Coraline (2009)

An adventurous 11-year-old girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers:

Henry Selick (screenplay), Neil Gaiman (book)

Stars:

Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 43 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dakota Fanning	...	Coraline Jones (voice)
Teri Hatcher	...	Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam (voice)
Jennifer Saunders	...	Miss April Spink / Other Spink (voice)
Dawn French	...	Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible (voice)
Keith David	...	The Cat (voice)
John Hodgman	...	Charlie Jones / Other Father (voice)
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Wyborne 'Wybie' Lovat (voice)
Ian McShane	...	Mr. Sergei Alexander Bobinsky / Other Bobinsky (voice)
Aankha Neal	...	Sweet Ghost Girl (voice)
George Selick	...	Ghost Boy (voice)
Hannah Kaiser	...	Tall Ghost Girl (voice)
Harry Selick	...	Photo Friend (voice)
Marina Budovsky	...	Photo Friend (voice)
Emerson Tenney	...	Magic Dragonfly (voice) (as Emerson Hatcher)
Jerome Ranft	...	Mover (voice)

Storyline

When Coraline moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.

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Plot Keywords:

parallel worlds | stop motion | scissors | button eyes | body horror | 

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Taglines:

Be careful what you wish for.

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Genres:

Animation | Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Coraline y la puerta secreta

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,849,646, 8 February 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$75,286,229

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$124,596,398

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features,Laika Entertainment,Pandemonium

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 105 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The other mother is always humming one of the soundtrack songs while she cooks.

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Goofs

When the Other Wybie frees Coraline and allows her to escape to the Real World, we see numerous decrepit toys and cobwebs around the passageway. Later, when Coraline goes back to the Other World to save her parents and the Ghost Children, all the toys and cobwebs are gone. However, when Coraline tricks the Beldam into reopening the door near the end, one can clearly see that in some shots the toys are back and in ALL shots the cobwebs return as well.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Coraline Jones: [after hearing a creature while exploring the hills] Hello? Who's there?

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Crazy Credits

The name "Coraline" seems to be a fairly unusual name, however, there is a "Coraline Tassy" belonging to the Nice Children's Choir mentioned in the credits.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Cinema Cats (2011)

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Soundtracks

Sirens of the Sea
Performed by Michele Mariana
Written by Henry Selick
Copyright (c) 2007 Henry Selick

User Reviews

Another New Standard In Artwork

Well, it's happened again: another animated movie that can I describe "the greatest-looking animation I've ever seen!" (This has happened several times now in the past few years, and especially when them available on a stunning Blu-Ray disc transfer).

You literally have to see this animation to believe it.....and I'm talking about the 2-D, not the 3-D (which is not even in the same ballpark.) Forget the 3-D glasses and watch this as you would any other movie....and get the Blu-Ray, if you can. You'll be extremely impressed at the colors and detail, and just plain blown away by it all.

Not only to the colors and detail dazzle, but the inventiveness here is really fun to watch and items change from one form or color to another. It reminded me of the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" but with more sophisticated art.....but the same cleverness.

To me, all of this made the story almost secondary but the latter is very interesting, too. The story is unique; quite different, with a good message getting everything you want not always being as attractive as that sounds. Once "Coraline" meets here "other" parents, you'll really get hooked into this strange story filled with weird images and characters.

I only wish the Coraline had been a little bit nicer kid since it's easier to root for someone when they're likable but the story should keep you guessing and in suspense. That made the last half of the film very easy to get engrossed in because so many bizarre things happen here, you don't know how it's all going to end. Thus, I found myself not being concerned about her personality flaws. The minor characters in this story, by the way: such as "Mr. Bobinsky," "Miss Forcible" and "Miss Spink" - are a real hoot.

I'd say this film is more for adults than kid, especially if one appreciates great artwork and creativity.