Coraline Movie Review

Although I'd consider Coraline strictly for the kiddies, I heard some youngsters crying during the press screening and another reporter told me a couple of children ran sobbing from the theater when he saw it. That spells success in Horror.com's book, but I've got to say I, personally, was kind of bored throughout the movie. I don't think many adults will enjoy this slow-paced "Alice In Wonderland" knock-off.

I haven't read Neil Gaiman's novel, so I can't speak for it — but genre giant that he is, I'm fairly certain it's superior to the pretty yet by-the-numbers cinematic adaptation. A high-definition stop-motion animated feature (honored to be the first to be originally filmed in 3-D) the story follows young only-child Coraline (Dakota Fanning), who worms her way through a secret door in the basement of her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. Her real parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman) are busy, brusque and businesslike, while her "other" mother and dad are warm, attentive, and loving. Perhaps too much so… they want Coraline to stay with them forever and ever and ever.

Pulling out all the stops (cakes, carnivals, and cute canines) "other" mother is especially insistent that Coraline never return to the real world. Why? Well, let's just say that mommy dearest's intentions are anything but pure and when the façade of frivolity crumbles, Coraline finds herself in a fight for her dear life.

There is some great horror imagery (wretched rats, ocular assault, ghoulish ghosts, etc.), and the look of the film is soothingly true to director Henry Selick's off-kilter animation vision (Monkeybone, James and the Giant Peach, and The Nightmare Before Christmas). The 3-D is quite subtle, its intention being to draw you in rather than to leap out… and to me, that's a "why bother?" All I got was a 3-D headache and none of the fun.

There are some intriguing ancillary characters — a Cheshire-like cat (Keith David) and a barrel-shaped Russian acrobat (Ian McShane) — who are standouts, but for the most part the dialogue sounds as though it's being read as they go along, which is somewhat aggravating (and surprising, coming from talents like Fanning and Hatcher).

In short, this is a fairly flat 3-D experience that you might as well save for DVD or TV.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson