Movie Review: Coraline

	RATING: PG GENRE: Animated fantasy RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2009 RUNNING TIME: 100 minutes VIOLENCE FACTOR: No real violence, but some moments of jeopardy BAD WORDS: A mild obscenity or two RACY?: A bit of vaguely suggestive humor OTHER THINGS TO KNOW: This movie is playing in 3-D at theaters equipped to show it that way GRANDS

A young girl enters a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternative version of her life

by Bill Wine

CRITIQUE:

Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning), the heroine of Coraline, her mom (Teri Hatcher), and dad (John Hodgman) have moved into a new home — a boardinghouse with other tenants. Her parents are preoccupied with the house and their jobs, leaving Coraline feeling bored and ignored. As she explores the house, she finds a secret door. She enters and — as in Through the Looking Glass — finds a passageway that leads to a home much like her own.

It appears to be a parallel world: There are parents who look and sound like Coraline's, but who pay attention to her and tend to her needs in ways that make her feel less like an afterthought and more like a princess. Besides, the furniture is more comfortable, the food more appetizing, and the neighbors friendlier.

There's only one drawback: Other Mother and Other Father have buttons sewn over their eyes, and to stay there — which Coraline is supposed to do forever — she'll have to sew buttons on her eyes as well.

Writer-director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach), adapted Coraline, a dark, edgy fantasy from Neil Gaiman's best-selling novella. Selick is willing to frighten his young viewers in the name of exploring his theme of always thinking life is better somewhere else.

Both the movie and its audience are better for it. And it's nice to see the "old-fashioned" technique of stop-motion puppetry back in play, enhanced dynamically by state-of-the-art 3-D technology. Thankfully, Selick never allows the technology to become the tail that wags the dog. 

The story lacks a strong element of humor or a more satisfying conclusion. And this keeps this animated fairy tale from staying with us the way real masterworks do.

Grandparents who are strongly protective of their grandchildren's sensibilities may find Coraline on the scary side, but only for the kids younger than seven. But the film does a nice job of challenging and stimulating kids as it explores the dreams and nightmares of childhood.

Read Bill Wine's thoughts on other recent animated films like The Tale of Despereaux and Bolt.