Brilliant animation

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2009)

Having seen "The Nightmare Before Christmas" many times and loving every minute of it I was keen to see Henry Selick's latest stop-go animation story. When I learnt that the film was based on a book by Neil Gaiman I was even more certain that I would enjoy it. When I watched "Coraline" I was not disappointed in the slightest. I hadn't seen a 3D film since the awful Jaws 3D so wasn't sure how the 3D would work here, thankfully it felt immersive rather than just having the occasional item appear to jump out the screen. Watching on DVD meant wearing red/green glasses which obviously had an effect on the colour of the film, while many colours appeared washed out others appeared much more intense such as Coraline's blue hair and yellow coat. Thankfully this just had the effect of making the film slightly more creepy.
The heroine of this film is the eponymous Coraline, her family have moved from Michigan to rural Oregon. She is bored there and her parents are too busy to do anything with her. While exploring the old house they have moved into she finds a small door; at first it is bricked up but later as she is asleep it opens, she wakes up and follows a mouse through the door. When she get to the other side she finds herself in what appears to me her own house but it isn't quite the same, everything is slightly better. When she goes downstairs she finds her mother cooking, at least she thinks it is her mother till she turns around and reveals that instead of eyes she has two black buttons. After initial concern she begins to love the new world and is tempted to stay until she learns what the price of staying is... to have her eyes replaced with buttons. Things then get creepier as her "other mother" is determined that Coraline will stay.
As one would expect from the creator of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" the animation is fantastic, be warned though this is a much darker story which parents might want to watch before letting younger children view it, while many children will delight in its creepiness others might have nightmares. The voice cast did a fine job notably Dakota Fanning as Coraline, Teri Hatcher as her mother and French and Saunders as the two ex-burlesque dancers who live downstairs. I certainly recommend this film for adults and most children, just remember it might be a bit scary for very young or timid children.