Perch Movie Review – Coraline
Coraline
Perch Score: 9.324/10
Coraline is the brainchild of Neil Gaiman, whose children’s novel the movie is adapted from. He’s best known for his comics and various graphic novels throughout the years, many of which have already been made into films such as Stardust, Mirromask, and Coraline. While he wrote Coraline and had a big part in the film, it is really the director’s film, Henry Selik, who also directed Nightmare Before Christmas and spent almost three years on Coraline. I’m sure most of you may have thought Tim Burton directed this one, since they say from the director of Nightmare Before Christmas, but according to Michelle, Burton simply designed all the sets and characters for that film, but didn’t direct it.
Selik’s style is evident right from the start of Coraline, which most of you will recognize from his previous films, Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, and Monkeybone. Vibrant, insanely energetic sets and characters that immediately immerse you in a world unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s truly a sight that must be seen. The real catch on top of Selik’s great imaginary world is the fact that the film is all in 3-D. And let me tell you, there’s been very few moments when I’ve seen something that I instantly thought, this is going to change the way we all think about what was possible. In this case, 3-D will change the movie industry forever. Scenes where the garden comes to life are simply amazing as snapping dragons make you jump back as they come towards the screen, or when Coraline first travels through the tunnel to the other world and the screen suddenly looks like it goes back 100 feet. It’s hard to put into words, so I recommend seeing Coraline if only to experience this new 3-D technology, which is hitting the industry with force here in the next year with all Pixar movies from here on out being in 3-D, and many other films like the new Ice Age and Monsters vs. Aliens. I’m still curious to see a live action film in this new technology.
Let’s move on to the story of Coraline, which is pretty simple, but great none the less. Coraline, an eleven year old whose parents are writers that recently moved from Michigan to Oregan, finds herself bored as her parents ignore her to reach deadlines, and her adventurous nature gets the best of her. Eventually, her curiosity leads her to find a tiny door, which opens late at night and takes her into a parallel world where everything is the same, only more lavish and all the characters from her old world now have buttons for eyes. Everyone in this new world is referred to with “other” attached, like other mother and other father.
I sat watching the film still amazed by the 3-D, but also wondering when the film would turn dark and creepy already. And almost immediately the story twists and some scenes towards the end are just downright scary. I won’t give away much since I enjoyed it that much more because I knew very little about the plot, but I’ll just say the other mother, along with the parallel world, are definitely what they first appear. But that’s not too hard to figure out.
I think what I came out of this film thinking was obviously about this new 3-D technology, which I’m still convinced is the best new trend the movie industry has created in a long time, but I was also truly surprised at how good the film ended up being. It’s a kid’s movie at heart, but the adult references abound throughout and most goes right over kids heads. That’s how most of Gaiman’s children’s stories are anyway, so I expected no less. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to experience something truly unique, then I can’t recommend Coraline more. It’s the first fully 3-D stop-animated film and may end up being an instant classic when all is said and done.
