Film review: Coraline

Tagline

Be careful what you wish for.

plot

Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones is bored. Her parents are boring magazine writers, her home is a boring split-level monstrosity shared with three boring neighbors, and the local school forces her to shop for boring clothes. So late one night, when she discovers a doorway in a mostly-empty room that leads to alternate version of her own apartment, complete with an Other Mother, Other Father, and more interesting neighbors, she's so elated she can barely wait to visit it over and over. The alternate universe is wild, colorful, surreal and fun—she is served home-cooked meals of all her favorite things, she can watch mouse circuses and burlesque shows, and her Other Parents never ignore her or tell her to mind her own business.

Of course, things aren't as simple, or as wonderful, as they seem on the surface. When Coraline realizes how much danger she's in while in the dream world, it becomes increasingly difficult for her to leave. But that's just the beginning.

As a longtime fan of Neil Gaiman's work, I was skeptical and edgy about this adaptation. The trailers and artwork make it seem more like a fantastical kiddie adventure than it is, and because of that I was worried that the film wouldn't capture the sinister, whimsical quality of the book. It took me several minutes to commit myself to it. In fact, I wasn't invested in it at all until it reached the world on the other side of the door. Because that is where the film truly shines: the jerky stop-motion animation lends itself to surrealist photography beautifully, and the elaborate sets are a visual feast. I didn't see it in 3D, the way it was offered in some theaters, but I was still knocked out by the stunning artistry.

The further it goes on, the creepier and the more dangerous the film becomes, and the audience realizes along with Coraline that this isn't going to be the fun romp we might've expected. One scene with a trio of ghostly children is particularly chilly. Still, I'm convinced this is due to mainly to the incredible visuals and cinematography, and the faithfulness to the gripping source material.

Acting

One thing that made it hard for me to latch onto this movie was the monotone, overdramatic voice acting by Teri Hatcher (the Mother and Other Mother). This was a bigger problem in the beginning, but even as the Other Mother she only has two speeds: Cheerful and Scary. The Scary is great, and I suppose one could argue that the incessantly sugary feel of the Cheerful bits make the Scary bits more thrilling. But mostly she just annoyed me. Dakota Fanning is guilty of clunky dramatics as well, and about ten minutes in I realized I didn't like any of these characters yet. But in Fanning's defense (because I am a fan of hers normally), her character's bratty behavior is about to be eradicated in the form of a morality play, and she will be shown the error of her ways. Actually, Coraline's development is quite a thing to watch, as she learns to be more accepting and less judgmental of the people around her, and comes to terms with her living situation in such a way that all the characters involved are a little happier about it. Again, it was just the beginning that bugged me. But it did bug me. Stephanie Leonidas as Helena in Gaiman's only other feature film, Mirrormask, was both sharper and more believable as an Alice-In-Wonderland type heroine.

Keith David as a nameless black cat is a saving grace, and hilariously entertaining. His nonchalant, devil-may-care demeanor, combined with his knowledge of the world behind the door and all its dangers, makes him a perfect foil to Coraline's wide-eyed naiveté. John Hodgman as the Father and Other Father is a quiet presence in the background. His part is somehow dramatic without sounding forced, and its easy to both sympathize with and recoil from the gradual way his character crumbles in the end.

Verdict: A fine adaptation, with delicious technical artistry, but still falls short of the original work. This is something I've learned to get used to—the book is almost always better than the movie. This movie was better than most, and I was not disappointed by it. However, the brand of magic evoked by the film is not the same as the book. I'll leave it to you to decide which is more spellbinding.

Laurel