Coraline

Every child feels a little neglected by not just their parents, but also the world every once and awhile. The grass always seems greener on the other side. Coraline is a young girl who feels like no one ever listens to her. She and her parents have just moved into an old Victorian house that has been split into three apartments. While exploring her new home, she finds a small door but it has been bricked up and leads nowhere. Until she discovers one night that the doorway has magically opened and it leads to the “other” world where, for Coraline, everything is perfect. Her “other” mother and “other” father are doting parents (even though they have buttons for eyes) and give Coraline everything she wants including magnificent meals, nice neighbors, and a gorgeous garden. But Coraline’s “other” mother tells her that if she wants to stay, she will have to sew buttons on her eyes. While Coraline considers this offer, strange things start to happen making the “other” world seem not so perfect and she discovers that the alternate reality is really a trick by the “other” mother to steal Coraline’s life. Mayhem and chaos ensue when the line between reality and the “other” world becomes blurred and Coraline must find a way to save herself and her family from disaster.

Coraline is a unique and entertaining story directed by Henry Selick, who also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas. Selick knows how to make a great stop-motion animated film, and with Coraline, he continues to prove his talent for making these special movies. Selick also wrote the screenplay for Coraline which is based on the children’s book, also entitled Coraline, written by science fiction and fantasy author Neil Gaiman. It is no secret that I am an ardent fan of stop-motion animation and this movie only proves my point even further that this kind of movie making is a wonderful way to tell a story. As with other stop-motion movies like James and the Giant Peach and The Fantastic Mr. Fox, the amount of detail required in building the sets and creating the characters keeps the movie interesting and every time you watch it, you find something different. In a genre mostly dominated by computer animation, Coraline is a refreshing change and sure to become a classic.

The quality of animation is a vital part in making a good animated movie, just as vital are the voices chosen to bring each character to life. Dakota Fanning provides the voice for the title character, Coraline. She brings the young quality needed to represent her character, but she also adds an old soul aspect. Teri Hatcher shows spectacular range in voicing a frustrated mother trying to juggle her job, home, and daughter to the “other” mother who has a sweet and loving persona with an evil side hiding behind the facade. Other voice characterization stand-outs are Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French (of the famous comedic team of French and Saunders) as the ding-battish Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, two former actresses living in the same house as Coraline. The character actor Ian McShane and veteran thespian Keith David lend their striking and strong voices as Mr. Bobinsky (the Russian circus mouse trainer and neighbor) and the cat (who can move between reality and the other world). All of the ingredients, from the animation, to the voices, and the unique story make Coraline a movie that can be watched over and over again; and whether you are a fan of stop-motion animation or not, you cannot deny and even admire the amount of work it took to bring the worlds of Coraline to life.