Based on the novel by the great Neil Gaiman, Coraline wraps the best and worst of childhood into a mesmerizing fairy tale filled with the haunting imagery they used to have before being Disneyfied.
Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) has just moved from the busting urban life of Michigan to the rainy, remote woods of Oregon. Along with Mother (Teri Hatcher) and Father (John Hodgman), they take residence inside a creepy Old Victorian home that’s shared with a pair of retired actresses (a reunited Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders) named Miss Forcible and Miss Spink and Bobinsky (Ian McShane), a Russian acrobat with an army of trained mice. Coraline is instantly bored and can’t get a minute of attention from her parents who are far too busy putting together a gardening catalog. Like any good writer, her father has grown gaunt and pale while sitting in front of his computer. The closest person to a friend Coraline finds is Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr.), an odd boy who follows her around on a motorbike while wearing a skeleton mask.
While exploring her new home, Coraline discovers a little door that’s been bricked over. One night, she finds the passageway unblocked and crawls through to discover a lavish parallel world. Everything is more colorful and fantastical on this side. She meets her Other Mother and Other Father who look just like her real parents except they have black buttons instead of eyes. They fix her an exquisite feast and take her for a ride in the garden on a mechanical praying mantis. However, Other Mother grows more and more possessive and Coraline finds there’s a heavy price to pay.
Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick mixes his own sensibilities with the Gothic surrealism of the Quay Brothers for this modernized take on Alice in Wonderland. It’s as much a coming-of-age tale as it is a wonderful piece of fantasy with all its Freudian imagery of our plucky heroine crawling through a birthing canal towards a field of blossoming flowers. It’s funny, heartwarming, and a little creepy, but in the most fun of ways.
Traditional hand-drawn animation is still clinging to life against the rampant glut of computer animated films, but stop-motion is a dying art form. Coraline is evidence that the medium still has legs. It’s far more gorgeous than anything you could pull off on your Macs. If you get the chance, view the film in 3D. Coraline manages to use 3D as an enhancement rather than a cheap gimmick where characters throw objects at the audience. It allows the audience to immerse themselves in the world of Coraline and enriches the environment. This is a breathtaking animated film and an easy contender for the Oscar. The achievements of the filmmakers is even more amazing when you take into account that everything was built by hand and shot a frame at a time.
Rating: *** ½
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