Monster House parents guide

Monster House Parent Guide

Overall B-

It's more than just a haunted house. It's a monster! For DJ, Chowder and Jenny (Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner and Spencer Locke), three friends who have been spying on the man-consuming building across the street, this is common knowledge. But how do they convince the rest of the neighborhood before it's too late?

Release date July 20, 2006

Violence C+
Sexual Content A-
Profanity B+
Substance Use C

Why is Monster House rated PG? The MPAA rated Monster House PG for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language.

Run Time: 91 minutes

Parent Movie Review

DJ (voice of Mitchel Musso), a self-appointed neighborhood spy, is sure there is something sinister about the shabby shanty across the street. He’s always pinned the problem on the suspicious owner, Mr. Nebbercracker (Steve Buscemi). But the day the grumpy old man has a heart attack and is carried off in an ambulance DJ discovers the real truth—it’s the house that’s the monster!

Rumors have long run rampant about the dilapidated residence. Added to that is DJ’s reputation for an overactive imagination and the anticipation of celebrating Halloween in just 24 hours, and it’s little wonder no one believes his far-fetched assertions. Among those he tries to convince are his preoccupied parents (Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara), his neglectful babysitter (Maggie Gyllenhall) and two skeptical police officers (Kevin James and Nick Cannon).

Frustrated, the young teenager asks his best friend Chowder (Sam Lerner) for help proving his observations are correct. Unfortunately, the freckle-faced chum isn’t anxious to get involved either. But both boys’ attitudes change when they see a cute, redheaded candy peddler starting up the walkway of the haunted dwelling. Knowing the building will swallow Jenny (Spencer Locke) alive, the panicked pals suddenly have all the motivation they need to take on the shingle-clad tormentor.

Because Monster House is an animated film, many parents may mistakenly assume it is appropriate for all family members. Using high-tech motion-capture computer graphics (like those first seen in the 2004 Christmas feature The Polar Express), the life-like realism of the characters intensifies the impact of a tale already too frightening for little ones.

Full of jump scenes, perilous situations, verbal and physical threats, ghoulish gossip, as well as encounters with the dead and dying, this movie is instead geared to an audience roughly the same age as the protagonists. Feeling much the same as an amusement park spook-alley, the attraction tries to provide as much fear factor as its targeted ‘tween crowd can handle.

While violence is the primary concern, there are a few other elements parents may find disquieting. In order to create a sense of the children being on their own, all of the adults in the movie are portrayed as unreliable. Zee the babysitter and her beer drinking boyfriend (Jason Lee) are perhaps the worst offenders, thanks to their self-absorbed and bullying tendencies. Consequently, DJ, Chowder and the precocious Jenny feel no obligation to respect authority figures and are even willing to violate the law. The film also includes potty humor, name-calling, terms of deity used as expletives some mild sexual innuendo and a reference to mercy killing.

Although the scriptwriters try to soften the depictions of the demonic domicile by giving the story some heart, the gap between the two plotlines is so wide that efforts to bridge the opposing emotions often times fall short. However, viewers less inclined to quibble may find this monster movie quite accommodating.

Starring Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Steve Buscemi. Running time: 91 minutes. Theatrical release July 20, 2006. Updated

Monster House
Rating & Content Info

Why is Monster House rated PG? Monster House is rated PG by the MPAA for scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language.

Monster House plays out like an attraction at an amusement park, with a reason to jump around every turn. Violence includes verbal and physical threats, the monstrous personification of a house, encounters with the dead and dying, bullying, scary moments, situations of peril, depictions of violent video games and guns, as well as explosions. Parents should also note thematic elements like a lack of respect for authority figures and laws, no dependable or trustworthy adult characters, and euthanasia inferences. Other concerns are potty humor, name-calling and terms of deity used as expletives, cracks about puberty, some mild sexual innuendo, as well as a beer drinking young adult and a cough syrup swigging authority figure.

Page last updated

Monster House Parents' Guide

When all other adults fail them, whom do DJ and Chowder turn to as a source of wisdom? What attributes does this character have that make the boys believe he is so smart? How accurate is their assessment? What traits do you associate with intelligence?

What would you do if you got stuck with a babysitter like Zee? Who could you turn too? Why do you think DJ doesn’t look into any of these options?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Monster House movie is September 14, 2010. Here are some details…

Blu-ray Notes: Monster House

Release Date: 14 September 2010

Monster House releases to Blu-ray 3D, with the following bonus extras:

- Filmmaker’s Commentary

- Inside Monster House: 8 Featurettes

- Art of Monster House (Photo Gallery)

- Evolution of a Scene

DVD Release Date: 24 October 2006

Monster House is coming to a neighborhood near you—and (surprise, surprise) just a few days before Halloween! The DVD offers a multitude of trick-or-treats, including seven featurettes: Imaginary Heroes, Beginner’s Luck, The Best of Friends, Lots of Dots, Black Box Theater, Making It Real and Did You Hear That? Also in the goodie bag are: a filmmaker’s commentary, a photo gallery, the high-tech Multi-Angle Evolution: Eliza vs. Nebbercracker, and the opportunity to continue the spook-ally online with a DVD-ROM link to games, downloads and activities.

Related home video titles:

The rumors about a haunted house have actor Don Knotts in a flap in the 1966 movie The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. A team of teenaged detectives prepares to do battle against an assortment of fiendish foes in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.