Coração de Tinta (2008)

A teenage girl discovers her father has an amazing talent to bring characters out of their books and must try to stop a freed villain from destroying them all, with the help of her father, her aunt, and a storybook's hero.

Director:

Iain Softley

Writers:

David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay), Cornelia Funke (novel)

Stars:

Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis, Eliza Bennett

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Fraser	...	Mo
Sienna Guillory	...	Resa
Eliza Bennett	...	Meggie (as Eliza Hope Bennett)
Richard Strange	...	Bookshop Proprietor
Paul Bettany	...	Dustfinger
Helen Mirren	...	Elinor
Matt King	...	Cockerell
Steve Speirs	...	Flatnose
Jamie Foreman	...	Basta
Stephen Graham	...	Fulvio
Mirabel O'Keefe	...	Young Meggie
Andy Serkis	...	Capricorn
John Thomson	...	Darius
Lesley Sharp	...	Mortola
Tereza Srbova	...	Rapunzel (as Tereza Srbová)

Storyline

Mo has the special talent to bring characters out of books. One night he brings out three characters from Inkheart, a story set in medieval times and filled with magical beings. Capricorn and Basta, two villains, and Dustfinger, a fire-eater. Now, 10 years later Meggie discovers the truth and it's up to her to escape Capricorn's evil grasp.

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Plot Keywords:

overalls | minotaur character | rapunzel character | horror for children | book | 

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Taglines:

Every story ever written is just waiting to become real.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

M/12

Details

Official Sites:

Blog [Brazil] Official site

Country:

Germany UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 2009 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Coração de Tinta

Filming Locations:

Laigueglia, Liguria, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

€1,341,965 (Germany), 14 December 2008, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,601,379, 25 January 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,303,424, 9 April 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,490,374, 3 May 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema,Internationale Filmproduktion Blackbird Erste

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's release was delayed several times. It was originally set for release for Christmas 2007, which was pushed back to March 19th 2008 before finally premiering in Germany on December 11th 2008, and a day later in the UK.

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Goofs

A sign at the entrance to Elinor's house reads "Don't even think about entering"; underneath there are translated versions. Despite the novel the movie bases on is of German origin, the German translation on Elinor's sign is wrong - "Denk sogar nicht daran..." instead of "Denk nicht einmal daran...". (In the German dubbed cinema version of this movie, there is a voice-over while the sign is on screen, telling the correctly translated version.)

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Quotes

Fenoglio: [entering Capricorn's fortress] By all the letters in the alphabet, it looks just like my book! It's like walking into my own imagination.

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Connections

Featured in Troldspejlet: Episode #41.13 (2009)

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Soundtracks

My Declaration
Written by Tom Baxter
Performed by Eliza Bennett (as Eliza Hope Bennett)

User Reviews

Inkheart is a highly enjoyable film. But it is NOT the book.

Let me begin by saying I have read the book and most of the second. When I saw the trailer, there were so many elements I could not place that I presumed this film would be some combination of all three books, and almost did not see it as I had not yet read the last book. I'm glad I did not succumb to this temptation.

The movie itself is loosely based on Funke's book. That's right, "book." It is actually NOT based on all three books, but rather, just as the title implies, the initial Inkheart. The elements I could not identify were never in the book. So...If you're a book fan and are unable to separate the literary story from a film adaptation, you WILL be disappointed. But honestly, if you're looking for something that bears more than a slight resemblance to the book, you still may be disappointed by the omissions, rearrangements, and substitutions.

But do let me say that Brendan Frasier is a wonderful Mo. The casting choice of Eliza Hope Bennett as Meggie was a bit of a surprise, but she is lovely and does very well as Meggie. Paul Bettany is a beautifully tragic Dustfinger. Wow, what a performance Bettany gives! I was also surprised by Helen Mirren's casting as Aunt Elinor, but she was a capable and endearing Elinor. I was even impressed by Rafi Gavron's Farid. I can't wait to see where HIS career leads him. He has great promise. They, and the supporting cast, were wonderful. Not one stiff performance. Andy Serkis was also good as Capricorn. I can't say he was "awesome," as he was not nearly as scary as the literary version, and seemed somewhat of a victim of his own circumstances herein, but he was enjoyable, nonetheless.

If you have never read the books, however, you may find this as I did; an enchanting lovely fantasy with enigmatic characters and a slick execution style. I enjoyed this work far more than I should have, considering the plethora of WIDE variances from the literary source.

All in all, while Inkheart is a highly enjoyable film, it is NOT the book. My advice? Watch the movie. Love the movie. Then read the book and find a hundred new reasons to love it again.

It's still fun, it's still wonderful, and it's still enchanting.

It rates an 8.2/10 on the movie scale.

It rates a 3.5/10 on the adaptation scale.

It rates an 8.4/10 on the fantasy scale from...

the Fiend :.