"Not too shabby, for a stop motion"

As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation tale of fractured dreams and families made whole.

As the films opens, Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and her parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman) have moved into the Pink Palace, a once-vibrant boarding house that’s turned drab and dilapidated. As her parents work feverishly on a new gardening catalog, the bored and belligerent Coraline is admonished to explore her new world’s possibilities. Along the way she meets her fellow tenants, including two aging English showgirls and a mouse-training Russian acrobat, as well as an outcast neighborhood boy named Wybie. But it is a mysterious hidden door that most piques Coraline’s interest--a gateway to a parallel world where her "other" parents and neighbors live only to see Coraline well fed and endlessly entertained.

All is not cakes and carnivals for Coraline, though, and the black buttons that have replaced the eyes of these otherworldly imitations hint at darker intentions. When these intentions are revealed, Cora and a friendly magical cat use their wits and willpower to defeat Coraline’s wicked "other mother" and restore balance in the real world. Based on Neil Gaiman’s beloved children’s novel, director Selick (THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS) uses the stop-motion technique to bring CORALINE to life with amazing visual and emotional depth. The result is a frightfully magical adventure that will give the whole family plenty to shriek, cheer, and talk about. [

Successful Blending of Burton and Gaiman

Unlike many movie buffs, I have never seen “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” Though I enjoy films that involve Tim Burton, “Nightmare” never held much appeal for me when it was originally released, and the succeeding years have only transformed it into an over-hyped pop-culture phenomenon.

What drew me, then, to “Coraline” was the involvement of fantasy author Neil Gaiman and my interest in seeing how his style — somewhat flighty and whimsical — would meld with the dark tones of Burton and director Henry Selick.

And what a collaboration it is!

“Coraline” is creepy, bizarre and fascinating in ways that are almost ethereal on a first watch. This coupled with a seamless blend of stop-motion animation and some really creative CGI make for a fantasy adventure that will no doubt spook the kiddies but still keep the adults entertained past the opening credits.

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Excellent movie!!

One of the wonderful things about this movie is the realism in Coraline's character. She just moved away from all of her friends, her parents don't pay any attention to her, and she lives with a bunch of adults; who WOULDN'T be a bit cranky? Her relationship with Wybie is very realistic, and is slightly shocking the first time you watch the movie. I was taken aback because you expect characters in children's movies to be happy, accepting, and friendly; Coraline is not, and rightfully so. She is also smart, resourceful and displays an excellent reflection of a slightly troubled (if not just bored) childhood.

This movie is refreshingly real and quite funny while still doing a great job of creating a frighteningly perfect "Other" world. The soundtrack is also excellent, with a strong mix of fun/cute and creepy tracks that work very well with the movie. This is one of the best "scary" children's movies I've seen in a while, and I highly recommend it!

I love It!

Coraline is such an amazing movie. I could watch it over and over again and I'm 21 LOL It has a very good story line as well as a great message. It's not always better on the other side; infact, it could be a lot worse on the other side. It was very weird that the characters in the fantasy world had large buttons for eyes. It was also creepy that the other mother had been around for years luering in gullible children. I also love the different characters in the movie, but my favorite was Coraline herself. The movie is a little different from the book. I would recomend anyone to read the book first and then watch the movie.

Cheerfully Dark

Very creative, creepy, and entertaining. Some of it can be a little confusing if you don't pay close attention (or if you have a child that talks through every single movie you watch...)and watching it a second time brings out details that may be missed upon the first viewing. Anyway, it is a great movie for kids that aren't easily frightened and mature enough that adults will enjoy it as well. The characters are incredibly vibrant for such a dark setting and the eccentricities of each of them are joyfully unsettling. If you like a straight-forward movie with no need for imagination or if you don't like feeling disturbed, this movie is not for you. For everyone else, it will be an enjoyable way to spend an hour and a half.