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.
Coraline (2009)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Coraline
The 3-D animation is just superb in Coraline; the imagination of Neil Gaiman has taken flight with director Henry Selick.
Coraline is a genuinely creepy film that employs 3-D trickery to its best affect. A deliciously entertaining mythological adventure.
The visual invention is staggering, ranging from fabulous fantasy to eerie scary
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.
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.
It takes an extraordinary mind to create a truly original, truly new, truly beautiful fable, Coraline is one such creation.
Technically, it's impeccable. But it’s madly out of synch with the 12A certificate.
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.
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.
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.
Coraline is a remarkable feat of imagination, a magical tale with a genuinely sinister edge.
Coraline lingers in an atmosphere that is creepy, wonderfully strange and full of feeling.
For all its visual delights, Coraline remains more an engaging spectacle than a connective drama.
Eerily inhabiting the netherworld where a young girl’s wildest dreams become her cruelest nightmares, Coraline is a dark delight.
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 ![]()
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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