Monster House

Movie review by Jane Boursaw, Common Sense Media
Monster House Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 10+

Frightful fun for tweens and up.

PG 2006 91 minutes
Rate movie

Parents say

age 10+

Based on 82 reviews

Kids say

age 9+

Based on 149 reviews

Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Rate movie

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know this is a pretty scary movie, and the last 20 minutes, in particular, take a turn for the dark. With windows like eyes and a flying carpet that unfurls tongue-like out the front door to scoop up trespassers, the house is a wonderfully alive structure. But it's creepy. You don't want your kids waking up in the middle of the night freaked out that their house is going to eat them. Most of the PG content comes from the scariness; there are very few crude jokes or language issues. The kids are in constant peril, and they're not exactly role models. They break and enter, steal cough medicine, operate heavy machinery, and use sticks of dynamite. Likewise, the adults in this movie are creepy –- not just Old Man Nebbercracker, but also the uninterested babysitter, detached parents, and clueless cops.

Community Reviews

Djournagen
Djournagen Adult
September 28, 2020
age 10+

Not good

It was a very strange movie. My 10-year old said that he felt like he was watching someone else's "fever dream." As mentioned earlier, there are some really inappropriate moments, like the collected urine in bottle, the "making out", the comment about "buying drugs." I was also surprised at an attempted joke about a uvula and one of the cartoon characters said something about "isn't that a girl body part?"Prepare to explain that one. I also detected kind of an anti-obesity sentiment. At one point, a police officer called the heavier boy in the cartoon "Porky" and the entire show ends up being about an morbidly obese woman who was rescued from a freak show. She was the monster. I might have been okay with the portrayal of the obese woman, but didn't like the reference towards the overweight boy character. All in all, the movie was just very weird, morbid, and disturbing and not in an artistic way.
4 people found this helpful.
danip
danip Adult
March 4, 2022
age 18+

Too many bullies, bad characters and nothing of value that I could tell

Poor quality characters who are crude, rude and just mean. Only made it to the part where the babysitter insulted the kid she was supposed to be watching, threatened him, sent him to bed then later came up with her boyfriend to tease him and try to scare him more. The neighbor who owns the monster house for violently angry with 2 kids pretty much immediately intro the movie and ended up dying...i think...during his second outburst. When the kid tried to tell the babysitter she shut him down, etc as noted above. I can't personally figure out what could be likeable about this since the plot seems off for a kids movie and the characters don't have appropriate behavior even if they're supposed to be the bad guys as this is a kids movie supposedly. This is going in the trash immediately (got in a case with several other movies at a garage sale).

This title has:

Too much violence
1 person found this helpful.
See all 82 parent reviews

What's the Story?

You know that scary old house down the street? Turns out, it's a real live monster! This animated family horror movie –- yup, that's what it is -- centers around three kids who discover that a neighbor's house is actually a living, breathing monster. It all begins when DJ (Mitchel Musso) looks out his window at the creepy house across the street. It's old. It's run-down. And it's owned by "Old Man Nebbercracker" (Steve Buscemi), the meanest guy in town who loves terrorizing the neighborhood kids. And heaven forbid any toys should land on his lawn or he'll snatch 'em away forever. DJ starts keeping track of all the lost items, so much so that he becomes a bit of an outcast. Right before Halloween, DJ's parents (Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard) head to a convention and leave him home with a Goth babysitter, Zee (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Zee's slacker boyfriend, Bones (Jason Lee), knows all about the house. DJ's friend, Chowder (Sam Lerner) and neighbor Jenny joins in the house observations. On their watch, the kids discover that Nebbercracker isn't the only thing that's creepy about the house. The house, it seems, has a life of its own. Rounding out the cast are Skull (Jon Heder - sweet!), a pizza delivery guy and video game champ; Officer Lister (Nick Cannon), a rookie cop; Officer Landers (Kevin James), a jaded cop who's seen it all; and the house itself (Kathleen Turner, the original Jessica Rabbit).

Is It Any Good?

Monster House boasts a top-notch crew, memorable voices that fit the characters perfectly, a great story, an ingenious backstory, and a twisty-turny ending. This is one of those movies where all the planets align. The motion-capture animation is the same as that used in The Polar Express, where the characters have so much personality you feel like you're watching real people. But even more important is the story, which is approaching Pixar quality. The characters and animation revolve around the story, rather than the other way around.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what the kids could have done differently.

  • When the adults in their lives brush off their concerns about the house, is it okay for them to figure out a solution on their own that puts them in danger?

  • And where WERE the adults anyway? What should THEY have done differently to help the kids through this situation?

Movie Details

Our Editors Recommend

  • Ghostbusters Poster Image

    Ghostbusters

    Paranormal '80s classic has some scares, innuendo.

    age 11+
  • Monsters, Inc. Poster Image

    Monsters, Inc.

    Cute, kid-friendly monster movie; may scare sensitive kids.

    age 5+
  • Beetlejuice Poster Image

    Beetlejuice

    Tim Burton tale is creepy fun; has violence, language.

    age 13+

Themes & Topics

Browse titles with similar subject matter.

  • Cartoon picture of a ghost and vampire
    Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
    See all

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate