Review: Coraline

Coraline is a beautiful, smart, dark and well-crafted film. I went into it knowing very little about the book, because despite being a fan of the Neil Gaiman films I have seen (Stardust) and the book he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett (Good Omens), I have not read any of his work. This is a problem I am working to correct. Despite not knowing much about the book version of Coraline, I went in with high hopes, and the film did not disappoint.

To begin with, the film is visually stunning. The claymation style is beautiful, and reminiscent of The Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but it is stylized slightly different and it is much more colorful. Watching Coraline move about is a joy in itself, separate from the plot and the story. It is also refreshing to see the pinker-toned humans in this movie, rather than the pale and colorless characters that appear in some of the other movies. While the real world is vaguely dull, with subdued colors, the imaginary world is bright and magical. I could watch Coraline for the animation alone, but luckily everything else in the movie is as high caliber as the art direction.

Coraline has just moved into an old, run-down mansion house that has been turned into an apartment complex. The area is muddy, rainy, and generally kind of depressing, and the pink house is in serious need of a coat of paint. Her parents, who are garden writers, are paying more attention to their garden catalogue than their daughter. Coraline spends the days by herself (occasionally running into a neighborhood kid named Wybie, who she would really like to shut up) exploring around the old house, taking note of the doors and windows, and wishing that her parents would actually garden with her rather than just write about it. Coraline then discovers a doorway that leads to another version of her life, where the house is well taken care of, the rooms are bright and colorful, her mother cooks, and her father writes songs for her. Receiving the attention she desperately wants in the form of delicious food, games, and wonders made just for her, it's no surprise that Coraline prefers the world through the door to the one she lives in. But that world is more sinister than it first appears, and Coraline discovers that staying in it requires a sacrifice she might not be willing to make.

Coraline herself is inquisitive, and smart, without being annoying. She is a very age appropriate character. She acts very much like a child, but isn't stupid or unbelievable. Her parents are appropriately absent, but very human at the same time. By the end of the film, it's obvious that Coraline's mother is trying the best she can with what she's got. It's kind of heartbreaking how she tries to do what she can to make Coraline happy with what she has (the family seems to be down on their luck until they can finish their catalogue) and Coraline throws it back in her face because it's not as magical as what her "Other" Mother has been doing for her. There are other interesting characters to be found in the Other Father and the Quiet Wybie, who are never fully explored but seem to have a consciousness outside of the Other Mother's control. All of them were interesting, engaging, and sometimes embarrassing to watch.

The movie has a moral, as many children's stories do, but it doesn't beat you over the head with it. It is never preachy, and its moral is not quite as trite as they can be in other stories. Be careful what you wish for is the tagline for the movie, and it is one of the morals, but deeper in the movie is the idea not only to be happy with what you have, but that what you've got isn't quite as bad as you might think. It also has the obligatory happy ending, but it is something that is seen building through most of the movie. The unhappy, stressed moments with her parents seem to be a transitory stage, rather than status quo. This doesn't make it any less uncomfortable or painful for Coraline, but the plot in the film makes her find happiness in what she does have, and that only grows more when live improves.

All in all, Coraline is a great tale for both children and adults, although the twisted and dark parts that I loved might scare some children. Take that into account, but if you have a little one who isn't easily frightened, I would definitely take them to it because Coraline is a film that doesn't fall into the clichés of children's movie, and for once, it doesn't talk down to it's audience. It's also an enjoyable ride for adults, and it's definitely worth seeing on the big screen to get the full experience.