Over the past few years, 3D's been making a resurgence. No longer a joke from the '50s, exciting new technology has been bringing cinematic worlds (almost exclusively animated) to eye-popping life; from what I've heard, IMAX 3D is somethin' else. But that's my misfortune: I've only heard about how cool 3D is. Apparently I live in the backwaters of Middle America, because there are hardly any venues around here which support 3D, so when I see a movie shot in 3D, the effects are usually thuddingly obvious. Objects come flying at the camera, but in 2D they've got no kick. It's like going to a theme park and not being able to ride any of the rides.
Thus, the highest praise I can give Coraline, the first stop-motion film to be shot completely in 3D, is that it is still fully rewarding in two dimensions. While I was watching, there were times when I thought of how neat it would be in 3D, but never that it looked embarrassing in 2D. In fact, it's a gorgeous film, filled with wonderfully surreal imagery and creepy visuals.
That it's creepy and surreal should come as no surprise, considering the director is Henry Selick, who made a name for himself with 1993's instant classic The Nightmare Before Christmas. Adapted from the novella by fantasy maestro Neil Gaiman, Coraline is a darker, less jaunty affair, yet just as worthy of instant-classic stature.
Coraline Jones (the voice of Dakota Fanning) has recently moved from Michigan to Oregon, and is less than pleased about it. It's a drab, perpetually cloudy place, and she lives with her parents in an old apartment building called the Pink Palace, which has its share of eccentric tenants. Her parents' demeanors seem to reflect the overcast skies; her mother (Teri Hatcher) is sullen, testy, and always at work on the computer, and while her father (John Hodgman) is considerably nicer, he too toils his life away on the computer. There's a boy her age around town, Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr.), but he's a socially awkward misfit who seemingly stalks her.
Article comments
1 - El Bicho
"Perhaps being trapped in the Other Mother's hellish dimension is the best thing that could've happened to Coraline, saving her from doing something a lot worse on down the line."
How could being trapped for eternity like the children already there been a good thing?
2 - Arlo J. Wiley
That's not what I meant.
What I meant was that by having been there and having experienced terrible things at the hands of the Other Mother, she'll appreciate her real life and parents more.
3 - Zach P.
I completely agree. Amazing movie. This is an instant classic for sure.