Coraline Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

Like Caroline, but, jumbled up like.

It is like Nightmare before Christmas meets Beetlejuice without the Charismatic super-lead of either picture.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Based on the Neil Gaiman novel and directed by genius 'Nightmare Before Christmas' animator Henry Selick, 'Coraline' comes to the screen with an exceptional pedigree. Unsurprisingly, it is visually sumptuous, endlessly creative and genuinely creepy even when seen in 2D (although the 3D cinema experience is breathtaking). When young Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) moves with her neglectful parents to a rickety old house in the country, she finds her life among the self-possessed adults she shares it with dreary and unexciting. A secret door leads to a parallel world where people have buttons for eyes and everyone is nice to her. Needless to say, things in this fantasy world are not what they seem - and things take a very dark turn. So far, so 'Alice In Wonderland' (or, indeed, 'Pan's Labyrinth', or any number of other films in which children visit magic netherworlds). And, while 'Coraline' is never less than visually captivating, it is less so in the story department. Gaiman's modern fairytale is typically subversive and has a cynical moral for children that no matter how lousy your parents are, things could be always be worse. Combined with a pace that could test younger and more fidgety children, 'Coraline' marks itself as one of the oddest family animated films of recent years. That said, the delightful stop-motion, quirky characters and macabre tone will appeal to thoughtful children and adults alike. For all its faults, 'Coraline' is still a work of astonishing craftmanship and vision.