Lets get something straight here first...Not all animated features are made for children! This film is absolute proof of that statement. There are alot of children's movies that have little bits and pieces that were directed towards adults but this one here was made for adults and has bits and pieces for kids. I mean it was based off a book written by Neil Gaiman and let's face it here, he doesn't do alot of kids stuff. He does in fact write some good fiction in the horror genre and thriller genre as well.
This was directed by the claymation film-god, Henry Selick. People in the know will most likely remember him from The Nightmare Before Christmas back in 1993 or James and The Giant Peach in 1996. Most people believe Nightmare was directed by Tim Burton, a legend in his own right, but he was the writer and producer not the director. But in Burton's defense, Nightmare was written well, produced well and directed well. But Selick was the claymation mastermind behind Coraline and I couldn't have asked for a better film. Most movies have a few or more flaws but if that's true here then I can't see it.
All the voice actors do such a perfect performance as to make the viewer really believe these stop-motion animated people are actual people. Dakota Fanning, who I normally aren't a fan of, Does a great job in this film as the title character. I dare say it her best role, well at least the best I've seen her in anyway. Teri Hatcher plays Coraline's mother and her other-mother. I have to admit that Miss Hatcher does by far one of the greatest, scariest and creepiest mother figures in any film I've ever seen. Granted she only does the voice but I can assure you you will forget your watching an animated film at the beginning.
The effects are, as I've said already, made of claymation. Everything in this film is either just a small model or the characters being made of clay. This basically means that the director and the films animators would set everything up, take a picture, move what needs to be moved only by a fraction of what it needs, take another picture and continue this process thousands of time until you get the end result in a great fantasy horror story. And this one is truly a great film, both in effects and story. It is most closely related to The Chronicles of Narnia but with the emphasis on children thrown out the window.
This film is incredibly well made and also so incredibly creepy with frightening images that I would say don't let your kids watch it unless they are used to scary things. I can guarantee that they will have nightmares all night long if they are not used to it. Anyone that likes scary things and creepy things and claymation films will love this. There is also a 3-D version as well for those people that want creepy things thrown directly into their face. I have seen it both ways and enjoyed it both ways. I really think you won't be disappointed after watching Coraline, it still would have been cool to see this tale as a real live action film but I do love the animation style in it. Let me know what you think if you've seen it or if you just finished it.
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