Movie Review: Coraline’s Visuals Outweigh Weaker Storyline

By Vida Vongvanith
Staff Writer

“Be careful what you wish for…”

Beautifully crafted puppetry and a dreamy (and sometimes nightmarish) quality bring this Neil Gaiman story to life for children and adults alike. Coraline is a stop-motion feature film heralded as the first of its kind to be filmed in stereoscopic 3D. Although I witnessed the magic the old-fashioned way (sans 3D glasses), the feature was still visually stunning and interweaved with an art of storytelling that almost (but not quite) made the viewer forget that the story itself was a little weak.

Coraline is about a young girl who finds herself in a new town. Her parents love her, but don’t seem to have much time for her so when she explores her new home and finds an “Other” realm filled with an “Other Mother” and an “Other Father” who has all the time in their world for her, she’s tempted to stay with them forever. The alternate reality soon turns out to be too good to be true when she decides it’s time to go home but the Others try to keep her in their world for good. 
Directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach) and based on a children’s story by Neil Gaiman (Stardust), the movie has all the qualities of fantasy, magic, and even a tinge of horror. Gaiman’s background as an artist and writer in the comic book and graphic novel world shine through in the fantastical storytelling, but his background as a novelist fails to translate as the plot follows through but leaves the details behind.

The feature, although similar to Tim Burton’s hauntingly beautiful productions, differs in that it is genuinely catered towards children -- mostly those in the ‘tween set. Younger children may find some of the animations a little too eerie but with the PG rating firmly in place I’m sure they could glean a lesson or two (from their watchful parents of course) about not taking candy from strangers – even if they tell you your parents sent them.

Having not read the book that Coraline was based on, I cannot say if it was true to its original form, but it was definitely a cute story with hauntingly beautiful visual appeal. Although the film failed to tie all the pieces together, it was worth the price of a movie ticket. In fact, it might even be worth going back to see it in 3D. And at the prices some places are charging, that’s saying a lot.