Coraline (2009)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers (WGA):

Henry Selick (screenplay)
Neil Gaiman (book)

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Be careful what you wish for.

Plot:

An adventurous girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Plot Keywords:

Parent | Young Girl | Old Dark House | Fantasy World | Ghost Child

US Showtimes:

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Cast

Dakota Fanning	...	Coraline Jones (voice)
Teri Hatcher	...	Mother / Other Mother (voice)
Jennifer Saunders	...	Miss Spink (voice)
Dawn French	...	Miss Forcible (voice)
Keith David	...	Cat (voice)
John Hodgman	...	Father / Other Father (voice)
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Wybie Lovat (voice)
Ian McShane	...	Mr. Bobinsky (voice)
Aankha Neal	...	Sweet Ghost Girl (voice)
George Selick	...	Ghost Boy (voice)
Hannah Kaiser	...	Tall Ghost Girl (voice)
Harry Selick	...	Photo Friend #1 (voice)
Marina Budovsky	...	Photo Friend #2 (voice)
Emerson Hatcher	...	Magic Dragonfly (voice)
Jerome Ranft	...	Mover (voice)

Also Known As:

Coraline & the Secret Door (Australia) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor.

Runtime:

USA:100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #45001) | UK:PG | Finland:K-7 | Ireland:PG | Brazil:Livre | Portugal:M/6 (Qualidade) | Argentina:13 | Peru:PT | South Korea:All | Hong Kong:IIA | Mexico:A | Netherlands:6 | Sweden:11 | Iceland:L | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Company:

Laika Entertainment

Trivia:

In Quebec, the French version features the voices of Catherine Brunet, 'Genevieve Brouillette' and Jean-Michel Anctil.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Coraline falls asleep on the picture frame, at first it is facing down, but when the shot changes it has flipped to facing up.

Quotes:

Other Father: So sharp, you won't feel a thing...

Movie Connections:

References Psycho (1960)

Soundtrack:

Nellie Jean

Coraline.

As a Neil Gaiman fan, I was, of course, very happy with the book "Coraline", and was extremely excited to hear that a movie was being made for it. I had very high expectations from director Henry Selick after seeing 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'James and the Giant Peach'.

I was not disappointed.

It followed the book surprisingly closely, though there were a few anomalies (the character of Wybie, for instance, didn't exist in the book). It had that Tim Burton-esquire feel about it; terrifying, but in an entertaining sort of way. There were one or two scenes which were a little over-the-top for younger children, but that's to be expected.

You could just tell from the opening scene alone that you were in for a treat. Hauntingly beautiful, well choreographed, and, plain and simple, a bit terrifying; it really hooked your attention and promised a good time.

However, there were two problems throughout the movie that I could spot:

One was that some scenes were a little choppy in the animation; almost like they hadn't quite taken enough pictures to make it run smoothly. Unfortunately, with stop-motion animation, this is difficult to avoid, and it isn't overly distracting anyway.

The other was Coraline's mother was a little... angry. Yes, she's supposed to be constantly frustrated and such, but I think she went a little overboard. Fortunately, Teri Hatcher redeemed herself with her portrayal of the Other Mother, which was brilliant.

Coraline earns a 9.5 out of 10.