Coraline - A Fairy Scary Tale For All Ages

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replying the story in its archived form does not constitute a re-publiccation of the story.

Based on the Hugo Award-winning book written by Neil Gaiman, Coraline is the latest directorial effort of Henry Selick.  Selick was the director of the now legendary The Nightmare Before Christmas.  (Contrary to popular belief, it was not Tim Burton.  He was the writer and one of the producers.)  Coraline is animated in the same painstaking, stop motion animation style of Nightmare and the more recent (and Selick-less) Corpse Bride. 

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is a young girl that has just moved to a new town with her mother and father (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman, respectively).  They’ve moved into a large, somewhat dilapidated Victorian home/apartment complex.  Her parents are workaholics and caught up in the mundanity of their own lives.  Left to her own devices, Coraline begins to explore the expansive home.  Eventually she stumbles upon a hidden door that leads to a secret door (as hidden doors are wont to do).  Her she discovers a world much more colorful and lively than her own.

Upon arriving in this strange, secret world, Coraline meets her Other Mother (also voiced by Hatcher).  She’s June Cleaver incarnate.  She keeps a tidy home, wears dresses and pearls and bakes cookies.  She’s kind and patient and listens.  Unlike Coraline’s “real” mother, she has nothing but time in which to lavish attention upon her “daughter.”  Coraline’s Other Mother wants nothing more than for her to stay in this new world.  However, like Pinocchio’s Pleasure Island, what is initially filled with frivolity quickly turns much darker.  All of the creatures in this world are dolls and have buttons for eyes.  In order for Coraline to remain in this world, she must replace her eyes with buttons too.  When she balks at this, her Other Mother reveals her true nature.

Coraline is a beautifully crafted film.  The filmmakers’ attention to detail is mindboggling and, quite possibly, indicative of some sort of neurological disorder that requires medication.  The animation is light years beyond that of The Nightmare Before Christmas (and that was amazing).  It’s so well-crafted, and the action is animated so smoothly, that at times you forget you’re watching miniature puppets.  Large portions of the movie almost appear to be CGI animation.  The version I saw was in 3D.  I’ve never been a huge fan of 3D.  Perhaps it’s something in my head but it never quite works for me.  (I could never see the secret image in any of those “magic eye” books either.)  However, 3D really benefits a movie like this.  Cartoons were never 3D and any attempt to make them so seems futile.  But this form of animation was three dimensional.  Thankfully, the filmmakers largely refrain from the seeming requisite 3D trickery of throwing things at the camera.  The 3D in Coraline is there to add depth and a truly remarkable sense of physicality.

If the film has any drawback, it’s that its sense of storytelling isn’t quite as enchanting as its visual appeal.  The movie starts off quite slowly.  Though it really picks up in the final third, it takes awhile to find its footing.  Perhaps Pixar has spoiled us.  The film is PG and deserves it.  It’s pretty dark in spots and will definitely be a hit with the Hot Topic crowd.  The movie creates a palpable sense of dread that will upset some children.  But, hey, what’s the fun in having kids if you can’t scare the crap out of them every once in awhile?

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being The Nightmare Before Christmas and 1 being Monkeybone, Coraline gets an 8.

This article also has 1 video attached to it.