Monster House (film)

"We had to build an incredibly robust character because the story demanded it. We mapped out where every board would break, how they would break, etc. Character rigging supervisor JJ Blumenkranz and his crew had to get all the right pieces moving in just the right way. The texturing part of the house is also incredibly complex. Audiences may not notice right away, but the house breaks down over the course of the film. There are many, many layers of paint on the house, and this all had to be created in textures and shaders. It is one of the most complex characters I have ever been involved in creating!"

"Our characters in Monkey House are indeed human, but we always approached them as stylized almost as if they were puppets. If you look at their proportions, you will notice that the heads, eyes, hands, and feet are larger than they should be. Also, we didn't concern ourselves with moisture, eyelashes or even real hair. We started our character modeling by creating actual clay sculptures of each character. Once a sculpture was approved, it was laser-scanned in, and final clean-up and patching, costumes, etc. were created. The most interesting aspect here is that we avoided symmetry at all costs. So many people model one side of a character and then simply mirror and flip to get the other side, which is highly unnatural. Admittedly, modeling and rigging non-symmetrical characters is a lot more work for the crew, but the results are so much more interesting and subliminal."

"There Goes The Neighborhood."

"This Summer......Cross Over to the Other Side........Of the Street."

"A living, breathing, nightmare of a house!"

"Welcome to the Fun House!"

"Three Kids. One House. It's Alive!"

"Hide Your Children. This House Will Eat Them!"

"The House is . . . . Alive!!"

"It's up to them to save the neighborhood"

"Mitchel Musso - D.J. Walters"

"Sam Lerner - Chowder Peterson"

"Spencer Locke - Jenny Bennett"

"Steve Buscemi - Horace Nebbercracker"

"Nick Cannon - Officer Lester"

"Maggie Gyllenhaal - Zee"

"Jon Heder - Skull Skulinski"

"Kevin James - Officer Landers"

"Jason Lee - Bones"

"Catherine O'Hara - Mrs. Walters"

"Kathleen Turner - Constance Nebbercracker"

"Fred Willard - Mr. Walters"