You probably think this world is a dream come true... but you're wrong.

Recently went with Moward to see 'Coraline' in 3D - on a blustery, windy, rainy SF night. While I was rather fond of the concept of this film (Neil Gaiman, dark fairy tale etc.) and the overall effect, there is a huge ZOMGNERD in me that enjoyed the quality of the 'Making of' clips better than the actual movie. (which are all available online)

Based on a novel by Neil Gaiman, Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is the story of a young girl who moves into a new house, that is also occupied by a couple of quirky neighbors - despite which she becomes bored, restless and neglected by her over worked parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgeman). One night, after being given a doll by a neighbor kid that looks exactly like her only with buttons for eyes, Coraline finds a mysterious tunnel behind a locked hatch door in her living room that leads to another world. An exact replica of her own, but with some fantastical dream like qualities. Like mice that perform in a circus, flower gardens that play and tease her, and wonders of wonders, parents who not only pay attention to her but are perfect Stepford renditions of the originals. But with sinister intentions. The 'Other Mother', actually a demon in disguise (the Beldame, a version of a succubus) demands that Coraline stay in the fantastic world so that she can feed off her energy and kidnaps Coraline's real parents in order to trap Coraline into agreeing. Not to be fooled, ala Harry Potter or any of your modern day spunky heroines, Coraline gets the Beldame to agree to free her mother and the other children if she can successfully recapture the rest of their trapped spirits and find her parents.

There are some beautiful aspects to the film that are truly astounding. And only lend themselves to the storytelling. The actual crafting that went into the film is incredible - from the thousands of yards of gold wire that was used to make the hair of one of the characters to the teeny tiny sweaters with intarsia stars that were knitted for Coraline, to the sets that were created - this film is worth seeing just for all the craft that went into it. It is a Bay Area Etsy esque dream. Truly, this is not your regular stop animation film. The craftspeople deserve an award for their sheer will in making all the elements of this film.



First of all, there is just some incredible animation. The multitude of some of the scenes, including the variables of the mouse circus and the flower garden scene - and there is a slick Hollywood feel to the film that flows between scenes nicely. Action sequences work incredibly well and the softness of the evening scenes paired with the sharp washed out aspects of the others is truly lovely. The filmmakers should truly feel proud of this film which is a theatrical feat and rarity. A stop animation movie that bears muster with creations like, "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (same director) and the Wallace and Gromit films - good enough and long enough to be a feature film with national distribution.

That being said, there are a couple of detracting factors, one which might be the scope of which the film was shot in-which included the huge sweeping sets. If you watch a 'Wallace and Gromit' film, one of the most delightful part of those films is how much the animators achieve in such a tiny tiny space. In the realm of one room there are clocks, coffee pots, mechanized arms and Rube Goldberg type machines that move elements throughout. With Coraline, these elements exist but in a much more mundane and less fantastical way. For example, during the dinner scene - a literal gravy train and drink dispensing chandelier are less focal points than they are background supporting actors. Even a praying mantis shaped gardening tool/machine is not so incredible until it becomes a horrifying killing machine.

As the book and movie may be pointing out, as much as these beautiful creations awe and delight, they have the tendency to feel almost as empty as the drab world Coraline has been trying to escape. There's is no soul-just a terrifying desire to please the ego of an 11 year old who honestly would like stability, homeyness and a little discipline to go along with her colorless life. She wants to matter and for people to listen. But like her "real" life, the other life is just as dangerously mundane - since her other mother only wants to control and manipulate Coraline under the guise of affection. Things slowly start to turn and twist into horrifying renditions of their original shapes as the Other Mother starts to lose control over Coraline's personality.

Which brings me to the two most disappointing aspects of Coraline. The first of all being the 3-D factor. I watched Wall-E last year and found it to be one of the most beautiful films I'd seen in a while. Because of the way it approached sweeping scenes and still managed to focus beautifully on it's main character in a way that didn't feel silly or too grandiose. The music, animation and story all swelled and flowed in a way that seemed organic. And of course there was the greater humanistic morality tale tied into the gentler love story. There's no reason for hiding anything in such a well made film. But the 3D aspect of Coraline, which was what we ended up paying an extra $3 for only made me nauseous. It seems a gimmick geared at hiding flaws which is honestly unnecessary for a quality film like this one actually is. What is a neat party trick takes away from the craftsmanship that this movie took. And it's impossible to watch the movie without the glasses. Because of the way the film is shot, the quality without the glasses becomes fuzzy. You do get used to it after a while, but the first ten minutes can be a crap shoot about whether or not you head (first) into the toilets.

Second? The acting is just sub par when compared with the animation. Look, kudos for casting an actual "desperate housewife" for the role of Mother/Other Mother - but was Marcia Cross not available? She would have made a vastly more interesting and sinister Other Mother than Teri Hatcher whose form of evil just goes into histrionic. (did you not SEE 'Melrose Place'?) And Dakota Fanning as Coraline has the annoying brat down pat, but fails to create a sympathetic or heroic character. And the three ghost children? I wouldn't necessarily want to save someone who was calling me, "Miss" all the time. For the amount of time that was spent on the two spinsters (incredible by the way), you would think that the creators would want to spend a little more time on the characters who a) send Coraline on her quest and b) provide the most vital information about the Beldame in the first place.


Overall, it's a gorgeous movie, and much of the acting by Mac/PC and Daily Show straightman John Hodgeman is great. It's wonderful to hear him sing and the rest of the supporting cast, including Ian McShane (Deadwood) as Bobinski and Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as the two Vaudevillian spinsters Fink and Forcible (ahah, great play on names - go Neil), Keith David as the magnanimous Cat, is amazing. Yes, it's creepy - but hey, that's what makes it good. As a fine return in the Grimm Fairy Tale tradition, Coraline does what most good fairy tales should, be careful what you wish for and always remember to stick to your own strength to get you through to the truth.