3-D Magic Sparkles This Dark Animated Family Drama

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2019)

20 February 2009. It's hard to separate out the visceral magic of 3-D from the amazing experience of stop-action animation in "Coraline." How much of a hyperjump in ratings, 3-D goes in upping the razzle-dazzle factor is difficult to judge. "Coraline" is an intense, emotionally raw balancing mood piece that belies the happy-thriller-horror animated world that "Coraline" as a young girl gets to experience as well as the audience. The animation is superb and the script and scenes are well suited to the 3-D experience without having to exaggerate and distort the special effects. The special visual experience seem to exude and evolve naturally out of the movie's plot and structure itself. The characters are weird and strange but at the same time personal and oddly familiar. "Coraline" like "Spirited Away" (2001) brings the world of rich fantasy into the movie theater in a captivating and compelling way. Yet, when all the special "Chicago" Richard Gere razzle dazzle is torn away along with a wonderful musical score, what is left is a more basic, simple version of the ignored young girl who looks for her fantasy dream elsewhere and lurking underneath is a more mundane, almost plodding movie experience. It would have been interesting to see more of a conflicted "other" mother in the climatic scene to really provide an intense interactive, memorable scene as well as parents who seem a little more sympathetic and real to offer a bit of authenticity. It is only with the fusion of the 3-D and the natural fit that the story is brought into an amazing living experience that delights. 8/10.