Director: Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach)Cast: Dakota Fanning (Charlotte's Web, War of the Worlds), Teri Hatcher (Desperate Housewives, Tomorrow Never Dies), Keith David (Gargoyles, Halo 2 & 3), John Hodgman (The Daily Show), Ian McShane (Kung Fu Panda, Deadwood), Robert Bailey Jr. (The Happening)
The Deal: While exploring her family's new home, Coraline (Fanning) discovers a secret door that leads to a parallel world with an altered version of her life. This other world is quite similar to the real world, but with one glaring difference, it is seemingly better. Her Other Mother and Father (Hatcher and Hodgman) both shower her with gifts and hope to convince her to stay with them and leave behind here real parents. Thanks to the aid of a stray cat (David), Coraline realizes the unsettling truth about this alternate life, and must do everything she can to stop her Other Mother and save her real parents.
Thoughts: The big thing with films these days is Digital 3D. Though it can be cool, gimmicky moments become tiresome over time, and only distract from the film. Thankfully for Coraline, these gimmicky moments were kept to a minimum, and the 3D was instead used to add a stunning visual element to the film. Some people may like a needle being plunged into the audience, but I'd rather have the effort put towards adding depth to the visuals to give them a nice pop. The story is both eerie and dark, but it's never really scary. It's fun and entertaining, and maintains a decent level of suspense.
The voice work in the film was solid. Dakota Fanning is mature beyond her years as an actress, and she does a good job with the simple voice work. Teri Hatcher is a good choice as Mother/Other Mother, as I find her voice to be somewhat motherly, but very sinister at times. John Hodgman, who is best known for being PC in the Apple commercials, was funny as the father in both realities of the film. Keith David was an excellent choice for the cat. His voice is deep and very eerie, so it's fairly surprising to find him as the good guy mentoring Coraline.
It's a refreshing change of pace to see the stop-motion work at play in the film. The combination of this with the animation makes for a visually stunning film in every scene. The tunnel that connect the two worlds is quite trippy, and even though it's just animation, the idea of having buttons sewn into your eyes is terrifying. This might not be the best for little kids, but it's perfect for kids in between the Disney classics and actual horror films. That's not to say adults won't enjoy it as well. The visuals are very unique and the story is quite solid, so it should prove entertaining for viewers of many ages.
Verdict: A wonderfully dark and eerie story sporting beautiful visuals. It may be a little scary for the tykes, but should prove to be entertaining for the rest of the family. ☆☆☆☆
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