Coraline (2009) Movie | Dakota Fanning | Teri Hatcher | Jennifer Saunders | Review & Facts

[Music] e e e hey there movie lovers welcome to MP movie facts your hub for all things Cinema get ready to dive deep into the world of film with us from the latest Blockbusters to Hidden gems we're here to dissect discuss and and debate it all join us every day as we break down The Good The Bad and The downright epic in our honest and insightful movie reviews whether you're a DieHard film fanatic or just looking for your next flick to watch we've got you covered so grab your popcorn hit that subscribe button and let's embark on this cinematic journey together director Henry celic routinely utilizes stop motion to seamlessly relay critical themes and motifs while supporting his cinematic content celect demonstrates his influence and artistic control via Stark color contrasts similar themes and dark cinematic Concepts across each of his films including James and the Giant Peach 1996 and The Nightmare Before Christmas 1993 among others the director adopts a similar strategy in his 2009 film Coraline based on Neil gaimon's book of the same name through an array of visual motifs director of Coraline celic delivers a cautionary tale encouraging viewers to relinquish envy and find contentment in their lives early on in the film celic presents viewers with props that evolve into visual motifs throughout the movie the first notable Motif the director introduces is the Coraline doll wbe the only other child that resides in the neighborhood gives it to Coraline claiming that he merely found it cel makes evident The Peculiar nature of the claim and the doll Itself by making the doll identical to Coraline except for the buttons where it's eyes should be the motif is representative of what the other mother intends Coraline to become silent and conforming many scenes feature shots of the doll in various locations spying on Coraline as she explores in the foreground between the irrefutable resemblance it has to Coraline and how it practically lurks in the background the doll maintains something of an eerie presence though the doll May initially present itself as unremarkable in reality it serves as yet another tool of the other mother's making one used to manipulate Coraline another visual Motif prevalent in the film is the key celic introduces the key into the story world's framework and ensures that it circulates throughout the film to draw attention to its importance the key serves as a gateway to the other world and escapism for Coraline just as it was for the other mother's previous victims though celic meets success by deviating from the tropes and conventions often found in horror films he also adheres to some of them palansky for instance explores similar contexts in his films filmmaker Roman palansky has established himself as a master of horror film through his highly influential and highly controversial apartment Trilogy davies's 18 in pansy's films the protagonist s Horrors occur within their home similarly the nightmarish incidences that Coraline experiences occur almost entirely in her home whether it be the home located in her world or the other world although there is only one key the other mother ensures it is always within Coraline's grasp so that Coraline May easily enter the world thus making her vulnerable Coraline's vulnerability routinely leaves her susceptible to death at the hands of the other mother at at the film's conclusion amidst Coraline's desperate attempt to reclaim and dispose of the key silic indicates that the key's destruction is the only way to defeat the other mother and prevent her from escaping her world or claiming more victims arguably one of the most pertinent visual motifs evident in Coraline are the buttons Coraline does not get the opportunity to frequent the other world for long before the other mother attempts to strike a deal Coraline must get the button sewn in her eyes in exchange for the treats and attention the other mother offers her a proposal Coraline quickly turns down via the button Motif the director indicates that what one wants often comes at a price the main characters that have a notable influence in Coraline's life each have a doubleganger all of which have buttons for eyes much like the Coraline doll the buttons are the first significant indication of deception that celic introduces in the film often eyes are deemed the windows so to speak to the soul as they reveal one's emotional state despite their adopted facade given that the other mother like her minions has buttons instead of eyes Coraline and viewers are left susceptible to deception throughout the film's duration director of Coraline Henry celik strategically introduces a series of motifs throughout the film although the motifs serve various purposes the director predominantly depicts them to inform The Cinematic content cel's visual motifs reflect the danger that accompanies Envy in doing so Coraline serves as a cautionary tale that encourages its intended audience children to beware of strangers forfeit their envy and extend gratitude to the positive relationships and luxuries in their lives right after seeing Coraline an urge to read the novel drove me straight to the bookstore I needed to know more of Neil gaiman's tale of Coraline Jones and the bizarre neighbors and ancient wickedness living in her new home I needed to know how much of the Literary story was captured in Henry celix stop motion animated screenplay with a dad playing piano glowing flowers and snapdragons that really snapped and A peculiar room where giant bugs are the furniture I was curious gimon might be that odd individual with sleeping dust in his side pockets a razor sharp barely chipped ax in his Hip Pocket and a candle flame floating to and fro behind his eyes but the visual tone of Coraline the movie is dark but strikingly peppered with color making it festive and morose and desolate and cheerful all at once there is no Brave Little Mouse no fumbling robots no dancing zoo animals to liven up culturally prescribed moral lessons because there are no moral lessons Coraline without the usual spoonful of sugary animated paternally medicinal Hollywood characters is a Halloween treat in February that goes down smashingly well without the sweetness then there is the Curious use of the word Beldum to describe the button-eyed other mom who craves Coraline a Beldum can be an old evil looking woman of course a witch but is gaming being playful here players of Paper Mario the Thousand-Year Door know the name Beldum belongs to the thousand-year-old demon with a nasty disposition and wielder of equally nasty Magic on the other hand can Beldum be an anagram for bedum betham Royal Hospital in London or bedum as it was later called is the institution that became synonymous with confusion and uor bizarre behavior Coraline's odd neighbors certainly act like they were former residents of betham downstairs live Miss and Miss forcible two former thespians with their Scotty dogs the ones still living and those stuffed times saving double use of the word here onto shell while they are a little batd they do come up with a special gift that Coraline will use later when the terror and the button-eyed makeover is ominously close at hand upstairs lives Mr babinsky who trains his jumping mice with various samples of very smelly cheese he receives in the mail those mice tell him to warn Coraline she is in danger but who listens to mice anyway Coraline's parents are constantly typing typing typing on their PC keyboards boning her constant interruptions of their important work I was relieved they were working on a gardening catalog and not blogging or twittering though I am not sure why her father tells her to go count various things in the house and tally the numbers on her notepad and leave him alone her parents are not very loving or much interested in her World perhaps that is why she likes the other one she finds through the small door in this other world she meets her other parents and other neighbors and the other wbe there's the black cat too but aside from his being able to talk to her he's the same one he just knows all the right places to travel between both places wbe is not in gamon's novel the boy's name comes from the consternation surrounding his birth why be born as he explains it to Coraline and he is something of a question mark in both worlds perhaps celic wanted to give Coral line an equally neglected friend to make her family situation appear more normal than it really ought to be evil things happened to the other W and to all those other fabricated Twisted copies of dad and the neighbors made by her chocolate bug munching other mother the Beldum but both wbees and the talking black cat help Coraline when she needs it most like dropping a golden slice of toast all buttered and jammed face down onto the floor Coraline's hopes for her other family are soon replaced with disgust her disgust turns to fear when she is locked in a mirror and meets three ghostly children her other mom tired of and murdered taking their souls they tell her of the trickery of the Beldum and ask her to find their souls so they can pass on a contest begins as Coraline rushes to save her real parents find the stolen souls and keep all buttons firmly planted on her clothes and not in her eyes in both Coraline the movie and Coraline the novel you will smell the scent of dandelion wine Rising With The enshrouding Mist Of The October country and hear the scuttling of it against the faint tune of cougar and dark's kopy playing in the distance in a rare and daring departure from the usual Hollywood animated movie Coraline is a not so subtle blend of the Sinister and the bitter and it is pleasantly surprising how sweet that can be there's a common argument I hear in regards to children movies particularly bad ones if someone complains about it people will say it's a children's movie what did you expect I dislike this argument for two main reasons first it implies that children's movies are inherently bad and shouldn't be taken as seriously second it gives these kinds of movies a pass for being bad allowing for terrible movies to continue being made I can think of a variety of films from production companies like Pixar and Studio gibli that are directed towards younger audiences but still appeal to anyone of any age because they aren't afraid to tackle more mature themes even something as recent as the 2022 film Puss in Boots The Last Wish proved to be an exceptional experience the animation and story were engaging but it deals with the concept of mortality in a way that children can process and learn something about the world there are ways to make children's films that are appropriate for younger audiences while finding a way to exist as a real work of art in its own right and we shouldn't challenge these movies less than we would any other kind of film Coraline based on the Neil Gaiman book of the same name centers on the young free spirited Coraline Jones Dakota Fanning as she moves into a new house with her mom Terry Hatcher and her dad John hodman Coraline hates their new home she hates the other tenants at the house and she misses being so far away from her friends on top of all of this her parents can be overbearing seeming to stifle her imagination while exploring the house she discovers a small door buried under wallpaper behind which is only a brick wall one night she follows some mice to The Little Door and upon opening it again discovers a path to another world completely identical to her own yet better in every way her parents play games with with her the other house guests aren't annoying and she can do whatever she wants whenever she wants there's just one glaring difference everyone in this new world has buttons for eyes after spending some nights in this new world her other mother makes a proposal Coraline can stay here as long as she wants as long as she lets the other mother sew buttons into her eyes as Coraline rejects this the facade of this perfect world begins to crumble and the true e V that lurks underneath is revealed Coraline must then Race Against Time to not only save her parents who have been captured by the other mother but also the souls of all the kids who came before her Henry celic is no stranger to stop motion animated films getting his start with a variety of short films that challenged the traditional Norms of Animation his first feature film The Nightmare Before Christmas established him as a household name while he continue to make films