Coraline (2009) Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Keith David, John Hodgman & Robert Bailey Jr. Written by Henry Selick & Neil Gaiman Directed by Henry Selick

Anyways, a little over a year ago for the Christmas season, I did The Nightmare before Christmas. It was unique in its images and style as it used a long and hardly used method of SFX, stop motion claymation. Pretty much you have a clay model, barely move it, and run your camera for a fraction of a second, then move and repeat. To say it's a slow process is an understatement to the level of saying Peter Jackson's Dead Alive has some blood in it.

While Nightmare before Christmas was thought up by Tim Burton, it was actually Henry Selick who would direct the film as Burton simply wrote and produced it. While Burton would use claymation over a decade later for The Corpse Bride, Selick would actually us it a few more times on his own. First there was the adaptation of the book James and the Giant Peach which even though it wasn't as good as Nightmare, was a fun flick in its own right. Then he made Monkeybone...which is so bad I won't even get into it.

After Monkeybone, Selick took a break from claymation for a close to a decade until he decided to adapt another book, this one being more darker and pretty twisted for a kids book. That book was Coraline.

We then see the Pink Castle Apartment Complex in Ashland, OR as a moving truck arrives, getting the attention of the residents of the other two apartments. After everything is unloaded and the movers leave, Coraline Jones goes out to explore. While trying to find water with a Y shaped stick, she begins to be stalked by a feral cat.

Once she reaches an open space, she's then scared by a figure on a motorized bicycle with a skull like face mask on. However, once he's down, it's revealed to be a boy the same age as her named Wybie (short for Wyborn), the grandson of the owner of the Pink Castle. Coraline takes an instant disliking to him, but takes interest when he mentions his grandmother won't enter the building and that she rarely lets kids live there either. He also warns that the stick she's holding is Poison Ivy

The next day, Coraline is board as it's raining outside and both her parents are wrapped up in writing there gardening catalog and is even more annoyed when she finds Wybie left her a doll that looks strikingly similar to her. Too add to it, her hands are itching from the Poison Ivy. She then spends the rest of the day searching the apartment but only gets more frustrated.

Eventually in the living room, she finds small door under the wallpaper and convinces her short fused mother to open it. After finding a key with a button on it, cuts the paper away and unlocks it, but only finds bricks on the other side.

That night after a rather disgusted dinner from her father, she heads to bed and misses her friends. That night, she hears mice in her doorway and follows them downstairs. Once there, she finds the door open leading into a tunnel.

After going through, she finds an exact replica of her apartment. In the kitchen, she meats her "Other" mother who has Buttons sewn into her face where her eyes are. She then goes to see her "Other" father in his study with a piano also having button eyes. The piano has mechanical gloves that have him play a song for her that he sings.

Back in the Kitchen, they serve Coraline a turkey dinner with turning platters, toy trains with toppings and a chandelier that serves drinks. They then take her upstairs to bed where her Other Mother puts a healing mud on her ivy to heal before she falls asleep. The next morning, she wakes up in the normal world, but finds her ivy has healed away.

Downstairs, her parents of course think it was a dream and want to continue on there catalogue, suggesting she visit the two ladies in the basement apartment. When she goes out, she finds several packages on the door step for Bobinsky.

Going up to the top apartment, she accidentally opens the door and finds Bobinsky exercising on the guard rail in rather dangerous means. At first he accuses her of trying to spy on his circus of jumping mice, but he shortly warms up to her after she shows the packages containing cheese. Before she leaves though, he warns her that mice have a message, to stay away from the small door.

Heading down to the lower apartment, she greets Miss Spink and Forcible, two retired Burlesque actresses with several Scottish Terriers. There, they offer her tea and take what's left to read her future, Spink giving warning that danger is ahead.

Back outside, she finds Wybie once again spying on her and notices he and the feral cat are actually pals. Her annoyance of him though lessens as she actually finds amusment of his interest in large slugs. She questions him on the doll, but he says he simply found it in a trunk. He also says he's never gone into the building as ordered by his grandmother. The cat meanwhile is watching while eyeing the Coraline doll in the window upstairs.

That night, she leaves some cheese out for the mice and not long later, she finds the mice picking it up. following the mice back through the door, she heads back into the alternate apartment. There, she finds her Other Mother using he cheese to make dinner and asks her to get her other father in the garden.

Out there, Coraline finds the garden alive with all kinds of plants, some of them being dandelions that tickle. Her other father, riding a mantis/tractor hybrid lifts her up and starts a helicopter propeller that lifts them above, the garden lighting up to show it as a portrait of Coraline herself.

Inside, the three finish dinner as her Other Mother introduces another Wybie, who doesn't speak since she was annoyed by the real Wybie's voice. She then tells them to go up to Bobinski's place that's set up a special show.

Up there, they find his jumping mice have started a small circus with cotton candy and popcorn offered. Inside a small tent that expands into a larger circus arena. Inside, Coraline and Wybie watch as the mice and Bobinski put on a spectacular show for there entertainment. Afterwards, Wybie, Other Mother and father put Coraline to bed. She then wakes up in the real world, frustrated.

