Coraline

From director Henry Sellick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) comes Coraline. Based on the book of the same title by Neil Gaiman, the film tells the story of Coraline Jones, a girl who is tired of her boring and predictable life. She feels neglected by her parents (something I’m sure most of us have been able to relate to at one point in our lives), and is bored and lonely in the new creepy house her family has moved into. While exploring, she finds a door into another world, a world that is the opposite of her own – everything is bright, colourful, and fun. Or so it seems.

At a glance Coraline seems to be a children’s movie. However it differs from your Madagascars and your Ratatouilles in a number of ways. The animation is not bright and friendly. It has a severely gothic element to it. Visually, it resembles the Nightmare Before Christmas. Sellick has opted (like he did in Nightmare) for stop-motion animation rather than computer generated graphics, which gives the images on the screen a great feeling of texture and depth. However, this is not Nightmare Before Christmas 2. The story is much darker and not punctuated with up-beat catchy songs. It is a deeper and more complex plot. Another thing that sets Coraline apart from other children’s films is that it lacks the clichéd and cheesy moral lessons about friendship, fun and blah blah blah with which children’s films often beat you over the head. This film does have moral messages, but they are not so obvious that the audience feels like they are being pointed at and spoken to like a 5-year-old.

I won’t reveal the exact nature of the “other world” to those who wish to avoid spoilers, but the subtlety of the ways which Coraline’s reactions to it gradually change and evolve are very well-done. Minor characters have just as much importance as the main characters. Coraline’s downstairs neighbours – out of work actresses played by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders – are highly amusing, although cringe-worthy at times. Coraline meets a friend her own age named Wybie. He does not appear in Gaiman’s novel and it is possible that his inclusion was designed to make the film more appealing to male members of the audience, but his appearance doesn’t seem forced at all. It fits nicely, and adds more flesh and bones to the story. Every character has a part to play and none of them are there to simply fill screen time with stupid jokes. The music is tailored perfectly to the story unfolding on the screen, and adds emotion to this interesting and unique tale.

In summary, I wouldn’t class Coraline as your average children’s film, not least due to the partial (though animated) old-lady nudity. The story is quite dark and parts of the film are somewhat frightening at times, especially for small children. It is untypical in every sense of the word. It is, in short, a children’s film for adults. If you are an adult or a child who can appreciate a darker well-thought-out story, Coraline is the film for you. It is visually fantastic, the plot is interesting and original, and the characters, although animated, feel real.

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