before and after Coraline I firmly believe this one to be his magnum opus bringing together all of his talents in both animation and storytelling to create one of the finest animated films ever all of his films have a distinct visual look but I find it's the tiny details within the world that allow it to feel completely and truly lived in he also knows how to give each character a distinct look and style so even if their personalities are different their Styles allow them to feel entirely unique from one another There's A Certain Magical quality to Neil gaiman's works as an author and the way celic translates his world onto the screen is nothing short of remarkable besides the obvious differences in the characters between Coraline's normal world and the Magical one it's the color palette between the two that allows for a much greater distinction the normal world is full of drab drowned out colors while the other world is as vibrant as anything can be colors explode off the screen creating something that might feel different but is inviting and comforting even when the true nature of this world is revealed the vibrant colors remain but transition into a more Sinister pallette to complement the evil that has been discovered while the story has plenty of scares up its sleeve it still feels tame enough that it can be qualified as a children's film a lot of that is due in part to the way it refuses to talk down to its audience it's easy for some children's movies to treat the audience as babies who can't grasp a larger story but films like this are aware of the fact that children can be very perceptive when it comes to crafting a compelling narrative I'm not saying Coraline is some philosophical Odyssey as the story itself is very simple girl is upset at her family girl discovers magical world girl realizes magical world is bad girl must escape magical world yet it never feels the need to dumb anything down for its audience it allows kids to feel as if they can step into Coraline shoes and follow her as she discovers this new place when The Evil Within this world comes after her they can feel scared like Coraline before feeling brave as she overcomes these obstacles and defeats these scary forces in a way it's very empowering as it shows that even a kid can overcome hardships and save the ones she loves in my opinion the true magic of the film lies in the endless charm of its main character Coraline brought to life perfectly by Dakota Fanning she is our vessel as we explore this exciting New World as well as our guide as we try to figure out how to defeat the other mother once her true intentions are revealed we are experiencing these things through the eyes of this child who must adapt and overcome great challenges even when she doesn't think she has it in her at the same time it pushes Against The Stereotype of young girls having to be quiet clean and well behaved Coraline is vocal when she dislikes something she plays in the dirt and mud and gives children a role model of someone who finds the strength to challenge things that aren't right even when coming face to face with the horrifying power of the other mother Coraline while still scared is able to challenge her which certainly inspired a little Aiden who saw this film over a decade ago and still inspires me when I rewatch it after all this time Coraline is one of those rare beautiful films that can appeal to anyone who loves a good horror movie it's scary enough that it'll get to anyone of any age but never intense enough that it'll have people running away from it it's a feast of the eyes capturing some of the most gorgeous shots I've ever seen in a stop motion Movie full of a wide variety of characters who are all interesting to look at and listen to and of course it has Coraline who proves to be one of the most enduring characters to lead a film Henry cic knows how to craft stories that aren't meant for any singular type of person but rather anyone who wants to get lost in a good story which is of course the one real goal from any work of art Coraline May benefit from the added Synergy of an upcoming Off Broadway musical slated for a May 6th World premiere and a video game released Janu uary 27th featuring Voice work by three of the film's the Dakota Fanning Keith David and Robert Bailey Jr the captivatingly creepy yarn also has inspired an Italian short film an Irish puppet show a Swedish play and a pee Craig Russell graphic novel not bad for a book that sprung from a series of bedtime stories G and told his daughters in the 199s like the novel the film functions as a crafty cautionary Tale on The Perils of getting what you want whether it's a pair of gloves or a new family yet the dazzling colors and unhinged imagination of celex visual palette also have the effect of rendering Coraline's fantasy world that much more I tickling and dangerously seductive small but spunky with blue hair and stick-like limbs Coraline Jones engagingly voiced by Fanning is an only child who feels neglected by her Garden catalog writing parents Terry Hatcher John Hodgman the three have just moved into a ramshackle old boarding house whose other tenants include two faded actresses Miss spank Jennifer Saunders and Miss forcible Don French and a Russian acrobat Ian McShan who has his own rodent circus where Gman tossed off these peculiar supporting characters with dead pan drollery the pick somewhat ill-advisedly turns them into colorful almost Busby Berkeley esque Sideshow attractions that are simultaneously dazzling and wearying celex script also Saddles Coraline with a goth nerd sidekick YB Bailey a figure of eventual dramatic importance but questionable comic value the film is on sh footing once Coraline unlocks a mysterious door in the wall and finds herself in a parallel Dimension that looks an awful lot like home emphasis on the awful this haunted house is impeccably maintained by Coraline's other mother a dead ringer for her real mother only she's cheering and attentive and probably smells like cookies o and she has black buttons where her eyes should be clearly something's not quite right here and when the other mother tells Coraline she must live there forever and have buttons sewn into her own eyes soon you'll see things our way the chill is unmistakable Coraline's other mother likes to play games and create Twisted fax similes of real world people and places in that respect she and celic have a lot in common while this is celik's first tune not produced by Tim Burton after The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach it's very much in keeping with that filmmaker's Darkly funny Spirit even the production design Bears shades of Burton's Beetle Juice the use of stop motion as opposed to CG or handrawn 2D animation is inspired with it slightly stilted frame by frame movements and tactile styliz puppets the film never lets one forget that it's an imperfectly handcrafted Marvel a world the other mother herself might have stitched together as Coraline and a helpful cat David engag their enemy in a battle of wits the film keeps bursting its stylistic boundaries a scene set at the outer reaches of this makeb believe world harks back to the Looney Tunes classic duck auk and a later sequence brilliantly visualizes the idea of Coraline as a fly trapped in her captor web as a visual experience Coraline is enriched immeasurably by its sophisticated 3D engine which is after suler more immersive effects sweeping camera movements delineation of foreground and background than the mere gimmick of having objects pop out from the screen riffing on her Desperate Housewives roll with a devious sense of fun Hatcher with the help of some Nifty character morphing by the Pix animators makes the other mother a villain worthy of the many evil stepmoms that have preceded her but the film's most indelible asset is French composer Bruno koule score a feverish sing song concoction that evokes a girl's everyday boredom as well as the demons lurking just beyond the limits of Her Imagination the film is the stop motion animated Coraline adapted by writer director Henry celic from a marvelous to den two children's book by Neil Gaiman it is a straightforward elementally simple fairy tale a young girl named Coraline voiced by Dakota Fanning moves far away from everything comfortable and familiar because of her emotionally distant parents Terry Hatcher and John Hodgman and as she explores the rickety old house where she now lives she discovers a doorway to another world where everything is much happier and more colorful and where an alternate set of parents identical to the ones she left behind except for having black buttons in place of their eyes dot on her and give her everything she wants eventually Coraline finds that life in the other house hides a dark secret and that her endlessly loving other mother is really the belum a typically G and contraction of beldame sans C who prays on the life force of lonely children in its original form the story was one of the most characteristic things Gaiman ever wrote an update of ancient storytelling formulas to a modern setting that never sacrifices the essential timelessness of the material it's the therefore greatly to cel's credit that his adaptation never feels beholden to gaimon's Nolla that it thrives as a film entirely on its own merits in some ways the film is even an improvement on the book if my memory serves I haven't read Coraline since it was new 7 years ago Gaiman only presented Coraline making one trip to the other world before she figures out that something dark is happening where celic delays that Revelation to her third trip three being a tradition important number for Magical happenings and fairy tales in some other ways the movie is a bit retrograde such as the addition of a young boy named WB Robert Bailey Jr to help Coraline at the end apparently a sop to the received wisdom that male children won't respond to stories with female protagonists but all of that is mostly irrelevant Coraline the movie is a great work unto itself largely because of how perfectly celic translates the story story into cinematic terms the director's most famous work is The Nightmare Before Christmas usually associated with Tim Burton even though that man had very little to do with the film itself I hope and expect that Coraline will serve to remind us all of celik's very important contributions to that project particularly given that most of what made nightmare a great film is present to an even greater degree in the newer project there's the simple but very real pleasure of Simply watching great no better than great stop motion animation arguably the most labor intensive form of film making in existence between these two films and the mid99s adaptation of James and the Giant Peach celic has firmly established himself as an absolutely brilliant director of stopmotion having assembled a team of animators strong enough to make even the groundbreaking solo work of Ray heras and seem decent at best Coraline is almost without question the most technically accomplished stop motion in cinema history and the extraordinary touchability of the Exquisite animation puppets and the sets is all the proof I need that there are some things that CGI simply cannot do no one has yet made a computer animated cartoon with such tactility as we see on display here there is not one moment where Coraline's world does not feel entirely real for the simple fact that it is real and this gives the film a deep appeal that even the best CG such as pixel SS Ratatouille and wall altogether lack this isn't incidental nor purely for the animation junkies in the audience since the film's story hinges entirely on Coraline being quickly seduced by the marbles she finds in the World Behind the wall it makes the fantasy that much more effective if we in the audience are seduced just as quickly celic and his animators achieve this both because of the physical quality of their work and the imaginative spectacles they create nightmare already proved that celic is a wonderful fantasist but it's got nothing on even the middling parts of Coraline which presents a created world that can stand alongside the finest ever put to film if I gush then let me gush but I find it hard to watch the movie and not conclude that celic is one of the greatest Visionaries in contemporary Cinema every character and location in Coraline is a revelation and if all this weren't enough to set the film Head and Shoulder above any other family fantasy in recent memory the overwhelming sense of creepiness would be it's