CS Weekly Archive > Weekend Read > 2/06/09

What Pretty Eyes You Have…

By peter clines

Coraline

Henry Selick (also directed)
Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) escapes her dull life with her work-at-home parents (v. Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) into the odd yet wonderful mirror world of her Other Mother (also Hatcher), a literally button-eyed woman who showers the young girl with gifts and food. In fact, the Other Mother would love to let Coraline stay forever. All it will take, she explains, is one tiny adjustment with a needle and thread…which is when Coraline begins to realize things may not be all that pleasant in the Other world after all. Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) gets to take full credit for this wonderfully dark adaptation of Neil Gaiman's best-selling children's book. Unlike so many films aimed at young audiences today, Coraline has smart dialogue, three-dimensional characters (no pun intended), and doesn't shy away from the creepy elements of its source material. It's the kind of movie Walt Disney himself used to make, something like Pinocchio or Sleeping Beauty that isn't scared to be scary because the filmmaker knows children aren't made of glass. It's a fantastic example of visual storytelling, and it's a shame to see it dropped in the doldrum months at the start of the year.

Coraline
Focus Features
Rated PG; 100 min.

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Peter Clines has had a lifelong love affair with the movies. He grew up in New England, where he studied English literature and education, and now lives and writes somewhere in Southern California. If anyone knows exactly where, he would appreciate a few hints.



Coraline courtesy Focus Features

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