As a huge fan of Stop Motion animation I was looking forward to the latest film from Director Henry Selick (Nightmare before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach. Coraline is a visually rich piece of animation made even better with the use of unobtrusive 3D.Its a shame then that the story, based on Neil Gaiman`s book,can`t match the visuals on display.
Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) is a little girl who has moved to a new home with her parents, who show little interest in what she does as they are both writers. Whilst exploring her new home she comes across a door hidden behind wallpaper which when opened leads to another world much like the one she lives in, only there her parents are better versions of her real world parents. They spend time with her, play games, cook and tuck her into bed at night. The only thing is they have sinister buttons for eyes and if Coraline wishes to stay in this world she to will have to have a pair of button eyes.
Coraline lives in a house called the Pink Palace which also has a number of other residents living there.There is a pair of theatrical, tea leaf reading sisters voiced by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders,a Russian circus entertainer voiced brilliantly by Ian McShane (Lovejoy) and a cat who has the ability to travel to both worlds.A local boy who knows more about the Pink Palaces history than he initially lets on, tries to befriend Coraline but she just finds him irritating.
Initially Coraline loves the new world she has discovered but begins to realise it is all just superficial and that she is not the first child her (other)mother(Teri Hatcher) has tried to sew the buttons on.As the film progress `s it takes on a much darker tone which may be a little to scary for younger children, and the film is strangely devoid of humour.
It features a few standout sequences, one when Coraline visits her (other)father in the garden and it grows around her, as well as the ending which for some reason reminded me a lot of the end of Aliens. These two sequences are some of the finest examples of stop motion animation ever commited to film. As I said the 3D is unobtrusive to the point you forget you are watching a 3D film it simply adds a lot more depth to the picture.Voice work by all involved is excellent.
Closing Comment
A beautifully animated film let down by a lack of engaging story. 3 Stars
2 Responses
It was quite wierd to enjoy this film as a 19 year old, and yet wonder if it was really right for children. The last third would probably terrify them out of their wits.
That said, this is one of my favorite films ive seen recently. ‘Im your other mother, silly.’ is just a brilliant line and it drew me to the film when i saw the ad’s.
So yeah, good film.
Posted on May 19th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Yeah i felt it was aimed more at Goth and Emo teens more than children, as you say its to scary in parts.
Posted on May 21st, 2009 at 11:57 am
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