I borrowed this one, again from my co-worker. She is the fount of all movies I see practically and buys them frequently. I'd heard good things about this movie, so I asked to watch it.
I know quite a few people found this one to be good. I expect it to get nominated for an Oscar for animated feature.
From my standpoint, the animation was top notch, and the concept somewhat original in the sense that the house comes alive in a most frightening way. I was entertained for at least some of the movie.
Yet, this movie was ultimately a harmless fright fest for children with lots of explosions and interesting things to look at that really did not hold my attention. And, as animated features go, Cars is sure to win, as it already has two awards.
The plot is simple: a scary house in the neighborhood that young DJ has been watching is actually inhabited by a spirit and comes alive, particularly at Halloween, to feed off the energy of the living. DJ and his friends Chowder and Jenny get involved in the stopping of said house.
I was most impressed by the level of animation employed in this movie. It really has come along, and it was interesting to watch all the details. Facial features, movements, the details of the house when it took on its alive persona: all were simply amazing.
Yet, there wasn't much to the plot or to the character development, and it catered mostly to its target audience: children. Not young kids, mind you, because I think they would be scared by the house. The movie was perfectly contained within an exactly 90 minute running time, and there was lots of slapstick and silly humor that kids would find funny but not much in the way of intelligent humor to keep adults' attention, at least not mine. The funniest part was Nick Cannon, who played a rookie cop who was just a little too rookie. Mostly, I find that my head aches after watching this movie.
Cars was superior on every level because it had something for everyone, the plot was more well developed, the message clear, the humor spanning all levels and types, and the animation is still superb. Pixar is a juggernaut to be reckoned with in the CGI field, but the story development is so much more advanced.
All in all, I think I would rate this movie a 6 (cute). The plot is not necessarily a recycled one, but it was thin, and the theme I believe it was trying to convey was a bit too subtle, especially since the target audience is children. This movie, further, does not pass the test. I couldn't buy it to watch it again. I was somewhat entertained, though, and if I had kids, I would probably buy it for them to watch particuarly around Halloween. Otherwise, it wasn't as good as I thought it would be.