Motion Capture Done Right
Leave it to Zemekis and Spielburg to finally find us a guy who can direct a CG movie about something other than animals. I read that Monsterhouse was deemed the first true horror movie for kids, and I really truly believe that. There are scary elements for a movie rated PG; ones that are delightfully twisted, and ones that are simply unnerving... and it manages to not look like a Tim Burton movie. Genuine humor and great voice acting make this one a seriously good watch. As for all that kiddy lame-i-tude that kills most of the CG movies nowadays, this movie has pretty much none, and that's the kicker.
Visually, it's really stunning. I was able to see this in 3-D, and it was immensly cool to see already great CG come to life. The entire movie was motion captured (even the house!), and unlike the Polar Express, which tried to look too real for it's own good, Monsterhouse went the more cartoony route and met with awesome success because the characters had their own life without looking soullessly unappealing; they looked like cartoons, which is exactly what they are supposed to be.