an easy thing for grown-ups to forget but kids love scary stuff especially when everything turns out fine in the end celic surely knows from creepy and Coraline far outdoes his previous work in providing unmitigated nightmare fuel even from an adult perspective the climax involving a skeletal Spider Woman in a shocking high contrast web is one one of the most genuinely unnerving things I've seen in a theater this decade but it's not all Grand statements of children's horror that make the film unsettling and creepy one of the scenes that freaked me out the most consists of nothing but happy little mice dancing around in a lower frame rate than anything else has been animated in the whole movie The Jerky result is an effective early sign that something is wrong in this happy fantasy world having said all that there's one last thing that gives the film a final push into outright Perfection Coraline is the film I've been awaiting for a long time it is a 3D movie in which the dimensional effects aren't just a gimmick but a vital component of the whole thing for all that we've been told over and over again that the appeal of 3D is the way it adds realistic depth to a film I find it wonderfully ironic that its first truly artistic use should be so blatantly unrealistic without getting into the technicals of the whole thing they're amazing though Coraline has two very different depths in the real world seems everything is much flatter than it is in the otherw world scenes and this difference though hardly subtle is absorbed almost subliminally the point of course is that the otherw world is a magical fantastic Place much more spectacular than drab reality so why not depict it using the most spectacular gimmick available to the modern filmmaker I'm simplifying m the key here is that Coraline is the first 3D film I've ever seen that does not seem to exist largely as a distributor for cheap TRS www alternateending docomo 9/81 939 a dwiz Das of Dash a-h wiz. HDML Curry dot it is the film that proves Jeffrey kenberg and James Cameron right that 3D is a useful storytelling tool it is the new mediums and news la liberte the first film to fully exploit sound it's The Wizard of Oz color it's your Jimbo anamorphic widescreen for this reason I find myself completely unable to recommend or even think about the film in anything but it's intended 3D format trying to think of Coraline flat is like trying to think of Gone With The Wind in black and white or a silent Meet Me In St Louis the story and tremendous craftsmanship are all the same but something is lost something that makes this film seem like one of the great cinematic Revolutions of my Lifetime by all means there's enough to the film without 3D to make it a tremendous fantasy and one of the best films I've seen in months but if you have the opportunity to see it in its intended Glory that makes it absolutely essential viewing Neil gaiman's Coraline a Nolla about a parentally neglected little girl of the same name who discovers a parallel world where her other mother and father seem perfect except of course for those pesky button eyes is an eerie fairy tale rich with imaginative fantasy the movie helmed by the same man who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and brought to life with a similar Ultra stylized stop motion presentation is sure to be a classic but if you're hoping you or your kids will be able to relive The Experience on Wii or Playstation 2 I'm here to warn you now what you play here you will never be able to unplay and what you see cannot be unseen these interactive versions ditch The engrossing Narrative of the book and the eye popping makeover of the movie for uninspired dated play controls an imbalance of ridiculously easy puzzles and QuickTime events too difficult for some adults let alone kids and sloppy visuals befitting a first generation PS2 game in other words this is what happens when licensing goes bad Coraline will undoubtedly be labeled a kids game due to the subject matter but I'm not entirely convinced that I would let my own daughters go Hands-On with it this because the story starts off sweet and innocent with Coraline exploring her home and performing an endless supply of menial tasks for her hateful parents and quirky neighbors but a couple hours in and the mood flips and all of a sudden the little girl is outrunning a crazed button-eyed Nemesis and fending off redyed rats in the darkness developer papaya Studio has endeavored to preserve the tale and tone of the movie with storyboard cutscenes well-acted Voice work for all of the characters and an opening full motion render presumably direct from the film kids will definitely appreciate the Voice work but the storyboards gloss over pivotal points from the movie and failed to do the license Justice meanwhile a series of iname cinematics seem amateurish in their construction and choreography the biggest problem I have with Coraline other than one particularly messy blockade that I'll get to is that the entire gameplay experience Feels Like A Relic from two generations ago Coraline moves slowly and clumsily about very restricted environments which themselves lack in variation and takes part in a series of blatant fetch quests transparently in place solely as a means to extend gameplay time and by the way this method doesn't work I made it to the final boss fight in about 3 hours a truth that renders Coraline as one of the shorter titles to come along in recent memory even by so-called kids game standards when Coraline is not looking around for a code to unlock her neighbor's doorway for example she's engaged in a series of simple mini games like card matching slingshot challenges and block pushing puzzles it all works well enough but only that never will you be pleasantly surprised by an Innovative control choice or one that even subscribes to to current standards C exhibit a Caroline can't jump unless she nears an object that allows such an interaction at which point you can tap a button and off she goes dated for sure but worse are the control choices that totally ignore the obvious for instance a slingshot shooting game that doesn't utilize the Wii remote pointer but the analog stick some of the obstacles are too easy for adults and perfect for kids moving the weed the analog sticks or Wii Remote and nunchuck around depending on the platform to cook some pancakes others are definitely too difficult for younger players music tests in which you'll have to press a series of obscure buttons together in order to play a song I'd like to meet the kid who can press toggle z c z and b while pressing up down left and right on the d-pad in succession normally music based challenges run on a rhythm that you can fall back on if all else fails but not so in Coraline here the arrangement is randomly layered over a series of button Taps that do not match up in the least although I tested all versions of the game I played to the very end in the Wii build perhaps this was my mistake because as the title Was preparing me to do battle with the final boss it crashed I reset and tried to load the sequence again and once more it locked up I have never been able to load the end sequence D3 publisher contacted me after posting this review and let me know that the issue I encountered was due to a corrupted save file not so much a crash bug as an error although not all Gamers will face this error it is avoidable certain ingame circumstances may lead to the corruption which is unfortunate Coraline 2009 isn't exactly a Halloween movie in fact there's no mention of Halloween at all despite this Line's resemblance to a lot of children's Halloween movies has solidified its presence in my mind as a part of the same genre its participation in this genre however is extremely unique most children's movies surrounding the holiday have a touch of spookiness to them while still maintaining a classical sense of adventure and fun in Coraline's case however that touch of spooky is decidedly creepy and at times downright terrifying that's why I believe Coraline should never have been marketed towards children compared to other children's Halloween movies such as Casper 1995 or Halloweentown 1998 Coraline presents kids with not only deeply disturbing Concepts but also particularly horrifying visuals don't get me wrong the movie's stop motion animation style is impressive and quite beautiful at times that being said for a PG rated film that had a whole marketing collaboration with Nike to create create hip new basketball shoes the lengths to which the animators went to make certain characters appear unsettling were a tad extreme not only do half of the characters have soulless button eyes but most of them have unnerving bodily proportions that make even morally good characters appear Sinister in particular the transformation of the other mother into her final form seared itself into my memory as a small child I can still clearly picture her spindly limbs the way her ribs seemed to protrude from her body her skeletal pointed features and her gray cracked skin this visual alone made me perpetually afraid that my own mom would turn out to be my real life other mother and would morph into an inhuman creature out to sew buttons on my eyes to repeat I am in no way saying that the Artistry of the animation was poor rather that it was almost too well done in its creepiness now one could bring up the point that the anim ERS were only going off of what Neil gaiman's original book described the characters to look like I wholeheartedly agree yet I don't believe that this portrayal matched the movie's rating and intended audience appropriately going back to the comparison of this film to other children's Halloween flicks I failed to see where there were aspects of pure fun in this movie even when Coraline is shown enjoying herself there's always something disconcerting about the people involved or the situation ation as a child I never felt fully comfortable watching this movie always worried that something strange or upsetting would happen Coraline features uniquely disturbing Concept in a good number of Children's films the parents of the child die or something else tragic upends their way of living in Coraline something else unsettling occurs Coraline's parents are still alive but she encounters another version of her parents ones that treat her well until she refuses to be mutilated by them they then subsequently spy on her threaten her and try to kill her all while still looking like the parents whom she's supposed to trust as a concept it's brilliantly complex and interesting but as part of a plot for a children's movie it's a little intense if this movie had been marketed to an older age group I probably wouldn't have as much issue with it that being said there are plenty of kids who saw this movie and didn't freak out like I did as it stands now Coraline to me is a beautifully animated movie made for entirely the wrong audience though it's still better to me than return to Halloween Town 2006 in 2009 Henry celic Sold the World a nightmare and this nightmare went by the name of Coraline for the better part of second grade going to sleep required the ritual execution of an internal pep talk in which I would steal myself up against the potential horror of waking up in the other mother's grasp when a mouse was spotted in my house at one point the terror increased tfold after seeing this film at a school hosted Day Camp I vowed to myself that I would never lay eyes upon it again but lately I've started to realize that I am now an adult and after over a decade I've recently begun to reconsider the risk of re meeting the button-eyed Gaze of the Beldum I love scary movies I enjoy Cor L's author Neil Gaiman there was no longer any good reason for me to continually refuse to watch this movie I figured that it may finally be time to face the fact that 8-year-old me's reaction may not have been entirely trustworthy the characters of Coraline inhabit a world that is situated firmly at the base of the uncanny valley while the first reality that we are presented with is familiar enough for the viewer to recognize it as the real world within the context of the film it is still eerily off in a way that contributes greatly to the overall sense of horror at play well before we are introduced to the other mother and the other world the world that Coraline and her family enter as they settle into their new home feels definitively unsafe not only do the opening credits which are filled with imagery of a strangely violent stitching process