The Coraline movie is here! Neil Gaiman’s marvellous children’s novel Coraline has become a suitably magical feature film directed by none other than Henry Selick, the man that directed the 1993 cult classic animated feature film ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. If any director was capable of bringing Gaiman’s unnerving tale of people with Button-eyes in an alternate version of our actual world, it is Selick. The visual aspect of the Coraline movie is a superb example of stop-motion animation, a filmmaking process that can truly be enchanting when executed well.
Where the original Coraline book was of the same odd and magical sort that we have all come to expect and want from Neil Gaiman, the look of the Coraline movie took several moviegoers by surprise with its palette of vibrant colours and the method of animation. The Coraline movie is a marvellous thing to look at, and will fascinate viewers of every generation with its weird story and highly entertaining cast of characters.
The acting talent attached to the stop motion adventures of the Coraline movie is rather impressive too. Dakota Fanning handles the role of Coraline herself, and the rest of the cast has a collection of British television legends in the cast, including Ian McShane, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Teri Hatcher performs the voice of both versions of Coraline’s mum. The Coraline movie’s sarcastic feline friend is performed by John Hodgman.
It is rather fitting that such a strange story is brought to the screen in such a manner that it does capture the feel of a dream. Stop-Motion animation has that wonderful otherworldly quality to it that CG is yet to possess. There is something wonderfully odd about stop motion, especially here in the Coraline movie. It may be the knowledge that the moviegoer is watching inanimate objects moving around on the big screen, or it might just be that the finished vision of a stop-mo movie is so different to most other animated films of the contemporary scene.
While the Coraline movie is not really as filled with lingering images as The Nightmare Before Christmas, it is certainly not devoid of it’s visual treats. Just wait for the musical scenes, the strange metamorphoses of the characters, and of course, the chilling buttons that characters have in place of eyes in the alternate world. Viewers that haven’t read the book are in for a real treat as they discover the crazy universe that Gaiman created, a world that is similar to ours, just rather awry.
For those who are familiar with the book (and it has been enjoyed by just as many grown-ups as youngsters), the Coraline Movie is as near a faithful movie version of the Coraline novel as it’s going to get. This is one kid’s film that is going to become a much-loved classic for every generation. The Coraline film is pure magic.
