Watched for the Dream King Challenge.
After one aborted attempt (and frankly this attempt was very nearly aborted, as apparently all of southern Maine is taking shelter from the cold in movie theaters), we finally managed to see Coraline last night.
I love this movie.
I’d hoped to be able to read the book before seeing the movie, but that managed to not to happen, so I’ll have to save my comparative thoughts for when I finally read the book. The story starts with Coraline Jones having moved to a new home with her parents, who generally ignore her. The landscape is creepy, her new neighbors are even creepier, and she doesn’t really want to be there. So, when she discovers a tiny door in the living room that leads to an alternate version of the house, with her other-mother and other-father, who both seem perfect, of course Coraline likes this alternate version better than real life. And that’s the set-up to a great “be careful what you wish for” story.
The animation in the film is gorgeous, and I didn’t even see it in 3-D. The colors are beautiful, and the rendering of the characters was pretty impressive for stop-motion animation. I also loved the soundtrack (but I’ve been a fan of Bruno Coulais since Winged Migration). Everything in the movie contributed to a beautifully creepy atmosphere, and I was definitely happy to see that it remained creepy right up until the very end.
We’ll definitely be buying this movie when it comes out. It’s an absolutely fantastic film.