Coraline.

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2009)

As a Neil Gaiman fan, I was, of course, very happy with the book "Coraline", and was extremely excited to hear that a movie was being made for it. I had very high expectations from director Henry Selick after seeing 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'James and the Giant Peach'.
I was not disappointed.
It followed the book surprisingly closely, though there were a few anomalies (the character of Wybie, for instance, didn't exist in the book). It had that Tim Burton-esquire feel about it; terrifying, but in an entertaining sort of way. There were one or two scenes which were a little over-the-top for younger children, but that's to be expected.
You could just tell from the opening scene alone that you were in for a treat. Hauntingly beautiful, well choreographed, and, plain and simple, a bit terrifying; it really hooked your attention and promised a good time.
However, there were two problems throughout the movie that I could spot:
One was that some scenes were a little choppy in the animation; almost like they hadn't quite taken enough pictures to make it run smoothly. Unfortunately, with stop-motion animation, this is difficult to avoid, and it isn't overly distracting anyway.
The other was Coraline's mother was a little... angry. Yes, she's supposed to be constantly frustrated and such, but I think she went a little overboard. Fortunately, Teri Hatcher redeemed herself with her portrayal of the Other Mother, which was brilliant.
Coraline earns a 9.5 out of 10.