leave a lingering sense of unease but the cool toned and weather-beaten reality that is established shortly after compounds it beyond that the off character of this world is furthered by the quality of movement with it the entire film was shot using stop motion animation and this is evident in the way that characters move and interact with their environment the entire set and all of the characters were made of Cl and every action was the result of an extremely delicate process of creating subtle changes in placement this analog animation style means that the characters do not move like real people they move in a doll-like fashion that seems both elegant and engineered this is very on theme considering the movie's very present doll Motif but also contributes to the sense that neither world is quite our own while distancing the reality of the film from the reality of the viewer serves its alignment with the fantasy genre and could in theory make the story less scary in this case the distance is subtle enough that it instead contributes to an inescapable and terrifying sense that nothing should be trusted the real world is familiar enough through its inclusion of familiar car brands and present-day technology that it feels as though it should be safe and the fact that it does not quite feel that way adds to its overt spookiness not only is there no physical place in this world that feels truly safe but there are no characters that seem entirely reliable either the cold and detached relationship that Coraline has with her parents is shown to be the element that propels her towards the other world in the first place where she finds refuge in the performative warmth and affection of her other family Coraline's relationship with her mother is particularly strained and they repeatedly fail to connect throughout most of the film though she eventually finds a sense of community as she gets to know wbe and her new neighbors none of them are initially presented as entirely trustworthy figures with instances such as YB withholding information about his knowledge of the house and two of her neighbors harboring a collection of identical dead dogs prodding at our suspicion while Coraline bounces between the Dual worlds of the film it is incredibly challenging to establish any sense of security in either as her will to escape the chilling isolation and neglect of her true reality sends her running into the arms of a violently abusive one it feels as though our protagonist is painfully and perpetually alone with the exception of her talking cat speaking of the talking cat the rules of this universe are everywhere they're consistent and they're Whimsical but as we learn them as we go and never seem to receive a full explanation they contribute immensely to this world's petrifying status why does the cat only talk in the other world why does it have free reign between the two worlds since it clearly has the same Consciousness in both worlds is it miserable in the real world where it cannot talk where does other mother mother come from what is she are there others like her where are she and her other world since they have physical consequences but don't seem to occupy physical space if they're in another dimension why is this house the access point are there other access points why does the portal only show up at night why is other mother's only consistent feature the button eyes why button eyes other wbe and other fathers seem independently conscious but the entire world is other mothers creation how does that work where did they come from are they trapped there what happens to them all when the constructed web World disappears do they all just loiter in the void I have questions fortunately as I've learned while writing this these questions are the topic of many YouTube videos and fan posts out there but my point is leaving these questions open ads a sense of mystery and allows the imagination to run wild making things more interesting yet significantly more Sinister finally what is perhaps most terrifying about Coraline is its ending on the surface it is an entirely happy one Coraline destroys other mother's web Saves The Souls of the ghost children by collecting their eyes frees her parents and successfully disposes of the key to the portal door presumably thwarting other mother once and for all the film closes on the first sunny day that we've seen as is Coraline appearing to have changed her perspective on life helps her parents and neighbors set up for a picnic she appears to have learned to see the world differently finally appreciating what she has and forming a real Community with those around her what keeps the hair raising horror alive however is her continued isolation though wbe believes her story and she is shown flagging down his grandmother to discuss it with her at the end her parents seem to have had the memories of their Peril erased upon seeing them safely returned Coraline is Overjoyed while her parents meet her with dismissive confusion while Coraline's perspective and experience are shown to have undoubtedly improved over the course of the film it seems that the motherdaughter relationship that stands at the heart of the narrative is left largely unresolved rather than Coraline and her mother sharing in their experience and arriving at Mutual understanding the Newfound Insight all seems to be one-sided and Coraline's reinvigorated appreciation is unrequited Henry celic has a particular sensibility and when choosing material for his movies he seeks stories that fit into the slightly Twisted quasi fairy tale realm where he feels comfortable working thus in the past he has collaborated with Tim Burton and adapted R doll Coraline his fourth feature film uses a short book by Neil Gaiman as its inspiration employing stop motion animation that renders human beings with the distinctive characteristics evident in both The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach celic finds the perfect look to bring gaimon's Vision to life the resulting tale May owe a little to Hansel and gredle and Alice in Wonderland But ultimately stands on its own it's a mark of any good 3D movie that it can be watched and enjoyed on its own merits when projected in 2D and that's the case here in fact the 3D effects are in many cases subtle enough that it's questionable whether the benefits of seeing the movie in 3D are worth the drawbacks limited availability a dimmer picture more expensive tickets and uncomfortable glasses Coraline does not employ an in-your-face approach to 3D it uses the tool to provide a sense of Greater depth but rarely do things pop off the screen except during the climax there's nothing in this film that demands that it be watched in 3D the movie tells the story of a blue-haired young girl by the name of Coraline Jones voice of Dakota Fanning who has moved to an out of the way 150-year-old mansion in Oregon unlike the usual animated heroin she's not sugar and spice and everything nice Coraline has a nasty side that Peaks through at times most notably in her treatment of others her mother Terry Hatcher and Father John Hodgman are writers with little time for their daughter so Coraline is left on her own to explore the house and its grounds she meets the next door neighbor WB love at Robert Bailey Jr and his cat the strange sisters Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French living on the lower level of the three apartment mansion and the circus man Mr babinsky Ian McShan living on the upper Story one day Coraline discovers a hidden door that appears to lead nowhere the opening has been bricked up that night however a portal opens behind the door that transports Coraline to a strange world of unsuspected wonders where her other mother and other father are interested in only pleasing her and things are warm beautiful and colorful but the time honored cliche applies if it looks too good to be true it probably is cel's animated style is almost smooth enough to be mistaken for CGI but there's a texture to the approach that betrays it as being a little more labor intensive watch the cats fur especially in its first scene kids likely won't notice the difference but adults will appreciate that the movie doesn't feel like a generic clone of the animated product that studios are pumping out with regularity celic bizarre streak is given ample opportunity to be on display his Tendencies to favor Gothic backdrops and to develop his characters in such a way that they look like they have emerged from an Edward gory illustration makes the film potentially intense for young nightmare prone children this is the basis for the PG notg rating the plot is interesting enough to involve viewers of all ages despite the incorporation of familiar elements it provides some surprises and the narrative trajectory is not predictable from start to finish the vocal characterizations mostly provided by actors without distinctive voices are strong Dakota Fanning makes the Young heroine instantly likable and Terry Hatcher has no difficulty with aspects of her role that force her into wicked witch territory celic may have Incorporated a little of Fanning and hatchers looks into their animated counterparts although nothing is overt like all effective fables Coraline isn't only for children although it would I suspect work as a bedtime story one of my biggest problems with many animated movies is that they are pitched at an intellectual level below me but I didn't feel that way about Coraline the film has been crafted with a consideration that the best family movies appeal not only to a young target audience but to the parents who accompany their offspring to theaters and while the 3D experience may make Coraline a little more eye-catching It Is by no means mandatory for those wishing to enjoy what this visually intriguing production has to offer CET meets success by deviating from the tropes and conventions of often found in horror films he also adheres to some of them palansky for instance explores similar contexts in his films filmmaker Roman palansky has established himself as a master of horror film through his highly influential and highly controversial apartment Trilogy dav's 18 in pansy's films the protagonists horrors occur within their home similarly the nightmarish incidences that Coraline experiences occur almost entirely in her home whether it be the home located in her world or the other world although there is only one key the other mother ensures it is always within Coraline's grasp so that Coraline May easily enter the world thus making her vulnerable Coraline's vulnerability routinely leaves her susceptible to death at the hands of the other mother at the film's conclusion amidst Coraline's desperate attempt to reclaim and dispose of the key celic indicates that the key destruction is the only way to defeat the other mother and prevent her from escaping her world or claiming more victims arguably one of the most pertinent visual motifs evident in Coraline are the buttons Coraline does not get the opportunity to frequent the other world for long before the other mother attempts to strike a deal Coraline must get the buttons sewn In Her Eyes in exchange for the treats and attention the other mother offers her a proposal Coraline quickly turns down via the button Motif the director indicates that what one wants often comes at a price the main characters that have a notable influence in Coraline's life each have a doppelganger all of which have buttons for eyes much like the Coraline doll the buttons are the first significant indication of deception that celic introduces in the film often eyes are deemed the windows so to speak to the soul as they reveal one's emotional state despite their adopted facade given that the other mother like her minions has buttons instead of eyes Coraline and viewers are left susceptible to deception throughout the film's duration director of Coraline Henry celik strategically introduces a series of motifs throughout the film although the motifs serve various purposes the director predominantly depicts them to inform the Cinematic content cel's visual motifs reflect the danger that accompanies Envy in doing so Coraline serves as a cautionary tale that encourages its intended audience children to beware of strangers forfeit their envy and extend gratitude to the positive relationships and luxuries in their lives right after seeing Coraline an urge to read the novel drove me straight to the bookstore I needed to know more of Neil gaiman's tale of Coraline Jones and the bizarre neighbors