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Coraline Jones is eleven years old and she’s bored, bored, bored. She and her parents have just moved to a boring new apartment in a boring rainy new state. She doesn’t know anyone; her parents are terribly busy writing a gardening catalog and have no time for her. The eccentric neighbors in the apartment house are intriguing, and more than a little unusual, but Coraline finds them boring, too.
Thus opens the decidedly un-boring film CORALINE, a stop-action animated marvel directed by Henry Selick. The film is based on the best-selling novella of the same title by award-winning science-fiction and fantasy writer Neil Gaiman. Painstakingly crafted over several years with a production staff of 450, CORALINE was filmed completely in 3-D, which only enhances its incredible visual appeal. CORALINE is showing in 2-D as well; check with your local theater.
Henry Selick is no stranger to the delights and difficulties of stop-action animation. He directed THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, which set the standard for the genre in 1993. Imagine the meticulous craftsmanship that conceiving and creating a fantastical world requires without computer-generated images. From tiny handmade clothing, to a working piano, from a garden tractor shaped like a praying mantis to an old-fashioned burlesque theater, the miniatures and models of Coraline’s world are precise and perfect. The lighting design makes this tiny set even more realistic; there is no feeling of watching a doll’s house on this set, even though that’s precisely what the audience is seeing. Selick is the master of this universe, always in control. |
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The story begins simply and works to a frantic pace by the film’s end. Coraline finds a small door behind the wallpaper of her family’s new apartment, and this door leads to a parallel home inhabited by the Other Mother and the Other Father. These Others are eerily similar to her own parents, but better. They are more attractive, despite their button eyes, and completely devoted to Coraline’s happiness. Coraline’s mother serves chard; the Other Mother serves roast chicken and mashed potatoes and cupcakes. Coraline’s father is harried and distracted; the Other Father writes songs about Coraline and has designed a fanciful garden where even the flowers and insects exist only for Coraline‘s pleasure. The eccentric neighbors are engaging and charming, staging elaborate performances for Coraline, as opposed to the real neighbors who are tired, washed-up performers with no audiences. And in this Other world, nobody mispronounces Coraline’s name. Of course Coraline is enchanted with this Other world, and the Other Mother offers her a chance to stay there forever. Coraline must only allow buttons to be sewn over her own eyes, and the deal will be made. The thought of this terrifies our heroine, and the Other Mother’s terrifying plot begins to unfold. Coraline must save herself, the souls of three dead children, and her parents by winning a sinister and seemingly impossible game with the Other Mother.
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If this synopsis seems creepy and dark, it is. Although CORALINE carries a PG-13 rating, it’s a scary movie, and younger children may be frightened and a bit overwhelmed by the tension as it builds. Because Selick imbues common objects with sinister meaning, the audience feels a bit off-balance as the story unfolds. Buttons, stuffed animals, dragonflies, lapdogs, even flowers morph from shiny and happy to downright dangerous.
Classic fairy tales are often violent and horrifying, and CORALINE borrows heavily and unapologetically from this tradition. Many classic components of fantasy are present as well, from a fairy-ring of mushrooms that surrounds an abandoned well to a scryer’s stone. Selick takes tried-and-true conventions and twists them into the fabric of his fable, lending it weight and importance. Although the film’s ending is satisfying and logical, it is not all sweetness and light. Be prepared (and prepare the kids) for a trip into a dangerous web of a world that is disguised in icing and charm. |
The film asks the viewer to consider some moral questions, and this adds yet another direction to this cinematic journey. In fact, CORALINE could be called a morality play. Should we try to create our own worlds designed to satisfy our need to be loved? Do we have an obligation to save a stranger? Should we undertake heroic deeds knowing that those deeds will go unrecognized? There is a clear parallel in the film’s ending to the end of the Wizard of Oz — was Coraline’s adventure real, or a dream? And can you really find your hearts desire in your own back yard?
Although CORALINE has been marketed as a family film, and although 3-D movies tend to seem gimmicky, CORALINE is a mature story with rich characters. The time and care taken with its production are evident in each frame of film. The accomplishment here is in the details, and none are missed. The companion website to the film is highly interactive and worth a visit at Coraline.com. It’s also rather creepy, so make your time there something for you and a younger child to do together. Then head to the theater with kids in tow to see CORALINE, and be prepared for a cautionary tale that’s not particularly cheerful, but immensely entertaining. Four and a half stars for this animated masterpiece. |
