Huh??

Rating: 3/10 (26 February 2009)

I am a big fan of animation, but the love for this movie has me scratching my head. I'm sure the families who fled mid-movie, and the crying children in the audience might agree. I haven't read the Neil Gaiman graphic novel that the movie is based upon, but the story is another Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland wannabe, replete with a curious young girl and the eccentric characters she encounters in an alternate world. CORALINE, however, lacks the wit and social observations of its predecessor, and more strikingly lacks the humor and heart of most any Disney/Pixar animation feature.
First of all, when are parents going to learn to heed the movie rating system? This is definitely not a movie for young children. There are ghosts of dead children, for one thing. Another scene - a burlesque with two old women - is very graphic in showing one woman's HUGE knockers covered by the tiniest of stripper's pasties. It makes Little Annie Fannie from Playboy look flat-chested. One family left right after this scene.
For an adult like myself, despite all its wonderful visuals, it still seemed plodding and overlong. Halfway through I raised my 3-D glasses to rub my eyes, wondering when it was all going to end, and I made an important discovery. In 3-D, the movie loses its color and intensity, due to the dark glasses. The difference is like the night switch on your rearview mirror. If I had any desire to see this movie again, I'm sure I'd prefer the 2-D version with its brilliant colors over the dull 3-D version.