and ancient wickedness living in her new home I needed to know how much of the Literary story was captured in Henry celix stop motion animated screenplay with a dad playing piano glowing flowers and snapdragons that really snapped and A peculiar room where giant bugs are the furniture I was curious Gan might be that odd individual with sleeping dust in his side pockets a razor sharp barely chipped axe in his hip pocket and a candle flame floating to and fro behind his eyes but the visual tone of Coraline the movie is dark but strikingly peppered with color making it festive and morose and desolate and cheerful all at once there is no Brave Little Mouse no fumbling robots no dancing zoo animals to liven up culturally prescribed moral lessons because there are no moral lessons Coraline without the usual spoonful of sugary animated paternally medicinal Hollywood characters is a Halloween treat in February that goes down smashingly well without the sweetness then there is the curious use of the word Beldum to describe the button-eyed other mom who craves Coraline a Beldum can be an old evil looking woman of course a witch but is gaming being playful here players of Paper Mario the Thousand-Year Door know the name Beldum belongs to the thousand-year-old demon with a nasty disposition and wielder of equally nasty Magic on the other hand can Beldum be an anagram for bedum betham Royal Hospital in London or bedum as it was later called is the institution that became synonymous with confusion and uproarious bizarre behavior Coraline's odd neighbors certainly act like they were former residents of bedum downstairs live Miss and Miss forcible two former thespians with their Scotty dogs the ones still living and those stuffed time saving double use of the word here on Telle while they are a little baddy they do come up with a special gift that Coraline will use later when the terror and the button-eyed makeover is ominously close at hand upstairs lives Mr babinsky who trains his jumping mice with various samples of very smelly cheese he receives in the mail those mice tell him to warn Coraline she is in danger but who listens to mice anyway Coraline's parents are constantly typing typing typing on their PC keyboards boning her constant interruptions of their important work I was relieved they were working on a gardening catalog and not blogging or twittering though I am not sure why her father tells her to go count various things in the house and tally the numbers on her notepad and leave him alone her parents are not very loving or much interested in her World perhaps that is why she likes the other one she finds through the small door in this other world she meets her other parents and other neighbors and the other wbe there's the black cat too but aside from his being able to talk to her he's the same one he just knows all the right places to travel between both places wbe is not in gaiman's novel the boy's name comes from the consternation surrounding his birth why be born as he explains it to Coraline and he is something of a question mark in both worlds perhaps celic wanted to give Coraline an equally neglected friend to make her family situation appear more normal than it really ought to be evil things happen to the other wbe and to all those other fabricated Twisted copies of dad and the neighbors made by her chocolate bug munching other mother the Beldum but both wbees and the talking black cat help Coraline when she needs it most like dropping a golden slice of toast all buttered and jammed face down onto the floor Coraline's hopes for her other family are soon replaced with disgust her disgust turns to fear when she is locked in a mirror and meets three ghostly children her other mom tired of and murdered taking their souls they tell her of the trickery of the Beldum and ask her to find their souls so they can pass on a contest begins as Coraline rushes to save her real parents find the stolen souls and keep all buttons firmly planted on her clothes and not in her eyes in both Coraline the movie and Coraline the novel you will smell the scent of dandelion wine Rising with the enshrouding mist of the oct oober country and hear the scuttling of it against the faint tune of cougar and dark's kopy playing in the distance in a rare and daring departure from the usual Hollywood animated movie Coraline is a not so subtle blend of the Sinister and the bitter and it is pleasantly surprising how sweet that can be there's a common argument I hear in regards to children's movies particularly bad ones if someone complains about it people will say it's a children's movie what did you expect I dislike this argument for two main reasons first it implies that children's movies are inherently bad and shouldn't be taken as seriously second it gives these kinds of movies a pass for being bad allowing for terrible movies to continue being made I can think of a variety of films from production companies like Pixar and Studio gibli that are directed towards younger audiences but still appeal to anyone of any age because they aren't afraid to tackle more mature themes even something as recent as the 2022 film Puss in Boots The Last Wish proved to be an exceptional experience the animation and story were engaging but it deals with the concept of mortality in a way that children can process and learn something about the world there are ways to make children's films that are appropriate for younger audiences while finding a way to exist as a real work of art in its own right and we shouldn't challenge these movies less than we would any other kind of film Coraline based on the Neil Gaiman book of the same name centers on the young free spirited Coraline Jones Dakota Fanning as she moves into a new house with her mom Terry Hatcher and her dad John Hodgman Coraline hates their new home she hates the other tenants at the house and she misses being so far away from her friends on top of all of this her parents can be overbearing seeming to stifle her imagination while exploring the house she discovers a small door buried under wallpaper behind which is only a brick wall one night she follows some mice to The Little Door and upon opening it again discovers a path to another world completely identical to her own yet better in every way her parents play games with her the other house guests aren't annoying and she can do whatever she wants whenever she wants there's just one glaring difference everyone in this new world has buttons for eyes after spending some nights in this new world her other mother makes a proposal Coraline can stay here as long as she wants as long as she lets the other mother sew buttons into her eyes as Coraline rejects this the facade of this perfect world begins to crumble and the true evil that lurks underneath is revealed Coraline must then Race Against Time to not only save her parents who have been been captured by the other mother but also the souls of all the kids who came before her Henry celic is no stranger to stop motion animated films getting his start with a variety of short films that challenged the traditional Norms of Animation his first feature film The Nightmare Before Christmas established him as a household name while he'd continue to make films before and after Coraline I firmly believe this one to be his magnum opus bringing together all of his talents in both animation and storytelling to create one of the finest animated films ever all of his films have a distinct visual look but I find it's the tiny details within the world that allow it to feel completely and truly lived in he also knows how to give each character a distinct look and style so even if their personalities are different their Styles allow them to feel entirely unique from one another There's A Certain Magical quality to Neil gaimon's work works as an author and the way celic translates his world onto the screen is nothing short of remarkable besides the obvious differences in the characters between Coraline's normal world and the Magical one it's the color palette between the two that allows for a much greater distinction the normal world is full of drab Dr out colors while the other world is as vibrant as anything can be colors explode off the screen creating something that might feel different but is inviting and comforting even when the true nature of this world is revealed the vibrant colors remain but transition into a more Sinister pallet to complement the evil that has been discovered while the story has plenty of scares up its sleeve it still feels tame enough that it can be qualified as a children's film a lot of that is due in part to the way it refuses to talk down to its audience it's easy for some children's movies to treat the audience as babies who can't grasp a larger story story but films like this are aware of the fact that children can be very perceptive when it comes to crafting a compelling narrative I'm not saying Coraline is some philosophical Odyssey as the story itself is very simple girl is upset at her family girl discovers magical world girl realizes magical world is bad girl must escape magical world yet it never feels the need to dumb anything down for its audience it allows kids to feel as if they can step into Coraline shoes and follow her as she discovers this new place when The Evil Within this world comes after her they can feel scared like Coraline before feeling brave as she overcomes these obstacles and defeats these scary forces in a way it's very empowering as it shows that even a kid can overcome hardships and save the ones she loves in my opinion the true magic of the film lies in the endless charm of its main character Coraline brought to life perfectly by Dakota Fanning she is our vessel as we explore this exciting New World as well as our guide as we try to figure out how to defeat the other mother once her true intentions are revealed we are experiencing these things through the eyes of this child who must adapt and overcome great challenges even when she doesn't think she has it in her at the same time it pushes Against The Stereotype of young girls having to be quiet clean and well behaved Coraline is vocal when she dislikes something she plays in the dirt and mud and gives children a role model of someone who finds the strength to challenge things that aren't right even when coming face to face with the horrifying power of the other mother Coraline while still scared is able to challenge her which certainly inspired a little Aiden who saw this film over a decade ago and still inspires me when I rewatch it after all this time Coraline is one of those rare beautiful films that can appeal to anyone who loves a good horror movie it's scary enough that it'll get to anyone of any age but never intense enough that it'll have people running away from it it's a feast of the eyes capturing some of the most gorgeous shots I've ever seen in a stop motion Movie full of a wide variety of characters who are all interesting to look at and listen to and of course it has Coraline who proves to be one of the most enduring characters to lead a film Henry celic knows how to craft stories that aren't meant for any singular type of person but rather anyone who wants to get lost in a good story which is of course the one real goal from any work of art Coraline May benefit from the added Synergy of an upcoming Off Broadway musical slated for a May 6th World premiere and a video game released January 27th featuring Voice work by three of the film's thesps Dakota Fanning Keith David and Robert Bailey junor a captivatingly creepy yarn also has inspired an Italian short film an Irish puppet show a Swedish play and a pee Craig Russell graphic novel not bad for a book that sprung from a series of bedtime stories G and told his daughters in the 1990s like the novel the film functions as a crafty cautionary Tale on The Perils of getting what you want whether it's a pair of gloves or a new family yet the dazzling colors and unhinged imagination of cel's visual palette also have the effect of rendering Coraline's fantasy world that much more I tickling and dangerously seductive small but spunky with blue hair and stick-like limbs Coraline Jones engagingly voiced by Fanning is an only child who feels neglected by her Garden catalog writing parents Terry Hatcher John Hodgman the three have just moved into a ramshackle old boarding house whose other tenants include two faded actresses Miss Miss Jennifer Saunders and Miss forcible Don French and a Russian acrobat Ian McShan who has his own rodent circus where giman tossed