Coraline
Directed by Henry Selick
Laika Entertainment
By Sam Linton
Take THAT, Spike Jonze.
Let me preface this review by admitting that I may be a bit biased in favour of Neil Gaiman. In general, I really enjoy his storytelling, and he has rarely let me down. However, I haven’t read his novella Coraline. Personally, I think that this is a plus, as I walked into the theatre without any extra baggage about how well the movie matched the book. Which is good, because apparently there are some changes. Not major ones, but changes nonetheless. Gaiman himself has likened the process of giving works over to be adapted as “like trying to find a really good babysitter”, and I think it’s clear that when it comes to babysitting others’ stories, director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) is one talented fifteen year-old.
The plot of the filmed version of Coraline is relatively straightforward, if not simple. The eponymous Coraline is a preteen girl who has just moved from Michigan to the outer suburbs of Oregon. Her parents, both writers for a gardening catalogue, are saddled with deadlines and rarely have time for Coraline, whose own friends have been left behind in Michigan. On top of this, the old house her family now sublets is full of weirdoes, from the ancient pair of stage actresses inhabiting the basement to the Russian mouse-training acrobat practicing in the attic. The only nearby person her own age is the landlady’s grandson, Wybourne, who Coraline finds irritatingly chatty. However, her escape from this dreary (and, being the Pacific Northwest, rainy) reality comes when Coraline discovers a tunnel to the other house, where everything seems so much better. In the other house, button-eyed simulacra of her real family, neighbors and friends care only for her and life seems a constant spectacle. Of course, Gaiman being Gaiman and Selick being Selick, there is something terribly amiss, but I won’t spoil it.
Take THAT, Cirque de Soleil.
Gaiman’s story provides a great setting, but Coraline is first and foremost animation for people who love animation. Done in classic stop-motion, Coraline is an utter eye-gasm (for the more high-minded: phantasmagoria) of wondrous visual delight. Though most apparent in the purposefully fantastic scenes (the living garden is particularly marvellous), the attention to detail in every shot makes the entire film richly rewarding to watch. Selick’s deeply macabre aesthetic is a perfect match for the story.
In the same vein as the animation, the use of 3D in this movie was particularly skillful, especially the part about not needing prompting of when to put on and when to take off the damned glasses. The way the film incorporates the 3D aspect is quite canny; for the scenes demanding spectacle, such as the aforementioned garden coming to life, or a circus of jumping mice, the audience is treated to a full 3D extravaganza, with mice leaping around in space, flowers blooming all around you, needles popping out to stab you in the eyes, etc. It’s all very thrilling. But what most impressed me was the use of 3D in the downbeat scenes, where it was subtly used to convey a sense of depth, emphasize objects, or transition from Coraline’s “dream world” through the tunnel into reality. If this is a taste of 3D’s real potential, I have no qualms about wearing the silly glasses over my normal ones for the entire time.
Take THAT, Desperate Housewives.
Of course, for all its visual splendor, Coraline is not a silent movie, and the voice acting must also be acknowledged. Dakota Fanning does a capable job as Coraline and John Hodgman as her father delivers a similar performance. Terri Hatcher, though, delivers an exceptional turn in two roles, playing Coraline’s loving but frayed-to-the-point-of-exasperation mother, and running the gamut of villainy as her button-eyed “other mother”. Rounding out the cast are such talents as Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Keith David, Robert Baily Jr., and Deadwood’s own Ian McShane as the disappointingly non-foul mouthed acrobat Mr. Bobinsky, all giving solid performances.
As a children’s movie, I wouldn’t know how to rate Coraline. What with the Pokémons and the Power Rangers and the Katamari Damacy, I have no idea what the kids today are into. Probably drugs. However, anyone with an interest in phenomenal animation, good storytelling, and what kids these days ought to be into, owes Coraline a look. Preferably in 3D, which would mean within the next three weeks. As Gaiman himself cautions, “you probably have about until The Jonas Brothers’ Movie comes out.”
I was really impressed by this movie. I thought it really worked well with some minor quibbles. I think Dakota Fanning could have been stronger and was clearly the weakest link. She just kinda seemed like she wasn’t trying, or just couldn’t hit the acting levels she was supposed to. But that would then fall on some lazy direction.
Regardless, I was really entertained. As a recent Gaiman convert, I also haven’t read it the novel, but as a film this works well.