Coraline Review

            

                                                        Coraline Review

Coraline (center) with her parent

You would think that entering a world that revolves around you would be breathtaking.  But it’s easy to forget that there’s almost always a catch. This is a lesson learned by Coraline Jones, protagonist of Neil Gaiman’s book Coraline. Get ready, the word/ name “Coraline” will be mentioned a lot for the duration of this review. The film stars a young Dakota Fanning (Charlotte's Web) as the voice of Coraline in the stop-motion film adaptation directed by Henry Selick. Supporting actors include Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives, 007 Tomorrow Never Dies) as Mel Jones, Coraline’s mother, John Hodgman (Daily Show, The Invention of Lying) as Charlie Jones, Coraline’s father, Robert Bailey Jr. (The Happening, Dragonfly) as the voice of Wyborne.  The film is set in Oregon as Coraline moves into a new, creepy house.

Coraline as she first goes into the other world

The story begins with Coraline playing with a branch and looking for a well. She uses the branch as a dowsing rod and ends up running into Wybie; after their exchange, Coraline heads home with a rash due to her “dowsing rod” turning out to be a poison oak branch. At home, Coraline retells her near “near death experience” about the well she almost fell in to her mother, who simply brushes her off. After she converses with her father a bit she is sent to take not of things in the house. It is during this time that she discovers a tiny door in the house. After pestering her mother to open the door, she finds that it’s been bricked off, disappointing her. That night after being tucked into bed by her parents; she wakes up to see a mouse by her door, and subsequently discovers a passageway into the otherworld after following it. In this world she meets her other parents, people who resemble her real parents, except they have buttons for eyes. After being tucked into bed by her other parents, Coraline wakes up in her own bed in the real world, with her poison oak rash gone due to the mud that her other parents rubbed on it. During breakfast, she describes her experience to her parents who don’t seem to mind her believing it happened. Afterwards, Coraline meets Mr. Bobinski, who owns a jumping mice circus, Ms. Spink and Ms. Forcible, two elderly actresses, both of which reveal that Coraline is in danger. Mr. Bobinski tells Coraline that the mice said,” stay away from little door,” and her tea leaves indicating that she is in grave danger. Coraline continuously returns to the other mother’s world where she visits the other Mr. Bobinski’s jumping mice circus, and watches a theatrical act by the other Spink and Forcible. She is treated to a view of the house’s garden (in the shape of her face) and a lavish meal. Afterwards, she is offered an ultimatum, stay in the world forever, but she has to sew the buttons on her eyes. Desperately she goes to her room, barricades the door and falls asleep in the hopes that she will wake up in her bed. Alas, poor Caroline does not return to the other world and instead angers her other mother, causing her to reveal her true form and imprison Coraline behind a mirror where she meets three ghost children. They tell of how the other mother eventually grew bored of them and cast their souls away. Other Wybie saves Coraline from the mirror and she escapes; only to find out that the other mother has kidnapped her parents.

The set of the garden from the other world

So it comes down to, “how will Coraline save her parents?” So hopefully, that provides enough incentive to go watch the rest. The story is really intriguing, however the perfect complement to it, are the spectacular visuals this movie has. They are a beautiful combination of great stop motion, and excellent computer-generated effects. The behind the scenes included with the DVD purchase demonstrate the amount of effort and hard work that went into the production of the film, i.e. creating the sets, making the puppets, creating the effects and so much more. Since this is a stop motion film, everything was done frame by frame, and if memory serves, I believe they were working in 24 frames per second. That means that for 1 minute of animation, it required 1440 frames. The animators or puppeteers stated that it took around 3 to 4 weeks for, wait for it… 30 SECONDS of animation. Another thing to note is that this film was made to be viewed in 3D. This would require two shots of every frame, and the camera would have to be moved the same amount every time. As you can see, this is a very time-consuming process, but after experiencing this film, you can see it truly pays off.

Another thing worth noting is the movie’s acting. The characters are each so different; they’re very cartoonish and odd. For example, Coraline, she has such a spontaneous attitude and is not easily brought down or deterred. For a 12 year old she’s very brave, talking to an adult the way she spoke to the Other mother. However like all protagonists, she learns in the end to be appreciative of what she has, and to find that magic and resplendence within herself, rather than relying on the Other Mother do display it for her. Another character I really enjoyed was Wybie. He was a bit of an oddball, but his intentions were very innocent; he was just looking for a friend. Though Wybie is a character created for the sole purpose of not having Coraline talk to herself, his inclusion in the film is very natural and it doesn’t feel like he is out of place, He matches everyone else’s attitude as far as the way he interacts with Coraline (calling her Caroline).

Coraline in her rain coat

The first time I watched this movie I couldn’t help but relate to Coraline. Being misunderstood at a young age can be tough. Not getting enough attention from your parents is hard. Her parents are trying to make ends meet in a new place and they can’t afford actual food for a while. To be fair, Coraline had it rough, so she can’t be blamed if she partook in indulging herself in the other mother’s world; especially when he was at the center of it. All the vitality and life that blossomed from that world was meant for her. It is truly awe inspiring, however despite all this, when asked for a trade off, once her trial period was over, she was forced to pay up. Where some would say “yes” and could be easily swayed by such a harsh trade off, Coraline refused. Many people would immediately reject the idea of having their eye punctured by a needle and having buttons sewn on. However, when such an animated environment that is all for you is being offered, shouldn’t you at least consider? Think about it; Happy Halloween!