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Movies / Upcoming / Coraline
Coraline

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Coraline (2009)

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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:25

Rotten:7

Average Rating:7.2/10

Consensus: With its vivid stop-motion animation combined with Neil Gaiman's imaginative story, Coraline is a film that's both visually stunning and wondrously entertaining.

Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins

Genre: Childrens

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 30, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $75,169,351

Synopsis: As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation... As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation tale of fractured dreams and families made whole. As the films opens, Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and her parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman) have moved into the Pink Palace, a once-vibrant boarding house that’s turned drab and dilapidated. As her parents work feverishly on a new gardening catalog, the bored and belligerent Coraline is admonished to explore her new world’s possibilities. Along the way she meets her fellow tenants, including two aging English showgirls and a mouse-training Russian acrobat, as well as an outcast neighborhood boy named Wybie. But it is a mysterious hidden door that most piques Coraline’s interest--a gateway to a parallel world where her "other" parents and neighbors live only to see Coraline well fed and endlessly entertained. All is not cakes and carnivals for Coraline, though, and the black buttons that have replaced the eyes of these otherworldly imitations hint at darker intentions. When these intentions are revealed, Cora and a friendly magical cat use their wits and willpower to defeat Coraline’s wicked "other mother" and restore balance in the real world. Based on Neil Gaiman’s beloved children’s novel, director Selick (THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS) uses the stop-motion technique to bring CORALINE to life with amazing visual and emotional depth. The result is a frightfully magical adventure that will give the whole family plenty to shriek, cheer, and talk about. [More]

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Dawn French

Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ian McShane

Director: Henry Selick

Director: Henry Selick
Screenwriter: Henry Selick
Producer: Bill Mechanic, Claire Jennings, Henry Selick,
Composer: Bruno Coulais
Studio: Focus Features

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
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  • Part 1: Henry Selick and Neil Gaiman bring Coraline to Life
    >
    Part 2: Crafting the world of Coraline
    >
    Part 3: The Story of Coraline
    >
    Part 4: Meet The Inhabitants Of Coraline's World
    >
  • Part 5: Coraline In The Higher Dimensions
    >
    Trailer
    >
    Way Too Old for Dolls
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    Mr B
    >
  • Meet Wybie
    >
    The Other Mother
    >
    Welcome Home
    >
    Bug Room
    >
  • RT Review Revue - Coraline, He's Just Not That Into You, The Pink Panther 2, Push
    >
1 - 4 of 13

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Reviews for Coraline

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1 - 19 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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This is one of those films that works best if you can forget about the source material. Selick’s film is more like a three-ring circus.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
08/05/09
Jake Wilson
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
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A wonderfully inventive film.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment 1 Comment
07/29/09
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
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The 3-D animation is just superb in Coraline; the imagination of Neil Gaiman has taken flight with director Henry Selick.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
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Coraline is a genuinely creepy film that employs 3-D trickery to its best affect. A deliciously entertaining mythological adventure.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
Pauline Adamek
Pauline Adamek
FILMINK (Australia)
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The visual invention is staggering, ranging from fabulous fantasy to eerie scary

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
07/29/09
Andrew L. Urban
Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
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A whimsical fantasy created in stop animation and set in alternate universes, Coraline is a visual treat certain to whisk every age into a magical wonderland.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
07/29/09
Louise Keller
Louise Keller
Urban Cinefile
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A whimsical fantasy created in stop animation and set in alternate universes, Coraline is a visual treat certain to whisk every age into a magical wonderland.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
07/29/09
Richard Kuipers
Richard Kuipers
Urban Cinefile
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It takes an extraordinary mind to create a truly original, truly new, truly beautiful fable, Coraline is one such creation.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/29/09
Giles Hardie
Giles Hardie
Sydney Morning Herald
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Technically, it's impeccable. But it’s madly out of synch with the 12A certificate.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment 5 Comments
05/08/09
James Christopher
James Christopher
Times [UK]
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Some scary fun.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
05/08/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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Terrifying and beautiful, believable and fantastical, this is one of the best children’s films in years and Selick’s finest — better even than The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment 1 Comment
05/07/09
Helen OHara
Helen OHara
Empire Magazine
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A gift to imagination.

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
02/23/09
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
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A a children's entertainment that's much too scary for little kids (ugly insects provide a pervasive visual motif) and too lifeless to enchant older audiences.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment 12 Comments
02/06/09
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
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Coraline is a plucky heroine, and director Selig's imagination is indisputable. But the story falters in parts, and its dark tone could be off-putting for children.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment 7 Comments
02/06/09
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
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Coraline is a remarkable feat of imagination, a magical tale with a genuinely sinister edge.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/06/09
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Coraline lingers in an atmosphere that is creepy, wonderfully strange and full of feeling.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
02/06/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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For all its visual delights, Coraline remains more an engaging spectacle than a connective drama.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 2 Comments
02/05/09
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
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I admire the film mostly because it is good to look at.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 5 Comments
02/05/09
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Eerily inhabiting the netherworld where a young girl’s wildest dreams become her cruelest nightmares, Coraline is a dark delight.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/02/09
Justin Chang
Justin Chang
Variety
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1 - 19 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Coraline

November 13, 2009: James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
James Schamus might be a workaholic. If it's not enough that he's the head of Focus Features -- the independent imprint of Universal -- he's also an established producer and... More...

November 02, 2009: Henry Selick Talks Coraline, Future Projects, and More Opens in new window
If you're a fan of "Coraline" director Henry Selick's work, you won't want to miss this interview, which finds him discussing projects past, present, and future. More...

October 21, 2009: Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
Wes Anderson, arguably the godfather of the quirky American indie thanks to the likes of Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, takes his first steps into the world of stop-motion... More...

July 20, 2009: RT on DVD: Watchmen Director's Cut, Coraline, Animated GI Joe
As the entire combined forces of North American geek culture descend on San Diego's Comic-Con this week, fear not; geekiness galore is to be found in this week's new releases!... More...

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