Three and a Half Torches (Out of Five)
You’ve never seen anything like Coraline.
The new animated adaptation of the popular children’s book by Neil Gaiman tells a story that is both daring and sophisticated: a girl bored with her distracted, busy parents discovers a secret door in her new house that leads to an alternate reality with a loving, doting “Other Mother” and kindly “Other Father.”
There’s just one problem. They have buttons in place of eyes. And to stay in this almost-perfect family unit, Coraline might have to make a few sacrifices–starting with the fact that she just might have to replace her own eyes with buttons.
Things just get weirder and creepier from there, until Coraline finds herself in the middle of a pre-pubescent retelling of the Faust story.
We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore–or the palace of talking utensils in Beauty and the Beast, or even the harsh post-Apocalyptic landscape of WALL-E.
The overall visual sensibility of the film is amazing, simultaneously both edgy and retro, reminiscent of the Tim Burton-produced trio of flawed stop-motion films, The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Corpse Bride–though Coraline is more successful as a whole than even the best of the three Burton projects (by far), Nightmare. (Henry Selick, the director of Coraline, also directed Nightmare and Peach.)
Meanwhile, the stop-motion animation in Coraline, presented in 3-D, is so seamless and complicated that I was convinced it was CGI until the movie was over, and I was able to look the film’s specs up online.
As for the characters, I especially loved the character of the all-knowing cat–a refreshing departure from endless (and totally unfair!) movie portrayals of cats as devious and prissy.
So what’s the problem? Why is Coraline only getting three and a half torches out of five?
Unfortunately, like all the Burton films, Coraline is thematically ambitious and visually sumptuous, but only partly successful as a story. In short, it seriously sags in the second act. Long sequences involving the eccentric characters who live near Coraline feel like padding and, although they too are often visually arresting, simply don’t work. A new character not in the book, Wyborn, who Coraline finds annoying really is annoying.
In addition, after a gripping, unsettling start, the movie’s creep-factor is suddenly dialed down–probably at the behest of some studio executive eager to accommodate the film’s would-be family audiences. But by riveting down the tension, the film seems to lose most of its momentum. Things pick up before a terrific ending, but ironically, the result is a film that seems so leisurely-paced in the middle that it’s almost impossible to imagine an actual child being fully engaged by it.
Which is a real shame. So much of this film is so original and so challenging that, had the unsuccessful plot elements been worked out, it probably would have qualified as a classic.
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Um…this is not a Burton film. It’s directed by Henry Selick. Burton has nothing to do with it. Neither did he direct A Nightmare Before Christmas, by the way. Check it:
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/02/by-way-of-preamble.html
The articles says it’s “reminiscent” of the Burtan films, and says clearly that it was directed by Selick.
My daughter loved the movie (she’s six), and she spent most of it sitting on my lap trembling. Normally she can’t sit still during a movie, but this one had her riveted. I’ve had to see most of the recent kiddie movies of recent years, and this one is the best I’ve seen. It works for both kids and parents - or even non-parents who choose to go w/o a child as an excuse. The middle was a little slower, but still interesting, and there were surprises I didn’t expect.
I never read the book (though I think I will now) so I didn’t know that Whyborn wasn’t a natural part of the story. I agree he was annoying though, and possibly didn’t need to be there.
Interesting about your daughter (and good to know). But you both liked it a bit more than I did.
I like the movie, but the pacing was odd. My favorite parts? The cat talking on the other side and Coraline stepping up her hero qualities. Teri Hatcher can also be really creepy!
I recommend this movie. People should see it once, though you may not be compelled to see it again.
Basically a remake of spirited away. Simplified for American audiences. Parents turn into pigs–Spirited away; parents put in a snow globe. Child in scary magical world–check. Child learns lesson–check. Evil villain–check. Spirited Away provides a much more complete world based on Japanese history and folklore. Coraline is a simple story that seems to be missing that little piece of originality or magical twist. Very beautiful though sterile animation in Coraline. Spirited was so organic and alive, maybe it is just computer animation. Either way, I advise seeing Coraline first, then see the much better Spirited Away after, otherwise a sense of emptiness will intrude itself as you watch Coraline.
Interesting point.
I haven’t seen this, though I’ll probably get the DVD. I loved the original book by Neil Gaiman though, and would recommend it if you felt the film wasn’t quite good enough. The similarities to Spirited Away are probably coincidental, given that the book of Coraline was released only in the following year to Spirited Away, and it takes a while to write and publish a book.