Coraline

On the big screen we see the work of Neil Gaiman once again flying off the page with the animated adaptation of Coraline. Staying true to his tradition of hidden worlds, Coraline discovers a portal to what seems to be a better life by traveling through a tiny door in her wall and getting more than she bargained for in a world too good to be true.
The movie sees Henry Sellick returning to stop motion action, being the mastermind director behind the Nightmare Before Christmas (Thats right kiddies, Tim Burton had a producer credit in that flick!) doing exceptional work with his maquettes, bolstered by a voice cast including Teri Hatcher and Dakota Fanning.
The trailer can be seen here.

The work is taken from Gaiman’s 2002 novel, originally illustrated by long time collaborator and Sandman cover artist Dave Mckean. Current opinion is divided among fans as to whether the film was dark enough or remained true enough to the original story, though glimpses of the film and the decision to release the movie in 3D show the film to be visually stunning if not entirely in keeping with Gaiman and Mckean’s depiction of the girl who chose to explore the other side of a door.

Personally, I found the film to be surprisingly spooky and deliciously so at that, for a film which was being marketted at children. Yes, Gaimans book was written for children, and the film itself is not inherently adult, but Sellicks animated vision does not sugarcoat any of the terror.

As the other mother reveals her true colours, her visual transformation was truly amazing to see, especially in the later more fraught scenes. The most significant alteration from the book, which i’m aware of at least, is that of the inclusion of a character named Wybourne, Wybie for short, to accompany Coraline in her adventure, which to be honest does not impede anything of the story, and gives you some nice oportunites to see his skeletal scope mask in the real world.

I was quite pleased with this adaptation but having listened to the compilation disc “Wheres Neil When You Need Him”, and Rasputina’s beautiful musical ode to Coraline, my only gripe is with the pronunciation they decided on in the film to be closer to that of Caroline. A factor that did not ruin any of the films magnificence or my new obsession with Mr Bobinski’s Bouncing Mouse Orchestra.

“We have teeth and we have tails,

we have tails and we have eyes,

we were here before here before you fell

we will be here when you rise”.

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