Utter Brilliance

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2009)

If I had to sum up this movie with two words they would be the following: Utter brilliance.
This picture is outstanding in every single way - of course you have to be a fan of stop motion films - but if you can enjoy their charm and have a little flair for surreal fantasy I promise that you will not be disappointed. In my humble opinion this movie even beats 'A Nightmare Before Christmas', for itself a truly great film already. But lets stop with the praising and bring on some facts.
I was astounded by the way the whole movie looks. The design of the whole movie very special and thought through to the tiniest bits. It is obvious that the makers of this movie really put a lot of effort into the small details - you may not even notice them the first time you see them, but they make the world and the whole story in Coraline that much more fun and make everything seem to 'fit together'. The voice acts are chosen very good as well, they really bring out the characters that the visual design is presenting on screen.
Which brings me to the story. Without any spoilers: It is a clever mix of spooky fantasy tale that 'leaks' into the real world and mixes up with the problems the little girl Coraline has with her parents. The concept is not new at all, but the details are nicely worked out nonetheless - and to be honest while watching the movie I was far to much baffled with all brilliant animations and things going on to wonder about the story.
The animations of this movie deserve their own special kudos. As a spectator you can sometimes hardly tell if what you're seeing is real, or stop motion or CGI - it just blends in perfectly. And you will get to see things I did not even think possible with stop motion technique. Make sure to stay after the credits for a very short outtake where you see the making of a stop motion scene before they retouched the supporting props.
The score of Coraline is another praiseworthy feature. It got a distinct character and a recurring theme that is picked up multiple times over the whole movie - but without being repetitive or cheap. The soundtrack really helped to capture my attention during the whole of the 100 minutes.
All in all: Coraline is in my eyes a truly great movie for everyone, especially if you're into stop motion pictures or sinister fantasy stories. To parents out there: Although it might look like it this is not a children's film, so you might think about seeing the movie first before you show it to your eight year old kids... (There isn't any inappropriate content at all, but the story and the visuals are rather intense.)
I hope my comment has helped you. If I overlooked some spelling mistakes please excuse, I'm not a native speaker.