Post by Alice on Feb 8, 2009 1:57:28 GMT -8
I admit it. I have never heard of the book Coraline, nor the name of its author, Neil Gaiman. I've heard of another piece of work from him, Sandman, so hopefully I can redeem myself!
Apologies aside, thank you, Mr. Gaiman. And thank you, Henry Selick. While Tim Burton's name may be slapped on "The Nightmare Before Christmas," you were a large part of that stop-motion masterpiece... and "James and the Giant Peach." And you were also a part of "The Fox and the Hound," "Twice Upon a Time," and even "Return to Oz." Forget "Monkeybone;" you're awesome!
I'm in a trance; a dreamesque high! I feel so... so... I haven't felt this way about a stop-motion film since "Nightmare!" GOSH!
Now that I've settled, I'll try and be more constructive. Because this film is currently in theaters I won't give a scene-by-scene review.
"Coraline" is a stop-motion adaptation of Mr. Gaiman's book. The story is about the titular heroine (voiced admirably by Dakota Fanning) whose family recently moved into The Pink Palace apartments. The apartments are filled with eccentric and bizarre characters, and all of them gorgeous (in an animation sense; many of them are quite grotesque in appearance). There is even an "annoying kid next door" named Wybie (a character made for the film and not featured in the original novel, or so I've read) that Coraline meets, who introduces the heroine to a rather important cat (seductively voiced by Keith David).
It is soon apparent to any viewer that Coraline's life more or less sucks. She's moved into a psycho ward, no one really takes her seriously, Wybie is creepy and a stalker, and, most offensive of all, her parents, while supportive, pay very little attention to the girl.
Many characters also frequently mispronounce the girl's name as "Caroline," much to Coraline's chagrin.
The film does get off to a slow start, but that's understandable because we are introduced to the characters in that time. Coraline wishes for more affectionate parents, and a life of excitement and fun. One night when she falls asleep, she follows bizarre mice through a door in a wall (very much like "Alice in Wonderland," but Keith David's cat is also a nod to said classic), and discovers her Other Parents. They are essentially the same as her real parents, except for two major differences: 1) they are the polar opposites in terms of personality (they are hyper and affectionate), and 2) they have sewn buttons for eyes. As the film's story deepens, however, Coraline ultimately learns that there is something more to her Other Mother... possibly something quite unpleasant.
Did I mention this movie is extremely bizarre? It is; it is a family fantasy horror. While this can be acceptable for family viewing, how little kids will like the film is a gamble. I absolutely devoured "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (and this film, too), but there are plenty of other kids who wet their pants and scream for mommy. Bear in mind that this film is partially a horror flick, and it does get downright creepy at parts (the dogs... shudder, shudder).
I saw this movie with Amanda and Jake, in 3D. "Coraline" is the first stop-motion animated film to be filmed in RealD 3D, which is essentially a high quality form of three-dimensional cinema (say goodbye to those blue-and-red cardboard glasses!). While this film is still amazing without the 3D gimmick, said gimmick is awesome. There are some expected "jump-in-front-of-you" shots (one such shot actually made me throw back my head in surprise), but thankfully the film didn't care more about the 3D gimmick than the storytelling.
The animation is stunning. There are some CGI tricks, but there are also some jaw-dropping special effects that do not utilize a computer. What you see here has more warmth (and more hands-on care) than "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride." Coraline has the best hair I've ever seen on any stop-motion heroine, but her facial expressions really stand out. In fact, every single character in this film is tops in terms of animation, true sights to behold. The ultimate villain in particular is gorgeously (and frighteningly) animated.
The music is also superior to "Corpse," especially with the wide variety of instruments (and synthesizers) used. Worth noting is that They Might Be Giants was originally attached to this project, as both songwriters and score composers. For some reason they were detached from the project, but one of their songs remained.
The movie could be considered a musical, I guess, but most of the songs are sung by unseen background characters, played over the action. Some characters do burst out into song, but the songs are actually witty and at least catchy (the opera house scene manages to be both hilarious and disturbing at the exact same time). This will be the last time I kick sand in "Corpse Bride's" eyes: the songs in this film are better. (Can you tell I was disappointed in Tim Burton's last stop-motion film?)
This movie is awesome and I adore it. After "The Nightmare Before Christmas" it is my favorite stop-motion feature-length film. My one complaint, though, is that there is an unresolved/unexplained plot point. Without spoiling anything, a certain character strongly dislikes cats, though it's never stated why.
Of course, another complaint I have is that the dreamworld eventually ended.
Seeing this film in RealD 3D is highly recommended, but even without the snazzy glasses this film is a scary yet desirable trek through the dark.
***1/2 out of ****
Tune in next time: I will review "My Bloody Valentine" (1981) and "My Bloody Valentine 3D" (2009) in a duo review thread!
