Sew buttons on your eyes
Coraline is a bored girl. She has just moved into a new town; more specifically into a new house that is pink and very odd. Her parents are hard at work with a gardening catalogue and she simply isn’t getting much love or attention from either. When she discovers a key that unlocks a wall papered door she soon finds the comfort she so desperately needs. Walking into a world that is the complete opposite of her real world, she finds ‘another mother’ who serves her everything she needs; comfort, attention and good food. Regretfully, all is not what it seems. Outside of the glaring differences, she also notices one tiny detail that everyone appears to be sporting in this new world: buttons for eyes. They mystery of why these people have buttons begins to unravel and the world she found comfort in begins to twist and turn before her lone eyes.
This movie scares the bejesus out of me for some strange reason. It’s certainly dark, which is what you should expect from the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas Henry Selick. It casts an eerily frightening view of how one adult can manipulate and trap a child. How this occurs is beyond creepy. What’s even worse is that from an adult perspective you can actually see it coming. The main antagonist in the film sells her innocent demeanor very well to the unsuspecting Coraline. She feeds off of Coraline’s loneliness and boredom and creates a world that is magical and suspicious from the get-go. She is a very scary villain and one I don’t want to get too much into because I don’t want to give any important parts away. Just know this, if you feel like something is very amiss please go with it. With that said, everything about the film has that magical, yet German expressionistic feel to it. You have a lot of heavy darks contrasting with lights which make everyone, including Coraline at times, seem very mysterious and suspect. You never truly gain much comfort in the world that Selick creates; especially so when it’s the ‘other world’. His atmosphere is almost too scary at times and one you just want to turn away from especially when everything starts going wrong.
As for the stop-motion, it only helps the creepiness. You have a lot of jerky motions that spring surprises at time. This type of animation is far superior to the stuff that Pixar and Dreamworks sports. Sure it takes a helluva long time to create it, but there’s something solid about stop-motion. You get a lot more reality in it then what you would find in the completely CG’d stuff. I’m happy that Selick chose this route and method because it reinforces his story. It helps create a more beautiful atmosphere and puts the viewer closer to the action. Simply put, it’s a more gorgeous way to watch it.
The actors they recruited for the film couldn’t have been more perfect. I haven’t seen Teri Hatcher do anything since Tomorrow Never Dies. I’m sure she has done something (and I’m far too lazy to look it up on IMDB), but it’s nice to see her return in a duel role as the mother and ‘other’ mother. She is heartwarming, frightening, but more importantly convincing as the mom with no time and all the time in the world. You should also give props to John Hodgman (the PC in the apple commercials) who plays her father and he actually sings in the role as well. Fantastic voice-over guy, by the way. Welcoming, goofy and more loving than Hatcher’s Mother (the character, not her actual mom), Hodgman sells the role well. Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French have returned for Selick (remember them from his James and the Giant Peach production? No? Well, you should) as two flighty old biddies who help our main character out. French’s Forcible will make you sick a bit; not because of the way she voices her over, but because of her costume in the singing portion of the play that the ‘other’ world puts on. My God I may never eat fish again. Anyway, last but not least is the ever-impressive performance by Dakota Fanning as Coraline. This girl has some great talent and I was happy to see that no one emotionally scarred her for this role (prior to this, I’ve seen nearly all her films and in each one she is forced to cry as if she’s attending the funeral of a loved one). She is tough, brave and also vulnerable as Coraline. Fanning is fantastic in this role; she seems made for it.
As for the film itself (adult view)….
Okay, so after watching this film I found this film hard to watch. It was a bit jumpy here and there in the story and it seemed to leave a few things out. For example, when Coraline has discovered her parents missing she seeks the guidance of Forcible (French) and Spink (Saunders). The old ladies produce a device that is just that, a device. It’s not explained how they obtained it or explained how they know it relates to the ‘other’ world; it simply is just a device produced to progress the story. The movie does things like this consistently throughout. Now, outside of that, the movie is really a scare-fest and bit more intense than anything that Selick has done previously. You have moments in the film that seem too adult for kids to watch. For example, there is a scene where the first mom is calling a character (Mr. B) a drunk. I can’t remember the last kid’s film where a character is referred to as a ‘drunk’; that’s a bit harsh for my tastes. Another example, when Forcible is sporting some tassels on her breast area and a tiny pair of panties, that’s a bit too ‘adult’. There are a few examples where as an adult you’ll just flinch a bit and make sure your kids are okay. Maybe it’s the parent part of me, I’m not sure; all I know is that the film at times makes me uncomfortable to watch.
With that said, my kids love this film. They don’t get too scared from it, they don’t turn away from it, they simply adore Coraline’s character and her adventure. They understand the scary parts of the film and simply have fun with it. The black cat, which is played by the talented Keith David, is one of their favorite supporting characters. They love the subtle darkness of the film and embrace it completely without nightmares. Don’t get me wrong, the first night they watched this they did it in pieces, but nights three, four, five and six they watched it all the way through. They now demand this film and it makes me happy and worried at the same time.
Even cooler for them is the fact that it’s in 3D. They love the 3D and the effect is done well. I’m happy that Universal included multiple pairs of 3D glasses because otherwise one of my kids would be left out. It’s nice to see that you can choose between the modes too, which is something that most movies like this have (but all should support). So, on the 3D side of things you certainly get a delightful treat that the kids (at least mine) really appreciate and enjoy.
Boo-ray is nice
Watching both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the film gives me even more respect for it. The Blu-ray version brings out even more atmosphere to the film. You get to see more things that you previously may not have caught. Watching it in 1080p and 720p really creates no contest on quality. The lighting, the environments and the dark atmosphere really do excel beyond the DVD version of the film. The soundtrack and effects are also amplified and enhanced on the Blu-ray side as well, as you get all of the wonderful audio that you can handle in 5.1 DTS-HD.
As for features, here’s what you’re getting:
– The making of Coraline
– Voicing the Characters
– Creepy Coraline
– Commentary from Selick and composer Bruno Coulais
– BD-Live
While you don’t have the quantity here, you certainly get the quality. These are the first features that my kids sat down and watched with me. It was neat for them to identify that none of this was real and even neater for them to be intrigued by how it was all done. If I had known that special features would peak their interest like this, I would have shown them more on different films. Getting back on topic, the features will provide you with an appreciation for the effort that went into making Coraline. It must have been a painstaking process, but it paid off at the end.