Coraline Stops Hearts
This is a review for my contemporary cinema class, but I'd like anyone to be able to read it since I love this movie so much.
Please don't make fun of my lame title. :)
When Coraline Jones grows up, she will not have a fear of buttons. Nor should any of the children watching the new film from renowned stop-motion director Henry Selick. It’s true that after seeing this movie buttons will always seem a little sinister, however the inspiring nature of this story definitely outweighs any Koumpounophobia that may arise. Coraline isn’t the story of the Beldam, an evil creature who takes the eyes of children, sews buttons in their place and feeds off their lives, but the story of a plucky young girl who struggles to stay afloat in the face of change. This is a struggle that many children face: the ones who move once a year, who are frightened by switching schools, who are seeing their lives transform because of divorce. For Coraline, change is danger.
The movie is based on a best-selling children’s novella by author Neil Gaiman, fresh winner of the prestigious Newbery-book award. Gaiman spins a tale of a heroic young girl whose independence and cleverness in the face of danger gets her through the most terrifying and harrowing experiences of her young life. The movie, filmed with amazing precision in stop-motion style, is more a theatrical representation of the book than a literal translation from page to screen. While Coraline the novel outlines the path that Coraline the girl must travel, virtually alone, to face the evil Other Mother, Coraline the movie follows the girl’s thrilling adventure with the aid of her slightly antagonistic sidekick Wybie, a character not created by Gaiman. Where many hardcore fans of Gaiman’s work were outraged by this choice, it seemed an effective choice. Coraline is a story for all people of all ages, and little boys aren’t particularly enthused by what they would call ‘girl’s stories,’ and so the addition of a character for little boys to relate to was a strong choice. This is the most obvious difference between the novel and the movie. Others are more subtle and easily overlooked, but no change was made in bad taste: every element of the original story that was skewed was done in order to adapt the story to screen.
For those who aren’t purists, haven’t read a Gaiman book or just haven’t gotten around to reading the original novella yet, here’s the gist: Coraline Jones (voiced by the finally-adolescent Dakota Fanning), an independent but easily bored girl, moves across the country with her parents and into a huge pink house. They occupy the middle section of the house. The basement is rented out to Spink and Forcible, two retired actresses with too many dogs, while the attic is rented out to the “eccentric” Bobinsky who trains a mouse circus and startles Coraline with his acrobatic abilities. Coraline feels ignored by her parents, who are furiously writing about gardening and are too busy to entertain her or help her unpack properly or shop for fresh groceries. Bored with the end-of-summer lull, Coraline explores their new house and discovers a small door that leads into another world. At first this world seems wonderful and perfect, but soon she sees that the Other Mother is actually quite selfish and doesn’t have her best interests in mind at all.
The entire movie is shot in stop-motion, as well as with special 3D technology. The Coraline 3D experience is thrilling, especially for small children. Everything, from the smallest snapdragon to the most elaborate acrobatic feat pops out of the screen in a totally realistic manner. As well, the stop motion of the picture is so smooth that it is easy to forget that each action any character takes is the direct result of a studio full of artists who have created hundreds of unique puppets and then taken thousands of pictures just to make this movie. The details that have gone into it are some of the most amazing I have ever seen. For instance, the tiny outfit Althea Crome “micro-knit” to fit the Coraline puppet is possibly the most precise and adorable thing ever created (in the realm of tiny knitting, anyway). This movie is full of tiny gems, and viewing it is viewing the passion from each person involved.
Stop-motion animation is a dying art. It was once the number one way to make an amazing children’s movie, but now we’re in an age where digital technology is so strong that you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two (for example, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride compared to the earlier and more successful Nightmare Before Christmas). Coraline, however, puts in a strong argument for the preservation of this medium for as long as we can, because of the unrivaled quality and amazing dedication from the people who devote themselves to it.
The greatest thing about this movie is the feeling it conveys as you watch it. Like Coraline, we are suspicious of Wybie, who always seems to be spying on Coraline. We feel the solitude of the big, boring house. We understand her desire to escape into the always-night, breakfast-for-dinner, improvised music world of the Other Mother. We understand her appreciation of a world where everything is right. We experience every emotion right alongside her; as she’s living it, we are too. This is why, at the end of the story, we are not afraid of buttons and we are not afraid of other worlds. We know that, like Coraline, we will do whatever it takes to protect the ones we love, and even when things look really, really bad, we know that we will have people (or cats!) around us that help us prevail, that get us through the hard times and are still there with us to enjoy the good ones.
Like most of Gaiman’s work, Coraline’s story is one filled with dark themes. It explored genuine fears that children have, such as losing their parents, being trapped, being unable to talk or being forgotten about. But what makes this movie special is its ability to play on the fears of adults as well. This is part of the reason parents are so worried about taking their children to see this movie: not because the kids will be scared but because it scares them. Parents are afraid of losing their children, or that their children will resent them because they’re busy with their careers or making money to support their families. Coraline draws attention towards these fears, but what you can’t know if you haven’t seen it or read the book is whether or not there will be a happy ending. I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that it’s worth watching.
properly edited copy will go up tomorrow night.
