It’s been eight years since the release of writer & director Henry Selick’s infamous film Monkeybone (2001), but he returns with great grace with the animated adaptation of writer Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. This 3D stop-motion CGI animated film is a wonder in modern day American animation and storytelling from beginning to end.
It’s hard to believe that the film version of the celebrated novel took so long since the film rights were grabbed up as soon as the book was published, but Selick (who got famous with his stop-motion film Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas) has a knack for dark and humorous children’s fables that audiences of all ages tend to enjoy, which makes the pairing of him and Gaiman’s material so natural.
The story is about Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who moves into a new house with her family who unwittingly finds a doorway into and alternate world that’s just like her own world except that the people who inhabit this world have buttons for eyes. Everything in this alternate world is infinitely better then in her own world but when the inhabitants of this alternate world refuse to let her return to her own world, Coraline must find a way back to her own world as well as find a way to lock the doorway between the worlds forever. Now there is more to the story then described here (infinitely more) but if you haven’t read the novel then its better to just watch the film for yourself for all the details.
Although I was unable to see the 3D version of the film, the 2D version is just as good and doesn’t loose anything in translation as the story is strong enough that it doesn’t have to rely on the 3D gimmick to sale itself. The film has a great voice cast with Teri Hatcher, Keith David, and Ian McShane as some of the standouts (although everyone doesn a fantastic job).This is truly one of the major highlights of 2009 whether animated or live action films.
It’s hard to believe that the film version of the celebrated novel took so long since the film rights were grabbed up as soon as the book was published, but Selick (who got famous with his stop-motion film Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas) has a knack for dark and humorous children’s fables that audiences of all ages tend to enjoy, which makes the pairing of him and Gaiman’s material so natural.
The story is about Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who moves into a new house with her family who unwittingly finds a doorway into and alternate world that’s just like her own world except that the people who inhabit this world have buttons for eyes. Everything in this alternate world is infinitely better then in her own world but when the inhabitants of this alternate world refuse to let her return to her own world, Coraline must find a way back to her own world as well as find a way to lock the doorway between the worlds forever. Now there is more to the story then described here (infinitely more) but if you haven’t read the novel then its better to just watch the film for yourself for all the details.
Although I was unable to see the 3D version of the film, the 2D version is just as good and doesn’t loose anything in translation as the story is strong enough that it doesn’t have to rely on the 3D gimmick to sale itself. The film has a great voice cast with Teri Hatcher, Keith David, and Ian McShane as some of the standouts (although everyone doesn a fantastic job).This is truly one of the major highlights of 2009 whether animated or live action films.
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