In the age of super high-tech CGI and in a world dominated by Pixar, It’s wonder that a film like Coraline managed to even get made. Stop-motion animation is a painstaking, arthritis-inducing process whereby each frame is meticulously manipulated by hand to create the illusion of motion. According to director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) this film took a staggering four years to complete. The resulting effect, however, is a rewarding and charming visual treat that is both refreshing and nostalgic.
Adapted from Neil Gaiman’s 2002 children’s book, Coraline tells a whimsical, albeit commonplace story in the vein of Pan’s Labyrinth about a young girl forced to move to a new home far away from everything comfortable and familiar. Coraline’s (Dakota Fanning) new home is drab, gloomy, and cold, and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) are drudging and distant leaving her with an understandably sour demeanor. While grasping to curb her boredom and depression she discovers a curious door in her room that leads to an alternate, much happier dimension.
Her “other” parents found in this mirror world seem to be full of life, they love and encourage her, and best of all, feed her anything she could ever want to eat. But there’s a catch. Everyone in the happy world has creepy black buttons for eyes–a none-too-subtle representation of the empty, soulless evil that exists behind the facade of perfection. The ensuing nightmare that Coraline must overcome is often predictable but never boring thanks to dazzling visuals and Selick’s expert handling of the material.
The fact that so few feature-length film are being made with stop-motion animation immediately gives Coraline the intrigue and edge needed to stand out in the current barrage of CG these days. An added draw is that it is the first stop-motion feature to be filmed with 3-D in mind (3-D for The Nightmare Before Christmas was added later). Unlike most 3-D films Coraline doesn’t throw all its eggs into this gimmick’s basket, but rather uses it to subtly enhance its overall sense of depth, and as a cinematic cue letting the audience know how to feel during particular scenes–notably in the differences in depth between the real and alternate worlds.
As the film progresses it manages to address some disturbing issues without derailing the story with heavy-handedness. We’re made aware of the seriousness of what’s happening without having to sacrificing the enjoyment of the movie-going experience. There are, however, a couple of missteps and instances of lazy storytelling which ultimately fetter what might have been a timeless tale. Instead of following the compelling premise to its natural climax of a thrilling psychological decision with preeminent implications, Coraline degenerates into a childish video game-esque subplot thereby cheapening its earlier originality and depth.
Despite its flaws Coraline gives us a delightfully morbid tale that dances along the precipice of the macabre and tackles great adventure, friendship, child abuse, and ultimately the great treasure in being thankful for what we’ve got.
