Writer-director Henry Selick of "Nightmare Before Christmas" fame has done it again (although I must admit that the previews for his new movie mislead me - I was under the impression that at least one of Tim Burton's gnarled paws was involved the making of the flick): "Coraline" is the first stop-motion feature film ever to be animated in 3-D. The fantasy of the animated world coupled with the realism lent by the third dimension make Coraline's dual universes come to life in an eerily whimsical manner that I, for one, couldn't take my eyes off of.
Coraline, a spunky little blue-haired chick whose penchant for yellow raincoats and galoshes is sure to spawn a sea of Halloween imitations, is a classic fairytale heroine who journeys through her unconscious to eventually find home. The story draws from many familiar elements (the portal into dreamworld is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland's rabbit hole or Dorothy's cyclone into Oz, but psychologically darker still - the tiny door looks just like the entry into John Malkovich's brain), despite the fact that crucial plot points are somewhat lacking. Taking aside the missing explanation of what links Coraline's real world to that of her dreams, the movie's astonishing strength lies in the complexity of its images. The handmade-puppetry feel is no special effect. Painted popcorn forms lifelike cherry blossoms, sweaters are knit in miniature, and spinning dog toys create a garden of blooming flora. It took thirty animators almost three years to bring this wonderfully wacky fantasy to the screen, and with good reason: "Coraline" is a virtual tour-de-force of modern animatronic capabilities, one which I feel fairly certain will not be the last of its kind.
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