Breaking Through to the Other Side

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2009)

I'm angry at Henry Selick. He hasn't directed a good stop motion film since James and the Giant Peach which was thirteen years ago. He's finally returned to form and produced a soon-to-be cult classic much like The Nightmare Before Christmas. Like his signature film, Coraline will find audience outside its target. Do not take your young children to see this movie. It will either frighten them or perplex them. It is like the best psychological horror films in its ability to create innate tension through droll environments. It doesn't sound novel on paper, and it isn't. Coraline is a dark fantasy story brought to life (or death) through 3D technology. It's also one of the first non-Pixar movies I've watched that doesn't treat 3D as a gimmick.
I've not read much of Neil Gaiman's, but I've seen many movies adapted from his work. Many of them contain an Alice in Wonderland story, in which a character discovers another world. Stardust and Coraline are both in this vein. I found the former to be inappropriately silly. Whatever the main guy's name is doesn't seem affected by his otherworldly discovery. Coraline is sinister, and therefore the preferred approach. The other world is a dangerous, inhospitable place. The heroine is adolescent Coraline Jones, whose parents have recently relocated to a desolate apartment in nowheresville. They spend all of their time working in poorly-lighted rooms. There is only one other child Coraline's age and she doesn't like him. Wybie, the other child, tells Coraline that many children have gone missing in the apartment. She doesn't believe him, of course. So she pokes around the house until she discovers a strange door. Inside is a Candy Land world where everything she desires is present. Her "other" parents are expressive and loving. They lack human eyes, instead sporting buttons, which do not affect their ability to see. Coraline begins visiting frequently until the Other Mother asks her if she would like to stay permanently. Other Mother is revealed to be an ageless enigma, preying on the unhappiness of children. The children are kept forever in a purgatory state, unless they can find their human eyes. Coraline escapes back to the first world to discover that her parents are missing. She must return to Other World and rescue them, along with the eyes of Mother's other victims. She wants to set them free. It's a cheap storyline device that forces the story forward to its scary conclusion. The story falls flat once the other world is discovered, so a new evil is invented. The last segment has a video game quality to it. Watching Coraline collect various items, while using an object to discern the true nature of the other world reminded me of a similar plotting element from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Coraline isn't your average Bolt-like children's movie. It's frightening and unsettling. I even jumped out of my seat a few times, dare I admit. Selick's art design may be similar to Tim Burton's but nothing more. The film's pallet is dark until the very end. Think about the opening shots of Wall-E. No uplifting songs or sympathy with characters are present in Coraline. She's a disagreeable child who doesn't try to be lovable. She really needs a spanking. Coraline reminds me of her parents, in her callous disregard for other people. She isn't burdened with responsibility yet, so she's just unsociable. I can see her writing at the kitchen table for whatever reason like her mother does.
Some movies, not this one, are made to be viewed in 3D. If it isn't worth the ticket price, then have no qualms about watching it in 2D. Selick uses 3D to emphasize certain objects before Coraline approaches them. Remove all thoughts of My Bloody Valentine 3D from your head. The story is capable of scaring you without resulting to desperate pickaxe-in-your-face shots.
Selick has stated that the movie is for "brave children of all ages." I'd have to disagree with him. Coraline is a film for adults of all ages and some of their children. The drab set design, Other Mother's skeletal figure, and various cinematic elements will not appeal to youngsters. It's similar to Monster House. I'd love to see Selick adapt an adult Neil Gaiman novel or something else intended for an older audience. Horror anime has been available for years, yet the West has produced no suitable substitute. With a film like Coraline, we are beginning to fill that gap. This is the first great movie of 2009 and a Best Animated Picture candidate. Leave the kids at home when you go see it.