off these peculiar supporting characters with dead pan drollery the pck somewhat ill-advisedly turns them into colorful almost busy Berkeley esque Sideshow attractions that are simultaneously dazzling and wearying celex script also Saddles Coraline with a goth nerd sidekick YB Bailey a figure of eventual itic importance but questionable comic value the film is on sure footing once Coraline unlocks a mysterious door in the wall and finds herself in a parallel Dimension that looks an awful lot like home emphasis on the awful this haunted house is impeccably maintained by Coraline's other mother a dead ringer for her real mother only she's cheery and attentive and probably smells like cookies o and she has black buttons where her eyes should be clearly something's not quite right here and when the other mother tells Coraline she must live there forever and have buttons sewn into her own eyes soon you'll see things our way the chill is unmistakable Coraline's other mother likes to play games and create Twisted fax similes of real world people and places in that respect she and celic have a lot in common while this is cel's first tune not produced by Tim Burton after The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach it's very much in keeping with that filmmaker's Darkly funny Spirit even the production design Bears shades of Burton's Beetle Juice the use of stop motion as opposed to CG or handrawn 2D animation is inspired with its slightly stilted frame by frame movements and tactile stylized puppets the film never lets one forget that it's an imperfectly handcrafted marel a world the other mother herself might have stitched together as Coraline and a helpful cat David engage their enemy in a battle of wits the film keeps bursting its stylistic boundaries a scene set at the outer reaches of this makeb believe world harks back to the Looney Tunes classic dakam and a later sequence brilliantly visualizes the idea of Coraline as a fly trapped in her captor web as a visual experience Coraline is enriched immeasurably by its sophisticated 3D engine which is after suler more immersive effects sweeping camera movements delineation of foreground and background than the mere gimmick of having objects pop out from the screen riffing on her Desperate Housewives roll with a devious sense of fun Hatcher with the help of some Nifty character morphing by the Pix animators makes the other mother a villain worthy of the many evil stepmoms that have preceded her but the film's most indelible asset is French composer Bruno koolle score a feverish sing song concoction that evokes a girl's everyday boredom as well as the demons lurking just beyond the limits of Her Imagination the film is the stop motion animated Coraline adapted by writer director Henry celic from a marvelous to den two children's book by Neil Gaiman it is a straightforward elementally simple fairy tale a young girl named Coraline voed by Dakota Fanning moves far away from everything comfortable and familiar because of her emotionally distant parents Terry Hatcher and John Hodgman and as she explores the rickety old house where she now lives she discovers a doorway to another world where everything is much happier and more colorful and where an alternate set of parents identical to the ones she left behind except for having black buttons in place of their eyes dot on her and give her everything she wants eventually Coraline finds that life in the other house hides a dark secret and that her endlessly loving other mother is really the Beldum a typically G and contraction of beld Dame Sans C who prays on the life force of lonely children in its original form the story was one of the most characteristic things G ever wrote an update of ancient storytelling formulas to a modern setting that never sacrifices the essential timelessness of the material it's therefore greatly to celex credit that his adaptation never feels beholden to gaiman's Nolla that it thrives as a film enti enely on its own merits in some ways the film is even an improvement on the book if my memory serves I haven't read Coraline since it was new 7 years ago giman only presented Coraline making one trip to the other world before she figures out that something dark is happening where celic delays that Revelation to her third trip three being a traditionally important number for Magical happenings in fairy tales in some other ways the movie is a bit retrograde such as the addition of a young boy named WB Robert Bailey Jr to help Coraline at the end apparently a sop to the received wisdom that male children won't respond to stories with female protagonists but all of that is mostly irrelevant Coraline the movie is a great work unto itself largely because of how perfectly celic translates the story into cinematic terms the director's most famous work is The Nightmare Before Christmas usually associated with Tim Burton even though that man had very little to do with the film itself I hope and expect that Coraline will serve to remind us all of celik's very important contributions to that project particularly given that most of what made nightmare a great film is present to an even greater degree in the newer project there's the simple but very real pleasure of Simply watching great no better than great stop motion animation arguably the most labor intensive form of film making in existence between these two films and the mid90s adaptation of James and the Giant Peach celic has firmly established himself as an absolutely brilliant director of stop motion having assembled a team of animators strong enough to make even the groundbreaking solo work of Ray heraus seemed decent at best Coraline is almost without question the most technically accomplished stop motion in cinema history and the extraordinary touchability of the Exquisite animation puppets and the sets is all the proof I need that there are some things that CGI simply cannot do no one has yet made a computer animated cartoon with such tactility as we see on display here there is not one moment where Coraline's world does not feel entirely real for the simple fact that it is real and this gives the film a deep appeal that even the best CG such as Pixar's Ratatouille and wall altogether lack this isn't incidental nor purely for the animation junkies in the audience since the film's story hinges entirely on Coraline being quickly seduced by the marbl she finds in the World Behind the wall it makes the fantasy that much more effective if we and the audience are seduced just as quickly celic and his animators achieve this both because of the physical quality of their work and the imaginative spectacles they create nightmare already proved that celic is a wonderful fantasist but it's got nothing on even the middling parts of Coraline which presents a created world that can stand alongside the finest ever put to film if I gush then let me gush but I find it hard to watch the movie and not conclude that celic is one of the greatest Visionaries in contemporary Cinema every character and location in Coraline is a revelation and if all this weren't enough to set the film Head and Shoulders above any other family fantasy in recent memory the overwhelming sense of creepiness would be it's an easy thing for grown-ups to forget but kids love scary stuff especially when everything turns out fine in the end celic surely knows from creepy and Coraline far outd does his previous work in providing unmitigated nightmare fuel even from an adult perspective the climax involving a skeletal Spider Woman in a shocking high contrast web is one of the most genuinely unnerving things I've seen in a theater this decade but it's not all Grand statements of children's horror that make the film unsettling and creepy one of the scenes that freaked me out the most consists of nothing but happy little mice dancing around in a lower frame rate than anything else has been animated in the whole movie The Jerky result is an effective early sign that something is wrong in this happy fantasy world having said all that there's one last thing that gives the film a final push into outright Perfection Coraline is the film I've been awaiting for a long time it is a 3D movie in which the dimensional effects aren't just a gimmick but a vital component of the whole thing for all that we've been told over and over again that the appeal of 3D is the way it adds realistic depth to a film I find it wonderfully ironic that its first truly artistic use should be so blatantly unrealistic without getting into the technicals of the whole thing they're amazing though Coraline has two very different depths in the real world scenes everything is much flatter than it is in the other World scenes and this difference though hardly subtle is absorbed almost subliminally the point of course is that the other world is a magical fantastic Place much more spectacular than drab reality so why not depict it using the most spectacular gimmick available to the modern filmmaker I'm simplifying mightily the key here is that Coraline is the first 3D film I've ever seen that does not seem to exist largely as a distributor for cheap TRS www alternateending docomo 9/81 939 a dash whz Das of Dash a dash wiz. HTML Curry dot it is the film that proves Jeffrey kenberg and James Cameron right that 3D is a useful storytelling tool it is the new mediums and news La liberte the first film to fully exploit sound it's The Wizard of Oz color it's your Jimbo anamorphic widescreen for this reason I find myself completely unable to recommend or even think about the film and anything but it's intended 3D format trying to think of Coraline flat is like trying to think of Gone With The Wind in black and white or a silent Meet Me In St Louis the story and tremendous craftsmanship are all the same but something is lost something that makes this film seem like one of the great cinematic Revolutions of my Lifetime by all means there's enough to the film without 3D to make it a tremendous fantasy and one of the best films I've seen in months but if you have the opportunity to see it in its intended Glory that makes it absolutely essential viewing Neil gaiman's Coraline a Nolla about a parentally neglected little girl of the same name who discovers a parallel world where her other mother and father seem perfect except of course for those pesky button eyes is an eerie fairy tale rich with imaginative fantasy the movie helmed by the same man who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and brought to life with a similar Ultra stylized stop motion presentation is sure to be a classic but if you're hoping you or your kids will be able to relive The Experience on Wii or Playstation 2 I'm here to warn you now what you play here you will never be able to unplay and what you see cannot be unseen these interactive versions ditch The engrossing Narrative of the book and the the eye popping makeover of the movie for uninspired dated play controls an imbalance of ridiculously easy puzzles and QuickTime events too difficult for some adults let alone kids and sloppy visuals befitting a first generation PS2 game in other words this is what happens when licensing goes bad Coraline will undoubtedly be labeled a kids game due to the subject matter but I'm not entirely convinced that I would let my own daughters go Hands-On with it this because the story starts off sweet and innocent with Coraline exploring her home and performing an endless supply of menial tasks for her hateful parents and quirky neighbors but a couple hours in and the mood flips and all of a sudden the little girl is out running a crazed button-eyed Nemesis and fending off redyed rats in the darkness developer papaya Studio has endeavored to preserve the tale and tone of the movie with storyboard cutscenes well-acted Voice work for all the characters and an opening full motion render presumably direct from the film kids will definitely appreciate the Voice work but the storyboards gloss over pivotal points from the movie and fail to do the license Justice meanwhile a series of in-game cinematics seem amateurish in their construction and choreography the biggest problem I have with Coraline other than one particularly messy blockade that I'll get to is that the entire gameplay experience feels like a Relic from two generations ago Coraline moves slowly and clumsily about very restricted environments which themselves lack in variation and takes part in a series of blatant fetch quests transparently in place solely as a means to extend gameplay time and by the way this method