street but the house itself.

"Monster House", the animated children's movie directed by Gil Kenan - like so many good children's stories before i - starts out as an innocent flight of childish imagination and quickly morphs into a world of full-blown fantasy. Alice chased rabbits; DJ and Chowder get into a smack-down with real estate.

At first the true extent of the danger isn't clear - a bottle sinks menacingly into the front lawn, an unfortunate dog detours into the yard for a moment of relief and is never hear from again-but everything comes to a head when the boys are forced to rescue Jenny-with her little red wagon and Type-A approach to school-candy sales-from certain doom as she marches up Nebbercracker's front walk to ring the doorbell. The three realize they have to save humanity from suburbia's ultimate archetype of evil: the fixer-upper.

The dividing line between the good and the bad in children's movies is easy to draw: the bad ones all seem to have been written in five minutes. They lay out a plot line you can see coming a mile away and make up for the lack of story by throwing out a desperate string of jokes, hoping to snag enough laughs that you won't notice.

"Monster House" takes the time to get its script right. The story unfolds with a satisfying mix of humor and fright, never afraid to up the ante and draw the viewer down a series of weird little twists and turns. It's not exactly Alfred Hitchcock but for the right age group it will get them squirming in their seats enough times to keep their interest.

The story also invests in fleshing out its young heroes. DJ, Chowder, and Jenny aren't the most originally conceived characters to appear on screen but the movie manages to raise them above clich/. There's a bumbling charm to DJ and Chowder's first attempts to include a girl into their guys-only world (Chowder flip-flops between bravado and getting distracted by doodling on their battle plans). "Monster House" has a nice feel for pre-adolescent foibles that allows their humor to feel unforced.

Adults, of course, are oblivious to the peril leaving DJ, Chowder, and Jenny to rely on their own resources. Their strategies are both brilliant and goofy, at one point including a vacuum cleaner and cough medicine.

A good fantasy carries with it an element of menace. If it can scare you then you know it's creating an effective illusion of reality. To that end, the animation in "Monster House" begins to take on a life of its own as the house morphs into a monster. It is at once creature and labyrinth, forcing our young heroes to navigate its dangers both inside and out. Even the quiet moments where the kids are rummaging through junk in the basement has a palpable feeling of danger.

The animators add personality to their creature with some very creative touches including the way it smoothes its ruffled shingles after an attack. The real genius of the house is the way it evolves, becoming more animated and more of a monster as the story unfolds. It doesn't show all of its tricks up front. Instead it builds to a very satisfying climax.

Bruce Bulloch can be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com