So have we, and we’re desperately refreshing Airbnb to see if any of these prime pieces of real estate are available to rent (yes, even the animated ones). How many are on your vacation list?
Beetlejuice
Starring a youngWinona Ryder,Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis,and the cadaverousMichael Keaton,Beetlejuicewas one ofTim Burton’s earliest and most beloved gothic movie. With undead phantasmagoria, it was a visual feast, and we can’t help but wish we could have stayed inside that old, haunted mansion.
Why would you want to rent a room in a haunted house? Well, for starters, you could hang out with the friendly ghost-couple the Maitlands (Davis and Baldwin) as they levitated you and played “The Banana Boat.” Not to mention shrinking down to party in that awesome town model up in the attic!
2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubric’s2001: A Space Odysseyis aesthetically jarring and beautiful. In this case, we wouldn’t want to stay in the spaceship (a homicidal AI coupled with motion sickness? No thank you) but that strange alien-created bedroom that the protagonist, Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea).
With a glowing floor, white walls, and baroque furnishings, it’s far from cozy—but hot damn, is it Instagrammable. Sure, you’ll eventually get turned into a space-fetus, but think of all the Insta likes!
Pixarmercilessly blasts us with an emotional RPG weapon in But through our tear-and-snot-filled eyes we could still see the beautiful care that went into creating that cozy little home that gets lifted up by a flock of balloons. Filled with beautiful murals, memories, and keepsakes, it represents the elderly protagonist Carl’s (Ed Asner) beloved past with his wife.
For plot purposes he must let go of the house, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still want to live in it. Also, it eventually ended up right next to Paradise Falls! Talk about location. As long as you can deal with being emotionally wrecked every time you see those two empty armchairs, it’d be a lovely vacation spot!
The Lord of the Rings
Who doesn’t want to live in a hobbit hole? In the books, even Saruman (Christopher Lee) wanted to retire there (at the expense of all the hobbits, of course). The space might be a little cramped, but we’d trade a few chandelier-shaped bruises on our heads to stay in one of these cozy little retreats, surrounded by beautiful gardens, and all that delicious sounding village food and drink.
Who would ever want to leave for an adventure from such an idyllic place? If we’d been Frodo(ElijahWood),we’d have told Gandalf(IanMcKellen) to find another ring bearer on Craigslist, and Middle Earth would be doomed.
Coralinewas a beautiful stop-motion animated film, based on a book byNeil Gaiman,by those artsy folks atLaika. The puppets and sets were built with such painstaking detail, it’d be fun to be shrunk down and placed into that world.
While it’s true that the “other-mother” dreamworld turned into a terrifying nightmarescape, honestly it’s worth getting to explore a world filled with a dinner-table gravy-train, dancing mice, and a garden in the shape of your face. It’s so fantastical, we want to tell the witch lady to shut up and take our souls already.
Ex Machina
Wealth is wasted on ridiculously rich and maniacal geniuses. The slightly-unnerving but utterly awesome subterranean mansion inEx Machinawould be an awesome Airbnb vacation spot. You’re surrounded by wilderness, cut off from the rest of the world, and all you have to do to stay in this luxurious dwelling is to not piss off the super-intelligent robot killing machines.
Honestly, how hard is it tonotprogram an android to want to escape, then imprisoning it? If we were in charge, we’d give our androids one simple directive: to party like it’s 2069!
The Addams Family
No family made ritualized torture seem more fun thanThe Addams Family. It’s creepy and it’s kooky, and altogether spooky, and if you survive it, we can’t imagine a more thrilling vacation chateau.
You’d get to enjoy weird (probably cursed) relics, swinging axes, random explosions, ahandyhost, a tall mysterious butler, and all the splendor a dilapidated, ghoulish mansion has to offer. The only downside is those clogged up hair-filled drains. C’mon, Cousin Itt, use a drain snake once in a while!
Smart House
Smart Houseis a shining gem of a Disney Channel Original movie. Sure, the acting was slightly hammy, but the premise was wonderful: after a family’s mother dies, they get the “Smart House”—a home equipped with a maternal A.I. named Pam(Katey Sagal).
Of course, the A.I. goes a lil bonkers and gets a tad controlling, but honestly, they should’ve been a little more appreciative of all the hard work she did for them. Did that family think a magical maid was doing all the dishes every night? Anyhow, they took her for granted: sign us up for a few nights living inside Pam! We promise not to leave as long as she keeps making us fresh orange juice.
Spirited Away
HayaoMiyazakiis the king of creating beautifully realized, painting-like worlds in his animated movies.Spirited Awayis no exception. The pre-teen protagonist finds herself in a spirit-run bathhouse in an abandoned theme park. Certainly there are dangers (her parents being turned into pigs, an evil witch, and a voracious spirit to name a few) but the world is so beautiful, it feels tragic when she manages to escape.
The bathhouse itself looks beautiful and relaxing, with all those mysterious and enticing sounding bath-minerals. Every aspect of the world is enchanting, from the coal-burning basement hosted by a herd of friendly soot-puffs, to the train that runs over a clear, mirror-like lake, and the charming cottage of a friendly witch. Who wouldn’t risk a bit of parent-bacon to spend a while in this spirit realm?
Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friendswas one ofCartoon Network’smore fanciful shows. Set in a world where imaginary friends are real (and in need of housing once their owners outgrow them), the titular home was full of seemingly endless luxurious, custom-made rooms.
With wildly imaginative features such as winding staircases with banisters you could ride, a room full of hundreds of washing machines (not having to wait to do your laundry is a luxury beyond imagination for many apartment-dwellers), a room full of mattresses (for bouncing), and an arcade, these imaginary friends lived a lot better than many real people.