&now bed.
edit: properly edited copy is in. &now bed (again).
Please don't make fun of my lame title. :)
When Coraline Jones grows up, she will not have a fear of buttons. Nor should any of the children watching the new film from renowned stop-motion director Henry Selick. It’s true that after seeing this movie buttons will always seem a little sinister, however the inspiring nature of this story definitely outweighs any Koumpounophobia that may arise. Coraline isn’t the story of the Beldam, an evil creature who takes the eyes of children, sews buttons in their place and feeds off their lives, but the story of a plucky young girl who struggles to stay afloat in the face of change. This is a struggle that many children face: the ones who move once a year, who are frightened by switching schools, who are seeing their lives transform because of divorce. For Coraline, change is danger.
The movie is based on a best-selling children’s novella by author Neil Gaiman, fresh winner of the prestigious Newbery-book award. Gaiman spins a tale of a heroic young girl whose independence and cleverness in the face of danger gets her through the most terrifying and harrowing experiences of her young life. The movie, filmed with amazing precision in stop-motion style, is more a theatrical representation of the book than a literal translation from page to screen. While Coraline the novel outlines the path that Coraline the girl must travel, virtually alone, to face the evil Other Mother, Coraline the movie follows the girl’s thrilling adventure with the aid of her slightly antagonistic sidekick Wybie, a character not created by Gaiman. Where many hardcore fans of Gaiman’s work were outraged by this choice, it seemed an effective choice. Coraline is a story for all people of all ages, and little boys aren’t particularly enthused by what they would call ‘girl’s stories,’ and so the addition of a character for little boys to relate to was a strong choice. This is the most obvious difference between the novel and the movie. Others are more subtle and easily overlooked, but no change was made in bad taste: every element of the original story that was skewed was done in order to adapt the story to screen.
For those who aren’t purists, haven’t read a Gaiman book or just haven’t gotten around to reading the original novella yet, here’s the gist: Coraline Jones (voiced by the finally-adolescent Dakota Fanning), an independent but easily bored girl, moves across the country with her parents and into a huge pink house. They occupy the middle section of the house. The basement is rented out to Spink and Forcible, two retired actresses with too many dogs, while the attic is rented out to the “eccentric” Bobinsky who trains a mouse circus and startles Coraline with his acrobatic abilities. Coraline feels ignored by her parents, who are furiously writing about gardening and are too busy to entertain her or help her unpack properly or shop for fresh groceries. Bored with the end-of-summer lull, Coraline explores their new house and discovers a small door that leads into another world. At first this world seems wonderful and perfect, but soon she sees that the Other Mother is actually quite selfish and doesn’t have her best interests in mind at all.
The entire movie is shot in stop-motion, as well as with special 3D technology. The Coraline 3D experience is thrilling, especially for small children. Everything, from the smallest snapdragon to the most elaborate acrobatic feat pops out of the screen in a totally realistic manner. As well, the stop motion of the picture is so smooth that it is easy to forget that each action any character takes is the direct result of a studio full of artists who have created hundreds of unique puppets and then taken thousands of pictures just to make this movie. The details that have gone into it are some of the most amazing I have ever seen. For instance, the tiny outfit Althea Crome “micro-knit” to fit the Coraline puppet is possibly the most precise and adorable thing ever created (in the realm of tiny knitting, anyway). This movie is full of tiny gems, and viewing it is viewing the passion from each person involved.
Stop-motion animation is a dying art. It was once the number one way to make an amazing children’s movie, but now we’re in an age where digital technology is so strong that you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two (for example, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride compared to the earlier and more successful Nightmare Before Christmas). Coraline, however, puts in a strong argument for the preservation of this medium for as long as we can, because of the unrivaled quality and amazing dedication from the people who devote themselves to it.
The greatest thing about this movie is the feeling it conveys as you watch it. Like Coraline, we are suspicious of Wybie, who always seems to be spying on Coraline. We feel the solitude of the big, boring house. We understand her desire to escape into the always-night, breakfast-for-dinner, improvised music world of the Other Mother. We understand her appreciation of a world where everything is right. We experience every emotion right alongside her; as she’s living it, we are too. This is why, at the end of the story, we are not afraid of buttons and we are not afraid of other worlds. We know that, like Coraline, we will do whatever it takes to protect the ones we love, and even when things look really, really bad, we know that we will have people (or cats!) around us that help us prevail, that get us through the hard times and are still there with us to enjoy the good ones.
Like most of Gaiman’s work, Coraline’s story is one filled with dark themes. It explored genuine fears that children have, such as losing their parents, being trapped, being unable to talk or being forgotten about. But what makes this movie special is its ability to play on the fears of adults as well. This is part of the reason parents are so worried about taking their children to see this movie: not because the kids will be scared but because it scares them. Parents are afraid of losing their children, or that their children will resent them because they’re busy with their careers or making money to support their families. Coraline draws attention towards these fears, but what you can’t know if you haven’t seen it or read the book is whether or not there will be a happy ending. I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you that it’s worth watching.
properly edited copy will go up tomorrow night.
&now bed.
edit: properly edited copy is in. &now bed (again).