Wondrous Experience

Rating: 10/10 (22 March 2009)

I could easily pile up a mountain of superlatives here and say there won't be a better movie this year; it's very early, so there might still be a chance. Whichever the case might be, it's going to be tough to top the levels of creativity, beauty, and talent we see in this masterpiece.
With some obvious parallels to the basic storyline in "Alice in Wonderland", "Coraline" has some big shoes to fill, and this is done from its very early scenes, as the craftsmanship, modern cinematic advancements in 3-D, and the skillful direction show that we are going to witness a special film. After our mouths close from looking at the gorgeous universe of Coraline's "boring" world, we are deftly enveloped by the magical script, and the experience continues, as we meet what we believe are the main characters of the story. In reality, nothing is what it appears to be, and since we are identifying with Coraline's frustrations and ennui, we must also channel her reactions and have a taste of what is to come.
Very little will prepare you for our introduction to the world that will attempt to seduce our heroine. There were hints of the powerful visuals that superb artists can create with stop motion and thorough knowledge of colors and shapes, but the beauty and composition in the "parallel universe" is like nothing we have seen before. For a moment, I felt like the 1939 audiences must have felt when Dorothy walked into the wonderful world of Oz. Here is a world where fantasies can come true, wishes become reality, and our lives might never be the same.
We will expecting much more from our movies after this superb and sublime film. It is like staring at the muses of the Greeks in the face, seeing how simple shapes and colors, basic concepts such as love, loss, fear and happiness are manipulated to give a fresh twist to stories we have seen before.
Much credit should be given to two of the actors in this film who give life to Coraline and her two mothers. Without their flawless interaction, the film would not soar. There is also a lovely score that charms, haunts, and seduces us into believing there is some magic left out there.
There is a very simple moral to the story, but its presentation is anything but routine; it's a marvel to behold and to emulate, something that should be treasured forever.