One house, three eras, and a descent into the surreal
In short: What happens when a single location witnesses the passage of time through different eyes? This British stop-motion anthology explores three distinct worlds—from 19th-century poverty to a post-apocalyptic flood—using the same house to examine madness, wealth, and the search for happiness.
Created by Enda Walsh and produced by London's Nexus Studios for Netflix, The House is a 2022 stop-motion anthology. Instead of one continuous story, this special features three distinct segments. Different creative teams lead each part: Paloma Baeza, Niki Lindroth von Bahr (alongside co-writer Johannes Nyholm), and the duo Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels. The project began as a brainstorming session at producer Charlotte Bavasso's home, where the directors agreed to create individual stories that remained connected through their shared setting. Originally intended as a miniseries, the project's brevity led to its release as a television special. The creative process involved significant collaboration via Zoom to ensure character designs and scripts remained cohesive.
The production is notable for its technical ambition. Most of the animation was captured "in camera" without the use of digital compositing or greenscreens, though some specific elements like water effects or a dance number required digital assistance. Each segment required more than 20 weeks of production time. The stories shift through various perspectives, featuring humans, insects, rodents, and felines, often leaning into the grotesque or the existential. The second segment features a Busby Berkeley-inspired dance sequence. Additionally, the title sequence was hand-drawn in 2D by Nicolas Ménard and Manshen Lo.
Critical reception has been largely positive, with a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While some critics, such as Lucy Mangan of The Guardian, felt the content occasionally lacked the depth of the painstaking animation, others praised the film's ability to balance surrealism with detailed, tactile storytelling. The anthology's ability to maintain momentum through its heterogeneous segments is a key feature, offering something for both animation enthusiasts and those seeking a more unsettling experience. Metacritic gave the film a score of 71, indicating generally favourable reviews. Furthermore, Jarvis Cocker contributed the song performed during the closing credits.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: The House (TV special)
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