doesn't work I made it to the final boss fight in about 3 hours a truth that renders Coraline as one of the shorter titles to come along in recent memory even by so-called kids games standards when Coraline is not looking around for a code to unlock her neighbor's doorway for example she's engaged in a series of simple mini games like card matching slingshot challenges and block pushing puzzles it all works well enough but only that never will you be pleasantly surprised by an Innovative control choice or one that even subscribes to current standards see exhibit a Caroline can't jump unless she nears an object that allows such an interaction at which point you can tap a button and off she goes dated for sure but worse are the control choices that totally ignore the obvious for instance a slingshot shooting game that doesn't utilize the Wii remote pointer but the analog stick some of the obstacles are too easy for adults and perfect for kids moving the Wii the analog sticks or Wii Remote and nunchuck around depending on the platform to cook some pancakes others are defin too difficult for younger players music tests in which you'll have to press a series of obscure buttons together in order to play a song I'd like to meet the kid who can press toggle z c z and b while pressing up down left and right on the d-pad in succession normally music based challenges run on a rhythm that you can fall back on if all else fails but not so in Coraline here the arrangement is randomly layered over a series of button tabs that do not match up in the least although I tested all versions of the game I played to the very end in the Wii build perhaps this was my mistake because as the title Was preparing me to do battle with the final boss it crashed I reset and tried to load the sequence again and once more it locked up I have never been able to load the end sequence D3 publisher contacted me after posting this review and let me know that the issue I encountered was due to a corupted save file not so much a crash bug as an error although not all Gamers will face this error it is avoidable certain iname circumstances may lead to the corruption which is unfortunate Coraline 2009 isn't exactly a Halloween movie in fact there's no mention of Halloween at all despite this Coraline's resemblance to a lot of children's Halloween movies has solidified its presence in my mind as a part of the same genre its participation in this genre however is extremely unique most children's movies surrounding the holiday have a touch of spookiness to them while still maintaining a classical sense of adventure and fun in Coraline's case however that touch of spooky is decidedly creepy and at times downright terrifying that's why I believe Coraline should never have been marketed towards children compared to other children's Halloween movies such as Casper 199 5 or Halloweentown 1998 Coraline presents kids with not only deeply disturbing Concepts but also particularly horrifying visuals don't get me wrong the movie's stop motion animation style is impressive and quite beautiful at times that being said for a PG rated film that had a whole marketing collaboration with Nike to create hip new basketball shoes the lengths to which the animators went to make certain characters appear unsettling were attached extrem not only do half of the characters have soulless button eyes but most of them have unnerving bodily proportions that make even morally good characters appear Sinister in particular the transformation of the other mother into her final form seared itself into my memory as a small child I can still clearly picture her spindly limbs the way her ribs seem to protrude from her body her skeletal pointed features and her gray cracked skin this visual alone made me perpetually afraid that my own mom would turn out to be my real life other mother and would morph into an inhuman creature out to sew buttons on my eyes to repeat I am in no way saying that the Artistry of the animation was poor rather that it was almost too well done in its creepiness now one could bring up the point that the animators were only going off of what Neil gaiman's original book described the characters to look like I wholeheartedly agree yet I don't believe that this portrayal matched the movie's rating and intended audience appropriately going back to the comparison of this film to other children's Halloween flicks I failed to see where there were aspects of pure fun in this movie even when Coraline is shown enjoying herself there's always something disconcerting about the people involved or the situation as a child I never felt fully comfortable watching this movie always worried that something strange or upsetting would happen Coraline features uniquely disturbing Concept in a good number of Children's films the parents of the child die or something else tragic upends their way of living in Coraline something else unsettling occurs Coraline's parents are still alive but she encounters another version of her parents ones that treat her well until she refuses to be mutilated by them they then subsequently spy on her threaten her and try try to kill her all while still looking like the parents whom she's supposed to trust as a concept it's brilliantly complex and interesting but as part of a plot for a children's movie it's a little intense if this movie had been marketed to an older age group I probably wouldn't have as much issue with it that being said there are plenty of kids who saw this movie and didn't freak out like I did as it stands now Coraline to me is a beautifully animated movie made for entirely the wrong audience though it's still better to me than Return to Halloweentown 2006 in 2009 Henry celik Sold the World a nightmare and this nightmare went by the name of Coraline for the better part of second grade going to sleep required the ritual execution of an internal pep talk in which I would steal myself up against the potential horror of waking up in the other mother's grasp when a mouse was spotted in my house at one point the terror in inreased tfold after seeing this film at a school hosted Day Camp I vowed to myself that I would never lay eyes upon it again but lately I've started to realize that I am now an adult and after over a decade I've recently begun to reconsider the risk of REM meting The button-eyed Gaze of the Beldum I love scary movies I enjoy Coraline's author Neil giman there was no longer any good reason for me to continually refuse to watch this movie I figured that it may finally be time to face the fact that 8-year-old M's reaction may not have been entirely trustworthy the characters of Coraline inhabit a world that is situated firmly at the base of the uncanny valley while the first reality that we are presented with is familiar enough for the viewer to recognize it as the real world within the context of the film it is still eerily off in a way that contributes greatly to the overall sense of horror at play well before we are introduced to the other mother and the other world the world that Coraline and her family enter as they settle into their new home feels definitively unsafe not only do the opening credits which are filled with imagery of a strangely violent stitching process leave a lingering sense of unease but the cool toned and weather beaten reality that is established shortly after compounds it beyond that the off character of this world is furthered by the quality of movement with it the entire film was shot using stop motion animation and this is evident in the way that characters move and interact with their environment the entire set and all of the characters were made of clay and every action was the result of an extremely delicate process of creating subtle changes in placement this analog animation style means that the characters do not move like real people they move in a doll-like fashion that seems both elegant and engineered this is very on theme considering ing the movie's very present dll Motif but also contributes to the sense that neither world is quite our own while distancing the reality of the film from the reality of the viewer serves its alignment with a fantasy genre and could in theory make the story less scary in this case the distance is subtle enough that it instead contributes to an inescapable and terrifying sense that nothing should be trusted the real world is familiar enough through its inclusion of familiar car brands and present day technology that it feels as though it should be safe and the fact that it does not quite feel that way adds to its overt spookiness not only is there no physical place in this world that feels truly safe but there are no characters that seem entirely reliable either the cold and detached relationship that Coraline has with her parents is shown to be the element that propels her towards the other world in the first place where she finds refuge in the performative warmth and affection of her other family Coraline's relationship with her mother is particularly strained and they repeatedly fail to connect throughout most of the film though she eventually finds a sense of community as she gets to know wbe and her new neighbors none of them are initially presented as entirely trustworthy figures with instances such as whybe withholding information about his knowledge of the house and two of her neighbors harboring a collection of identical dead dogs proding at our suspicions while Coraline line bounces between the Dual worlds of the film it is incredibly challenging to establish any sense of security in either as her will to escape the chilling isolation and neglect of her true reality sends her running into the arms of a violently abusive one it feels as though our protagonist is painfully and perpetually alone with the exception of her talking cat speaking of the talking cat the rules of this universe are everywhere they're consistent and they're whimsical but as we learn them as we go and never seem to receive a full explanation they contribute immensely to this world's petrifying status why does the cat only talk in the other world why does it have free reign between the two worlds since it clearly has the same Consciousness in both worlds is it miserable in the real world where it cannot talk where does other mother come from what is she are there others like her where are she and her other world since they have physical consequences but don't seem to occupy physical space if they're in another dimension why is this house the access point are there other access points why does the portal only show up at night why is other mother's only consistent feature the button eyes why button eyes other wbe and other fathers seem independently conscious but the entire world is other mothers creation how does that work where did they come from are they trapped there what happened happens to them all when the constructed web World disappears do they all just loiter in the void I have questions fortunately as I've learned while writing this these questions are the topic of many YouTube videos and fan posts out there but my point is leaving these questions open adds a sense of mystery and allows the imagination to run wild making things more interesting yet significantly more Sinister finally what is perhaps most terrifying about coral line is its ending on the surface it is an entirely happy one Coraline destroys other mother's web Saves The Souls of the ghost children by collecting their eyes frees her parents and successfully disposes of the key to the portal door presumably tting other mother once and for all the film closes on the first sunny day that we've seen is Coraline appearing to have changed her perspective on life helps her parents and neighbors set up for a picnic she appears to have learned to see the world differently finally appreciating what she has and forming a real Community with those around her what keeps the hair raising horror alive however is her continued isolation though wbe believes her story and she is shown flagging down his grandmother to discuss it with her at the end her parents seem to have had the memories of their Peril erased upon seeing them safely returned Coraline is Overjoyed while her parents meet her with dis missive confusion while Coraline's perspective and experience are shown to have undoubtedly improved over the course of the film it seems that the motherdaughter relationship that stands at the heart of the narrative is left largely unresolved rather than Coraline and her mother sharing in their experience and arriving at Mutual