Later that day, the three go out to town, her father being dropped off to deliver the Catalogue. Meanwhile, Coraline and her real mother go shopping for her school uniform. She tries to get her mother to buy some gloves she likes, but her mother refuses. On the way home, she mentions how frustrated she is and how her "dreams" have been the most fun she's had.

When they get home, her mother relies that there's not food and decides to go out. Seeing Coraline's frustrations, she promises that if there catalogue does as good as they hope, things will change for the better. Coraline though doesn't believe it.

Fed up with everything, Coraline ventures into the doorway after her mother leaves, the black cat watching intently from the window, then goes to find a way into the house. Once inside, Coraline finds a special lunch has been prepared for her and clothes just for her.

After she's eaten, other parents arrive and tell her a special show has been planned by Miss Spink and Forcible. Heading outside for the show, she's greeted by the cat.

At first, she thinks he's another cat, but to her surprise he begins to talk. The cat says that both he and the Other Mother are rivals of sort as she doesn't like him being there and he likes to arrive to antagonize her. He warns her as well that this being the perfect world is in fact far from perfect at all. Before he can explain more though, he investigates a sound he heard.

Heading down to the lower apartment, she's greeted by Wybie and both go in. Inside, they find the lower apartment is a large theatre with Scottish Terriers for audience members. Sitting up front, they watch as Spink and Forcible (both barely clothed) compete in two different plays until the curtain falls. When it opens, it has both of them on high boards over water. Just as they're about to jump, they zip away their bodies to reveal their younger selves and start a trapeze act. While singing, they grab Coraline and pull up and finish the act with her.

After the show, Coraline and Wybie are greeted by the parents who take her back to the main apartment, the mother noticing and not liking Wybie's sudden shift to sadness and frowning. Inside, they tell Coraline that she could actually stay there forever which gets her excited.

However, once sat the table, they show what she has to do; sew buttons in her eyes like the rest of them. It's then that she suddenly relies that things are suddenly not fitting together right and excuses herself to bed. Once up stairs, she barricades her door and tries to go to sleep, but awakens to find she's still in the other world.

Venturing down, she finds that the living room with the doorway out is now locked. Going to ask the father, she finds he's suddenly depressed and reveals that he's not happy because mother's not happy. He's then suddenly stopped by the Piano hands that cover his mouth.

Knowing now she's in danger, she then flees the house and tries to get as far away as she can. As she slows down, the Cat joins her and warns she can't get away. Suddenly the landscape starts turn into white emptiness. The cat then reveals that the mother hasn't made this part of the world because she didn't need it. They then walk all the way back to the house, having walked around there world. Once back, the Cat then tracks and pounces one of the jumping mice and kills it, revealing it to be a rat sounding an alarm.

Heading into the house, Coraline breaks the door handles off the living room doors. Inside, she finds the room's furniture is now bug like and blocking the doorway home. She's then greeted by the mother who has her sit.

Coraline then demands that she be released to her real mother. Even after warning her in anger, she informs the Other Mother that she's not her mother at all. The mother then gives Coraline to the count of three to take it back, and after counting to three, grows into a more tall and scary version of herself. She then grabs her and takes her to a mirror, trapping her in a room alone as punishment.

Inside, she finds it's actually a child's room and that the room is inhabited by the spirits of three children, all having been pulled in by the mother, or beldam, and agreed to having the buttons sowed on, the then lost there souls to her. They beg her then to find there eyes and set them free.

Suddenly, Coraline is saved by Wybie, who has his mouth sowed into a permanent smile. He then takes her to the living room and helps her escape, but attracts to the attention of the beldam. Despite her pleas, Wybie stays behind and Coraline flees back to the real world.

Once back, she finds her parents aren't home yet. After hearing a knocking, she finds the real Wybie at the door requesting the doll back saying it was his grandmother's. She then pulls him into the house and tries to explain everything to him but he just calls her crazy and runs away.

She then goes to Miss Spink and Forcible and asks advice. They then pull out an old jar of stuck together old candy and stab at it with sewing needles. The result is a triangular looking item they say is meant to help find lost things.

As the day turn to night, Coraline sets up the pillows in her parent's bed to match her parents and goes to sleep in tears, missing her real mother and father, Before long, she's awakened by the no silent cat. following him, she looks into a mirror to find his parents freezing and ask for help. The cat then shows Coraline's doll now resembles her parents sowed back to back, revealing the beldam has got them now.

After burning the doll, she then preps a bag with hedge clippers, a flash light and the looking item. While venturing into the tunnel, she's greeted by the cat that again starts to talk. He warns she'll do anything to keep her now, but says she'll gladly play game as she loves them.

Nearly at the end, she finds her mother calling for her and hurries to her. Once in her arms though, it's revealed to be the beldam who has the father, now fat and misshapen in misery, hold her. She also has a mouse bring in the key from the real world and swallows it, trapping her.

