New Delhi: Director Rob Letterman says they tried to stay true to the spirit of R L Stine's books while adapting the stories for "Goosebumps".
Stine's books, a mix of horror and comedy, were a huge hit in the '90s with children, and Letterman is confident that they will resonate with the kids and their parents even today.
"40 million copies have been sold so people from the age of 10 to 30 have read Stine's books. We wanted to do an adaptation that is true to the spirit of these books and we have found a great way to introduce all the monsters to life.
"The framework, about a kid moving to a new town and finding something fishy there, is common to all Stine's stories," Letterman said in an interview while promoting the film in Cancun, Mexico.
The director was careful in designing the movie as he wanted it to be appropriate and accessible to the children while being enjoyable to the parents as well.
"I grew up with certain type of movies that had mature themes like 'E T'. Riding underneath that movie is themes of loneliness and loss. It is woven so elegantly that it influences you without you noticing it. You should not pander to kids because they are a lot smarter than we think."
Comedian Jack Black is playing the role of Stine in the movie, while Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush and Ryan Lee are the teen stars of the movie. Letterman, who worked with Black on and "Shark Tales" and "Gulliver's Travels", said it was fun to reunite with the comedian.
"I love working with Jack. We are friends so it is easy, we have a shorthand. He is just a great guy and great to work with. In this film he gets to use his dramatic chops. We played around with that."
When asked what he would like to do next, Letterman said he wants to try every genre.
"I love different genre of movies. I am a huge fan of Westerns, no one is making them anymore. The trick now seems to be to make westerns that don't look like Westerns." Letterman feels it is hard to break into Hollywood but it is harder to get a middle budget movie made.
"All you can do is write compelling stories... That's your best shot at movie making. It is harder to push original material as studios are going for pre-branded superhero movies. Not as many middle level movies are being made."
Sony Pictures India released the film in India today in Hindi, English and Tamil languages.
