I know it's only the beginning of February, but this may already be one of the best movies of the year

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 2009)

Here's the deal. I'm an elementary teacher. This is a movie based on a popular children's book. Of course I have to see it. I hope everyone appreciates that. So I dragged along a date to pick up some 3D glasses in a theatre full of bawling children... who quickly settled down once the story line got going.
This is quality that has not been seen since "The Nightmare Before Christmas". "Coraline" is an absolutely spell-binding story with a solid foundation in childhood innocence combined with the eerie and bizarre. I loved the book, and this for the most part stayed very true to the book--most differences were more of expansions of the story than glaring changes. Coraline and her family move into an apartment building full of strange characters. Coraline is sad and bored and her parents just don't seem to have time for her. The only other kid around is weird. So when she stumbles upon a passage way to an alternate and magical world controlled by her Other Mother, Coraline is understandibly thrilled. And then the horror begins...
The animation (or rather, stop-motion) is incredible, and I don't think the movie would have been the same with any other medium. I loved the cast. The soundtrack is properly creepy. This new 3D program is far from gimicky. But still, what truly makes this movie is the haunting story and that is probably what will hopefully make it memorable.
I don't know if I would be bringing the babies into this film, but I did read the novel to my first graders last year and they enjoyed it. Frankly, I would prefer to think of this as a family movie rather than a "kiddie film" as I consider the novel a children's novel. It's one of those stories that will appeal to all ages.