A brief complaint of Coraline (SPOILERS)
Having just read the book before seeing the movie and being a long time fan of Neil Gaiman, I was already at a disadvantage going into the movie with high expectations. However, Henry Selick's vision met most of those expectations. It was visually stunning, like nothing I've seen in animation before. The characters were wonderful adaptations from the book.
But there was one glaring disappointment, they stole away Coraline's power.
Many of the clever gems in the book Coraline was responsible for were replaced by spoon fed solutions or plain old omissions. Some of this I can ignore. But the single worst atrocity was at the end. I wanted to shout at the screen.
(SPOILER BELOW)
The book is a coming of age story, so how clever of Coraline to continue to pretend to be childlike in laying her trap for the book's villain. And how awful for the movie to replace that with her being rescued by a boy!
The quote at the beginning of the book states: "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
The movie is less than true. It tells us dragons can be beaten, but only by the brute force of a knight.
But there was one glaring disappointment, they stole away Coraline's power.
Many of the clever gems in the book Coraline was responsible for were replaced by spoon fed solutions or plain old omissions. Some of this I can ignore. But the single worst atrocity was at the end. I wanted to shout at the screen.
(SPOILER BELOW)
The book is a coming of age story, so how clever of Coraline to continue to pretend to be childlike in laying her trap for the book's villain. And how awful for the movie to replace that with her being rescued by a boy!
The quote at the beginning of the book states: "Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
The movie is less than true. It tells us dragons can be beaten, but only by the brute force of a knight.