Coraline Movie Review

Rated PG (for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor)

I specifically remember my Coraline experience, not because I saw it so recently, but because of the conversation I had with a friend before seeing it. I griped about the fact that all children's movies seemed to have turned to 3D in order to draw in audiences. Even though I was excited to see Coraline, I wasn't excited about the 3D.

Only a few months previously, I had had my appetite for 3D quelled when I saw The Nightmare Before Christmas (also by Coraline's director, Henry Selick) in 3D. For whatever reason, the 3D didn't come together and I was left with a pounding headache and a grouchy disposition.

I sat nervously through Coraline's previews, hoping that the 3D would work and the film wouldn't be ruined. When the lights went down and a notice flashed onscreen telling viewers to put on their 3D glasses, I wasn't disappointed.

Coraline is the story of a traditional heroine with an eerie twist. Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) is adventurous, quirky and annoyed when people call her 'Caroline' on accident. Coraline, an active child with a vivid imagination, is disappointed in her family's new home. Her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgeman) are both preoccupied writers, each one tapping away at their computers with little time for their daughter.

Left to her own devices, Coraline explores the dilapidated features of her home, visits the eccentric neighbors and meets a young boy, Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr.), and his scrawny cat, who, like all cats, seems to know more than he lets on. One rainy day, Coraline finds a secret door and though she expects great things, all she finds is a bricked up wall.

When night falls, Coraline discovers that the door is actually not blocked off, but leads to an alternate reality. Through the glowing, undulating, blue/purple tunnel is a world that parallels her own, but with an exciting twist. Her toys can talk to her, the food is amazing and her parents spend all their time doting on her. The only thing that makes Coraline nervous is the fact that everyone has black buttons instead of eyes.

Despite this, Coraline enjoys the alternate world. Her mother knows all the right things to say and wants nothing but her happiness. Coraline learns that she can stay, but she has to sew black buttons over her eyes. With the help of Wybie's black cat, Coraline discovers that the world is a trap spun by the "Other Mother," a witch who wants Coraline to stay with her forever.

In earlier interviews with director, Henry Selick, he assured fans that because the movie was filmed with 3D technology, the 3D wouldn't be distracting, but would enhance the film. I would definitely agree. The 3D makes you feel that you are walking alongside the characters, drinking in and cowering from the "Other Mother's" world as things go from breathtaking to terrifying.

Though Coraline is described as a movie for children, I would have parents air on the side of caution. Any child younger than 6 or 7 may be a little terrified, especially when the film reaches its third act.

In the end, it may be parents that are affected more than their children, for they are one of this film's targets. Many may feel a stab of guilt as they watch Coraline's parents shunt her aside to focus on work and many may identify with the heartbreaking desperation in the voice of the "Other Mother" as she cries out for Coraline's affection.

Regardless, Coraline is no Alice and this trip down the rabbit hole is no fairytale.