understanding the new found Insight all seems to be one-sided and Coraline's reinvigorated appreciation is unrequited Henry celik has a particular Sensibility and when choosing material for his movies he seeks stories that fit into the slightly Twisted quasi fairy tale realm where he feels comfortable working thus in the past he has collaborated with Tim Burton and adapted R doll Coraline his fourth feature film uses a short book by Neil Gaiman as its inspiration employing stop motion animation that renders human beings with the distinctive characteristics evident in both The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach celic finds the perfect look to bring Damon's Vision to life the resulting tale May owe a little to Hansel and gredle and Alice in Wonderland but ultimately stands on its own it's a mark of any good 3D movie that it can be watched and enjoyed on its own merits when projected in 2D and that's the case here in fact the 3D effects are in many cases subtle enough that it's questionable whether the benefits of seeing the movie in 3D are worth the drawbacks limited availability a dimmer picture more expensive tickets and uncomfortable glasses Coraline does not employ an in-your-face approach to 3D it uses the tool to provide a sense of Greater depth but rarely do things pop off the screen except during the climax there's nothing in this film that demands that it be watched in 3D the movie tells the story of a blue-haired young girl by the name of Coraline Jones voice of Dakota Fanning who has moved to an out ofth way 150-year-old mansion in Oregon unlike the usual animated heroin she's not sugar and spice and everything nice Coraline has a nasty side that Peaks through at times most notably in her treatment of others her mother Terry Hatcher and Father John Hodgman are writers with little time for their daughter so Coraline is left on her own to explore the house and its grounds she meets the next door neighbor YB loveat Robert Bailey Jr and his cat the strange sisters Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French living on the lower level of the three apartment mansion and the circus man Mr babinsky Ian McShan living on the upper Story one day Coraline discovers a hidden door that appears to lead nowhere the opening has been bricked up that night however a portal opens behind the door that transports Coraline to a strange world of unsuspected wonders where her other mother and other father are interested in only pleasing her and things are warm beautiful and colorful but the time honored cliche applies if it looks too good to be true it probably is celix animated style is almost smooth enough to be mistaken for CGI but there's a texture to the approach that betrays it as being a little more labor intensive watch the cat's fur especially in its first scene kids likely won't notice the difference but adults will appreciate that the movie doesn't feel like a generic clone of the animated product that studios are pumping out with regularity celik's bizarre streak is given ample opportunity to be on display his Tendencies to favor Gothic backdrops and to develop his characters in such a way that they look like they have emerged from an Edward gory illustration makes the film potentially intense for young nightmare prone children this is the basis for the PG not g rating the plot is interesting enough to involve viewers of all ages despite the incorporation of familiar elements it provides some surprises and the narrative trajectory is not predictable from start to finish the vocal characterizations mostly provided by actors without distinctive voices are strong Dakota Fanning makes the young heroine instantly likable and Terry Hatcher has no difficulty with aspects of her role that force her into wicked witch Terr atory celic may have Incorporated a little of Fanning and hatchers looks into their animated counterparts although nothing is overt like all effective fables Coraline isn't only for children although it would I suspect work as a bedtime story one of my biggest problems with many animated movies is that they are pitched at an intellectual level below me but I didn't feel that way about Coraline the film has been crafted with a consideration that the best family movies appeal not only to a young target audience but to the parents who accompany their offspring to theaters and while the 3D experience may make Coraline a little more eye-catching It Is by no means mandatory for those wishing to enjoy what this visually intriguing production has to offer celic makes evident The Peculiar nature of the claim and the doll Itself by making the doll identical to Coraline except for the buttons where its eyes should be the motif is represent resentative of what the other mother intends Coraline to become silent and conforming many scenes feature shots of the doll in various locations spying on Coraline as she explores in the foreground between the irrefutable resemblance it has to Coraline and how it practically lurks in the background the doll maintains something of an eerie presence though the doll May initially present itself as unremarkable in reality it serves as yet another tool of the other mother's making one use to manipulate Coraline another visual Motif prevalent in the film is the key celic introduces the key into the story world's framework and ensures that it circulates throughout the film to draw attention to its importance the key serves as a gateway to the other world and escapism for Coraline just as it was for the other mother's previous victims though celic meets success by deviating from the tropes and conventions often found in horror films he also adheres to to some of them palansky for instance explores similar contexts in his films filmmaker Roman palansky has established himself as a master of horror film through his highly influential and highly controversial apartment Trilogy Davies 18 in pansy's films the protagonists horrors occur within their home similarly the nightmarish incidences that Coraline experiences occur almost entirely in her home whether it be the home located in her world or the other world although there is only one key the other mother ensures it is always within Coraline's grasp so that Coraline May easily enter the world thus making her vulnerable Coraline's vulnerability routinely leaves her susceptible to death at the hands of the other mother at the film's conclusion amidst Coraline's desperate attempt to reclaim and dispose of the key celic indicates that the key's destruction is the only way to defeat the other mother mother and prevent her from escaping her world or claiming more victims arguably one of the most pertinent visual motifs evident in Coraline are the buttons Coraline does not get the opportunity to frequent the other world for long before the other mother attempts to strike a deal Coraline must get the buttons sewn In Her Eyes in exchange for the treats and attention the other mother offers her a proposal Coraline quickly turns down via the button Motif the director indicates that what one wants often comes at a price the main characters that have a notable influence in Coraline's life each have a doppleganger all of which have buttons for eyes much like the Coraline doll the buttons are the first significant indication of deception that celic introduces in the film often eyes are deemed the windows so to speak to the soul as they reveal one's emotional state despite their adopted facade given that the other mother like her minions has buttons instead of eyes Coraline and viewers are left susceptible to deception throughout the film's duration director of Coraline Henry celik strategically introduces a series of motifs throughout the film although the motifs serve various purposes the director predominantly depicts them to inform the Cinematic content cel's visual motifs reflect the danger that accompanies Envy in doing so Coraline serves as a cautionary taale that encourages encourages its intended audience children to beware of strangers forfeit their envy and extend gratitude to the positive relationships and luxuries in their lives right after seeing Coraline an urge to read the novel drove me straight to the bookstore I needed to know more of Neil gaiman's tale of Coraline Jones and the bizarre neighbors and ancient wickedness living in her new home I needed to know how much of the Literary story was captured in Henry celix stopmotion animated screenplay with a dad playing piano glowing flowers and snapd dragons that really snapped and A peculiar room where giant bugs are the furniture I was curious Gaiman might be that odd individual with sleeping dust in his side pockets a razor sharp barely chipped axe in his hip pocket and a candle flame floating to and fro behind his eyes but the visual tone of Coraline the movie is dark but strikingly peppered with color making it festive and morose and desolate and cheerful all at once there is no Brave Little Mouse no fumbling robots no dancing zoo animals to liven up culturally prescribed moral lessons because there are no moral lessons Coraline without the usual spoonful of sugary animated paternally medicinal Hollywood characters is a Halloween treat in February that goes down smashingly well without the sweetness then there is the Curious use of the word Beldum to describe the button eyed other mom who craves Coraline a Beldum can be an old evil looking woman of course a witch but is gaan being playful here players of Paper Mario the Thousand-Year Door know the name Beldum belongs to the thousand-year-old demon with a nasty disposition and wielder of equally nasty Magic on the other hand can Beldum be an anagram for bedum bethleem Royal Hospital in London or bedum as it was later called is the institution that became synonymous with confusion and uor bizarre behavior Coraline's odd neighbors certainly act like they were former residents of bedum downstairs live Miss and Miss forcible two former thespians with their Scotty dogs the one still living and those stuffed time saving double use of the word here onto shelves while they are a little baddy they do come up with a special gift that Coraline will use later when the terror and the button-eyed makeover is ominously close at hand upstairs lives Mr babinsky who trains his jumping mice with various samples of very smelly cheese he receives in the mail those mice tell him to warn Coraline she is in danger but who listens to mice anyway Coraline's parents are constantly typing typing typing on their PC keyboards bemoaning her constant interruptions of their important work I was relieved they were working on a gardening catalog and not blogging or twittering though I am not sure why her father tells her to go count various things in the house and tally the numbers on her notepad and leave him alone her parents are not very loving or much interested in her World perhaps that is why she likes the other one she finds through the small door in this other world she meets her other parents and other neighbors and the other wbe there's the black cat too but aside from his being able to talk to her he's the same one he just knows all the right places to travel between both places wbe is not in gaiman's novel the boy's name comes from the consternation surrounding his birth why be born as he explains it to Coraline and he is something of a question mark in both worlds perhaps celic wanted to give Coraline an equally neglected friend to make her family situation appear more normal than it really ought to be evil things happened to the other ybe and to all those other fabricat Twisted copies of dad and the neighbors made by her chocolate bug munching other mother the Beldum but both wbees and the talking black cat help Coraline when she needs it most like dropping a golden slice of toast all buttered and jammed face down onto the floor Coraline's hopes for her other family are soon replaced with disgust her disgust turns to fear when she is locked in a mirror and meets three ghostly children her other mom tired of and murdered taking their souls they tell her of the trickery of the Beldum and ask her to find their souls so they can pass on a contest begins as Coraline rushes to save her real parents find the stolen souls and keep all buttons firmly planted on her clothes and not in her eyes in both Coraline the movie and Coraline the novel you will smell the scent of dandelion wine Rising With The enshrouding Mist Of The October country and hear the scuttling of it against the faint tune of cougar and darks kopy playing in the distance