Review #14 | Coraline

I had to watch Coraline again at home and wanted to share my review on the movie.

Coraline, 2009

A young girl walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality that is eerily similar to the life she already knows, yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways, in director Henry Selick's animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's international best-seller. Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is fearlessly courageous, and perhaps far too adventurous for her own good. Coraline and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have recently relocated to Oregon from Michigan. Bored in her new home since her parents are distracted by work and she has yet to make any new friends, Coraline passes the time by exploring her new neighborhood with an annoying local boy named Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). But after paying a visit to her eccentric neighbors Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), a pair of aging British actresses, and crossing paths with the outright weird Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), the precocious young girl becomes convinced that her new surroundings are just as dull as she'd initially suspected. Shortly thereafter, Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new house, and decides to investigate. Venturing into the eerie passageway inside, Coraline emerges into an alternate version of her own reality. At first glance, this strange new world seems even better than the real thing; there her parents aren't distracted by work, and Coraline is always the center of attention. There's even a mysterious Cat (Keith David) that's fascinated by her every move. But when Coraline's button-eyed Other Mother (also Hatcher) attempts to make her stay permanent, the frightened young girl must summon her resourcefulness and bravery in order to find her way back home and save her real family.

It is the most creative and spooky animated film I have ever watched. I loved the characters, the world of Coraline and the well written story. The expressions shown on Coraline’s face are plain and you don’t need words to know how she is feeling. Each character like Coraline’s mom, dad, the other mother, Wybie and the cat, they all have their own characteristics.

This film is so unique in terms of the creative story, stunning visual world, amazing screenplay, character design, character animation, and a deep theme. Yes, this is the new Toy Story. Coraline takes most of the advantages a stop-motion animation film have. It proves that stop-motion animation can entertain people.

This film shows a strong message not in words but through the character, and that is something we accept.

Inside Outside Rating: 88%