Most animated features for children are a long process that takes years to develop and bring to the screen, but with the new computer graphics the time has been lessened. We definitely need some very good kid and family friendly films and shorter length sometimes the better. This is the case of the newest animated DVD A Monsterous Holiday only three quarters of an hour, but enough to keep the little ones entertained and not drive those around them insane.
In this story we find young aspiring inventor Andy who almost won the High School science fair last year entering a robot dog he calls Ralph. Now his noble friend, Ralph follows him around pointing out danger. This year he wants to take top prize, but to do that he needs a special project that will beat the twins who have the knack of coming up with the top prize last year.
His best friend and school nerd Spencer has been trying to help Andy but so far there’s been no success. With only five days till the science fair, Andy may be out of luck if he doesn’t come up with something big. His father’s the coach of the High School football team and has been worried that Andy has been too involved in science and avoiding physical projects that would make him a well rounded kid. He wants him on his football team that plays in the Pumpkin Bowl on the same day as the science fair. When Andy gets a thought to go and visit Dr. Frankenstein who lives up on the hill overlooking the town for his help, he gets an idea for his project and something for which he didn’t anticipate.
Director Gordon Crum keeps his story interesting, comical and not too scary. He shows how the values of family work with getting Andy through the hard part of life; and that a friend can come in all different sizes, abilities and colors. He doesn’t get long winded with his script developing his characters quickly, showing the task at hand and then getting Andy to deal with it in his own strange way.
The voice cast is perfect for the funny character driven film with Brooke Shields, Jon Heder, and Sean Astin voicing the main characters. It’s easy to recognize Jon Heder especially if you saw the runaway indie hit Napoleon Dynamite. Heder voices Frank a Frankenstein Monster kid who Andy finds for a new friend living at Dr. Frankenstein’s house on the hill. His voice makes the green monster friendly and likeable wanting him to fit in with the humans who he avoids because they are too scary.
The animation is very good and on par with most of the cartoons that are on television and cable. The style is very soft and rounded giving the characters a nice feel and making them friendly even when they sometimes are bullies. The colors are vibrant of the Halloween variety and Director Crum sees that each is drawn to fit into the holiday.
A Monsterous Holiday has not been rated, but I would think PG due to the football practice and game in the film that gets a little rough, some of the bulling and a few ‘oh my God’s’ used to express shock. Other than that I would say to watch the 45 minute film first and see what you feel as a parent. I liked it because of the values it teaches and the story kept my attention throughout.
Specifications and additional film information:
Voice Cast: Brooke Shields, Jon Heder, Sean Astin, Matthew Lillard, Drake Bell and Kyle Chandler
Director: Gordon Crum
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Animated, Family, Kids
Running Time: 44 min
Video Release Date:
Original Film Release Date:
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: HD Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: ARC Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
