Coraline

Henry Selick's Coraline is a beautiful, creepy, wonderful film.

Is it the scariest children's film ever made? Absolutely. Is it the most horrifying? No--that honor still goes to Bambi. Should you take your children to see Coraline? Ask them. They'll tell you.

As for us "grown-ups?" This film is a treasure. There's a lot to enjoy here, starting with the craftsmanship. It can't be repeated enough: This movie is drop-dead gorgeous to look at, from the character designs to the vast, detailed sets and surreal effects. With a witty screenplay, an otherworldly musical score and top-notch animation, the filmmakers have crafted a near-perfect journey into a dark, modern fairy tale.

Director/Screenwriter Henry Selick has added elements not found in Neil Gaiman's terrific novel. Of all the added material, I think the character Wybie is the most successful new creation. His first scene comes across like an attempt to get the boys in the audience involved (Look—A camo-mutant on a dirt bike!), but he ends up extremely likable, and his friendship with Coraline is fun to watch develop.

Most of the filmmakers' changes to the book's characters work beautifully. Coraline's upstairs neighbor, Mr. Bobinsky,has been transformed into a hugely entertaining oddball. He’s hilarious, mysterious and strange–and that goes for his Other World self as well. The elderly roommates, Spink and Forcible, have be given a...um...hobby that's as scary as anything Coraline will encounter in the Other World.

Coraline and the Cat she befriends stay closest to the book incarnations, to great success. The cat is amazing, stealing every scene he appears in, and always behaving perfectly, believably cat-like.

The film contains many outstanding sequences. The magic garden dazzles, as does Coraline's strange "walk around the world." Selick also succeeds in bringing wonder into the "ordinary" world of the boarding house, particularly in a terrific bit involving ground-covering mist and a hunt for banana slugs.

I saw the film in 3D, and I have mixed feelings about the process. It works, it’s beautiful, and it added a few sensory jolts that won’t be part of a 2D viewing. Best of all, it makes the wonderfully hand-crafted world come to life with a depth and solidity that’s astounding. On the other hand, it did make the screening less comfortable for me, and I mean that in a physical sense. The 3D didn’t give me a headache, but the viewing put some strain on my vision; I didn’t sit through the entire end credit run simply because my eyes felt exhausted. I’d still recommend a 3D viewing simply for the experience, but—in the end—I don’t think it’s a big deal one way or the other, and that a 2D viewing will be just as effective and a lot less of a strain. Still, the sight of those Scottie dogs flying in front and in back of the end credits was pretty cool.

Selick succeeds beautifully in conveying the story’s big message: Coraline’s real world, real parents and real neighbors are every bit as weird and wonderful and eccentric as anything in the Other World. Bobinsky’s acrobatics, the magic of the real outdoors, the…the…(shudder) …the shelves full of stuffed dog corpses dressed in angel costumes in the Old Ladies’ flat? Yiiikes! (It took me a moment to remember that, yes, that was the real world version of their place!)

One last bit: At the screening, a couple sat nearby with their four-year-old son. I wondered how he’d react to the film. As the end credits began rolling, I heard him say, in a calm but awestruck voice, “Mom, Dad…that was a really…good…movie.”

I agree completely.