Coraline

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Coraline

August 11th 2009 05:20

I’ve not read the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman, but as an animated movie Coraline (2009) is a treat-and-a-half. Directed and screen-written by Henry Selick who made The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and adapted arguably Roald Dahl’s darkest childrens' book James and the Giant Peach (1996), his adaptation of Gaiman’s dark and twisted fairie-tale is a sheer marvel of production design and stop-motion animation. In fact Selick was the production designer on Coraline, so I take my hat off twice.

11-year-old Coraline Jones and her weary writer parents Mel (Teri Hatcher) and Charlie (John Hodgman) have moved into the strange Pink Palace, which is an old Victorian home. Above her lives the extraordinary acrobat Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), and next to her live the two retired actresses Miss Miriam Forcible (Dawn French) and Miss April Spink (Jennifer Saunders). There’s also Coraline’s slightly weird neighbour, Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey, Jr.) who lives with his grandmother. Oh, and not forgetting the cute, but mangy black cat (Keith David) who seems to slink in and out of every scene; “Back home cats don’t talk, so how are you able to …?” “I just can.”

Coraline Charlie, Coraline and Mel Jones

The Joneses

Wybie, Coraline and real fog

Coraline is lonely and very bored. Her parents aren’t much fun, but then when are parents fun to an eleven-year-old? One afternoon Coraline happens upon a small secret door behind the sofa in the living room. She nags her mother to open it. But there’s only a brick wall behind. However, in the wee wee hours Coraline is woken by a mouse who leads her down to the doorway. This time a strange fabric-like tunnel leads to an identical living room, only this household has her Other Parents. Coraline is bemused to discover her Other Mother cooks a fine meal, her Other Father plays a mean bit of piano, and both parents seem like an awful lot of fun … except for the fact that they have buttons for eyes.

Miss April Spink and Miss Miriam Forcible

Coraline is Neil Gaiman’s phantasmogorical ode to Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia, except his descent into the nether regions of identity and mythology and childrens' fantastical delights is a lot stranger and creepier than Alice’s adventures, well, different to be sure. This is probably the most surreal children's movie I’ve ever seen, not one for the very young. It’s rated PG Contains Menacing Themes and Scary Scenes (ha, that even rhymes!)

Coraline finds the secret door ...

The characterisations are wonderfully etched and beautifully voiced. But it’s the extraordinary attention to detail in the art direction and animation technique (using what appear to be dolls/marionettes) which makes the movie so memorable. Oh, and of course, it was in state of the art 3D. Yes, that certainly added to the movie’s trippy feel. I think I’ll be slipping into something a little more comfortable next time I view the movie, although apparently the DVD 3D version uses the more rudimentary red & blue glasses and the effect is nowhere near as profound as the cinema 3D version. What a shame! Still, the movie is good enough to watch in standard two dimensions.

... and the secret tunnel beyond

There is a little CGI work involved, but nominal, and live action fog was filmed for one beautiful sequence. The colour palette is incredibly rich and vivid, and the score by Bruno Coulais is magical. They Might Be Giants originally provided ten or so songs, but then the movie was shifted from being a musical to something less, cheery, so only one song of theirs remains (which my wife immediately recognised, much to her delight).

Coraline's Other Mother, a beldam

The Other Bobinsky and his creepy circus

NB: With more and more movies, especially animated features, being released in 3D versions, it makes me want to watch every movie in 3D. Bring it on I say! I can’t wait for James Cameron’s Avatar at the end of the year!

Here's the trailer:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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4 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Natalina

August 11th 2009 06:11

My Life My Muse
Beta Girl Blog

This movie was pure magic from start to finish. It reminded me of the dark and whimsical tales that I loved so much as a little girl. I just watched it on DVD a couple of days ago, without the 3D, and it held up just as well. I love love love love loved this movie.

I'm a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's brand of fantasy. My favorite book of his was Stardust, but Coraline is a close second, and I loved the movie version of Coraline 10 times more than the movie version of Stardust (although I enjoyed that as well).

Glad you liked it, Bryn. Great review.

Comment by Jason King

August 11th 2009 07:24

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

I loved the look of it and found it just ok - I loved the artistic direction but it never got close to The Nightmare B4 Xmas - anyways - am about to post my article on it in the next hour or so. Nice review Bryn