Thursday, April 02, 2009

Coraline (2008)

I've seen Coraline twice in the theaters, in 2D and in 3D with my two favorite 11-year-olds. Here is a movie that is a marvel in stopmotion animation with only rarely visible patches where the illusion wears thin (and a corner must have been cut). Teri Hatcher's evil "Other Mom" is a beguiling black widow of a character who gradually maneuvers to ensnare Coraline, who is determined to escape and to rescue others. The spider motif only comes out, full fangs bared, near the end; most of the movie is concerned with what seems real and what might not be in Coraline's new home in Oregon. Her parents are gardening authors who can't stand dirt and are busy writing under deadline, so Coraline is sent to explore the strange old boarding house where they've settled. Doors and mirrors are not what they seem and the house's other inhabitants are delightfully eccentric: a Russian acrobat above and two long-faded actresses below -- plus mice and more. Coraline also finds a conspirator in Wybee, at some distance the closest neighbor, and his black cat. Many more fantastic and beautiful and eerie elements abound, depending on which layer of the story Coraline is in. The button-eyes and alternate-universe themes of this movie carry a primal power for the imagination and my youngest son had bad dreams because of the sinister spider woman. 4.5 stars. (3-18-09 posted 4-2-09)

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