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Title: Coraline
Director: Henry Selick
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr, Ian McShane
Release Date: 8 May 2009 (UK)

Rating:

Synopsis: A young girl walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life – only much better. But when her adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents (including “Other Mother”) try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home – and save her family.

Review: From the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas comes a suitably surreal offering based on a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman (Sandman), and from the start the movie exudes style born from the fusion of these two visionaries. Unfortunately I have not yet read the graphic novel, so I’m unable to compare the two mediums – and as usual, I will give you all a SPOILER WARNING so that nothing is ruined for anyone.

I normally try not to focus on purely visual stimulus as that’s only a small part of a film, however with animated features such as this, it’s hard not to be impressed. The character style and animation is almost breathtaking, and some of the sequences (particularly the garden sequences) are frankly beautiful.

The character design is great, immediately associating the film with Nightmare… & features like Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride – larger than normal heads, long thin limbs… this is no doubt to make the stop motion animation process easier, but helps to show the quality of the animation in my opinion. There wasn’t a single point in the film where I could point out a fault in that respect.

As far as the plot goes, it seems to be a fairytale-esque morality tale about not taking things for granted… and the old adage of “be careful what you wish for”. The story is well-told, if a little slow to kick off properly… but this is only really a disadvantage to children, or adults with the attention span of a gnat.

The voice acting helps to reinforce the plot too – Teri Hatcher is surprisingly good as “Other Mother” – she was really the only one of the cast I worried about. British comedy duo Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders also make an appearance as the two actress ladies that live below Coraline… and although nothing special, they don’t ruin the movie. My favourite character is the Cat, played by Keith David, probably better known for his roles in Pitch Black & The Chronicles of Riddick (The Holy Man).

Verdict: All-in-all I really liked Coraline… although the movie may be lost on some younger children due to the movie’s slow buildup and extensive character development. My only regret is not being able to see Coraline in 3D – as the movie is visually gobsmacking in it’s normal form, a 3D offering at the big-screen is a must.

If you get the chance to see this in 3D, even if it is a Saturday morning matinee viewing, I hastily urge you to do so.

Rating:

Trailer:

Music of the moment: 30 Seconds To Mars – From Yesterday

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 14:26 and is filed under Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.