In defense of Monster House
Posted in Discussion on February 5th, 2007 by megamoze |
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Of course, none of us do it for the awards (we do it for the money!), but it is nice to be recognized for our work. I was once nominated for an Annie myself. I’m just saying. Thought I’d throw it out there.
But enough about me. Soon the red carpet will roll out for this year’s Annie Awards as well as the nominees for feature animation at the Oscars. At the top of the list are Pixar’s Cars and Columbia’s (Columbia?) Monster House. Also nominated is Happy Feet, the final nominee for the Oscars, and that film plus Over The Hedge and Open Season for the Annies.
Cars just won the Golden Globe for feature animation, the first time the Globes have had this category. And I expect it to win both the Annie and the Oscar as well. It’s a terrific movie of top-notch craftsmanship, everything we’ve come to expect from Pixar.
But there’s something about Monster House that grabbed me in a way that Cars didn’t. It was so…not Pixar. Normally when CG films aren’t Pixar, they really suck, mostly because they are trying to be Pixar and failing miserably. And let’s face it, there is only one Pixar. But Monster House was something different. It looked different. It sounded different. It felt different. And by gum, it worked.
In the interest of full disclosure, I seethe with jealousy at Gil Keene. My wife thinks it is a fault to be jealous of successful people in my field, but hey, I don’t smoke or drink so allow me this vice. I think the acting in the film is inspired. Never before have I been so convinced that the characters were in the room illustrated on screen. I know how the process works, so I can always picture the actors in their booths, wearing sweats and no make-up, behind a microphone next to a big pane of glass.
And the techniques are certainly advanced. They created the scene and the blocking and then put the camera where they wanted it using a device that mimicked a real camera. Peter Jackson used a similar device for Lord Of The Rings. It works especially well for hand-held, but it rooted the film in a reality that totally sold me. These kids were alive. They were like the modern Goonies (the fat kid bears a remarkable resemblance to Chunk) and I was swept up into the adventure.
If Pixar wins, it will deserve every award. But I hope that the voters will recognize the outstanding achievement of Monster House with the awards instead. To me, it was the best animated film of last year. Besides, do we really want Pixar firing some poor animator just to use his office to expand their awards shelf? Not me.