Coraline: Enchanting and terrifying

Coraline, Exeter Vue

Certificate PG, 100 Minutes

By Graham Taylor

Children’s films have always been a mixed bag in terms of reception by the public. Dreamworks and Pixar produce brilliant, funny films, such as the recent Monsters Vs. Aliens and Wall.E . There’s also the bad eggs in this collection, such as the woeful Dragonball Evolution and the dire Hannah Montana movie.

Luckily, Coraline , the recent Stop Motion animation from Henry Selick (the man really behind The Nightmare Before Christmas ) slots into a category way beyond good; it’s phenomenal.

Dakota Fanning leads an enchanting voice cast as young Coraline Jones, a young girl who is anything but a Disney princess: she’s funny and can think for herself, courageous and straight talking, but also a hard as nails, bullsy child who goes nuts when her name is mispronoucned.

Having just moved from her home town in Michigan to Oregon, Coraline and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgeman) seem to be drifting further apart.

When her parents push her away as they focus on their work for their gardening magazine, Coraline explores the 150 year-old house she now lives in (known as the Pink Palace) which she shares with her parents, two has- been burlesque actresses, Misses Spink and Forcible (Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French) and ageing Russian acrobat, Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane.)

She also meets Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr.), the lonely granson of Coraline’s landlady, who seems to be stalking his new neighbour, and keeping some secrets which have life threatening results.

When a mouse scurries through a door in the wall, the curious Coraline follows him, leading into a colourful tunnel, leading to another door, just like this world.

However, everything is completely different, more vibrant and happy than her normal life. She also has another set of parents, her other mother and father, who devote all their time to making all Coraline’s wishes come true, making her favourite food, writing songs showing their love for their ‘daughter’ and making a beautiful garden for her pleasure.

Despite Coraline’s joy at having someone who wants to spend time with her, she becomes increasingly anxious as to why everything in this new world has buttons for eyes, including the animals and toys.

Coraline’s fears seem to be unfounded, until she is told she must remove her eyes and have buttons in their place if she wants to stay their forever.

As Coraline rushes to bed to get to sleep, which will transport her back to her old life, she discovers that the other mother isn’t as kind as she made out to be, and when her real form is shown, Coraline must decide whether to save herself, or everyone she loves.

Stop animation hasn’t had so much exposure in recent times, the last major outing from the Wallace and Gromit movie.

Although the lack of exposure has stopped this type of animation from reaching the heights of Disney for example, many still think that stop motion is the best.

I also agree that stop motion looks brilliant, as all facial expressions are heightened, and the actions seem that more real than they do in a computer animation. The 3D exploitation is limited for this film, but when it is shown, it’s mindblowing. There are little pieces of CGI to create the wow moments, but this is all about the intricate details of these great characters.

The voice cast was inspired, and all are on fine form. Fanning moves away from the girly movies once again, providing more credability for her ever expanding CV. Hatcher was a surprising choice, but she is brilliant, bringing the two different sides of the Other Mother to life. Saunders and French bring the fun and comedy to the film, and McShane is always great in the voice booth.

The films dark humour is another upside to an already superb film. Coraline has some great one liners, not least when she’s dealing with her cruel other mother.

The creativity of the set seems never ending. The beginning scenes are gloomy and dim, reflecting Coraline’s attitude towards her new home, and the despair at having to leave her friends. As the film moves into the other world, the set pieces become bright and colourful.

There’s nothing bad at all about Coraline as a film, but the music is a constant nuisance at the beginning. Although it reflects what’s going on in the scene, it’s very depressing, and instead of being annoying, it’s just plain boring.

Adults have complained that Coraline is terrifying, and it is; it’s a horror flick for kids. But that’s the enjoyment of the film; it makes you jump, and is always exciting.

The film is a masterpiece, easily better than the Nightmare Before Christmas , and that’s saying something.