Entering the kitchen, she offers the beldam a game, who in surprise agrees. If Coraline can find the eyes of the three children and her parents, everyone can go, but if she fails, she'll have the buttons sowed in and stay. After giving a clue that the eyes are in the wonders made for her, the beldam disappears.

Looking out into the garden, she then relies what she meant and goes out. As se ventures into it, the plants that once tickled and played with her now try to kill her. She then uses her hedge clippers to escape.

She then tries out her looking item and looks through it, seeing that the world through it is gray and colorless. Searching, she suddenly finds a glowing round object and sees it's one of the eyes. But just as she lowers her item, it's revealed to be on the mantis tractor driven by the father with the mechanical piano hands forcing him to drive. It nearly gets her until it slips and falls off the bridge into the pond below, the father getting his hand free and giving the Eye to the girl before they both sink.

After she collects the eye, the whole garden suddenly goes grey and lifeless. Looking up, she then sees a shadow of a button enclosing the moon, showing how much time she has left.

Heading downstairs, she looks up to find the dogs now have bat wings and are annoyed by her flashing her flash light at them. Suddenly the lights on stage reveal a giant candy. Looking in with her object, she finds Spink and Forcible fused together and holding the eye. Reaching in, she pulls their hands out and opens them to find the eye, but they then grab her and try to pull her in. She then uses the flashlight to get the dogs to fly after her and ducks, the dogs attacking the fused women and allowing her to get the eye.

After that area turns grey, she then makes her way up to the last place, Mr. Bobinski apartment. Above his place flags Wybie's clothes as a warning for Coraline. She then screams out she's not scared.

Inside, she finds Mr. Bobinski (or his clothes alive and talking) slinking around and holding the eye. He tries to convince her that her old life is boring and they'll keep her safe. She says all he is a copy, to which he responds by exploding into his jumping mice. One of them runs off with the eye, Coraline trying to hit it with looking object but misses. She then trips out the door and lands hard on the walkway, it falling down and landing hard on the ground.

Coraline looks as the moon is nearly enclosed and begins to cry as she's lost the game. However, the cat arrives with the eye and gives it to her. Just then, the moon is enclosed and the outside world starts to deteriorate into white and both barely escape into the house. Inside the ghost children warn that she won't play fair and will never let her go.

Walking into the living room, she finds the beldam who's real form is revealed as having four metal thin legs, sharp metal hands with needle fingers and an almost skull like face. She in particular is aggravated over her having the cat with him. When Coraline says the game isn't over, the beldam then shows she has her looking item and throws it into the fire.

Thinking fast, Coraline claims her parents are behind the doorway into the real world. While the beldam coughs up the key for the door and opens it, Coraline finds her parents are trapped in a snow globe. The beldam opens and reveals she's wrong, and pulls out a needle saying she's now hers.

Before she can do anything though, Coraline grabs the cat and throws it into her face, grabbing the snow globe and putting it in her bag. After the cat pulls the buttons of her face, the beldam unwinds the world into a giant web, the cat escaping out the door and Coraline dropping into the bottom. As the beldam jump down, Coraline slips away and climbs up. However, she accidentally sets off a vibration which the beldam hears and follows.

Coraline barely manages to get into the doorway and pull the key out, but the beldam arrives and tries to keep it open. Suddenly, the spirits of the lost children come out and pull it shut, cutting off her hand. She then hurries down the tunnel as the door is pushed down the tunnel. Coraline barely then makes it out and locks the door.

Just then, her parents arrive and Coraline greets them, but is shocked to find thy have no knowledge of what happened. They then inform her they're going out to dinner since they're Catalogue sold as good as they had hoped.

That nigh, Coraline is tucked into bed by her parents and finds to her surprise, her mother bought the gloves she wanted. Suddenly, the cat arrives and looks at her angrily, but she asks for forgiveness. With the eyes under her pillow, she goes to sleep and starts to dream. In it, she's greeted by the children who warn that she's not safe as long as the key is still close.

Awakened, Coraline finds the eyes broken and sneaks out with the key. As she walks past the living room, the hand that was cut off slips through the locked door and follows. It follows her as she heads for the well, opening the hatch intending to drop the key in.

It's then that it attacks and pulls the key away, chocking Coraline with the string. Suddenly, Wybie arrives stops it, but is knocked down and nearly falls into the well. Coraline stops it and distracts it enough for Wybie to slam it with a rock, breaking it into pieces. Wrapping it in a sack with the rock and using the key and string to tie it, they drop it down the well.

Wybie then reveals a photo of his grandmother and younger sister, her sister having a resemblance to one of the victims Coraline explained. She then tells him to bring her by tomorrow and they'll tell her together.

The next day, Coraline and her parents all work on the garden along with Miss Spink and Forcible, Mr. Bobinksi and Wybie who brings his grandmother down. The camera then shifts to the front of the house where the cat is seen on the sign, walking past the sign and suddenly disappearing behind it.

Fun Facts

The original novel was written by Neil Gaiman, who's also worked on several graphic novels and comics, screen plays including Mirrormask, and other novels including Stardust.

The original novel was actually written rather rough, similar to that of a real life diary.

The character of Wybie was actually made for the film and not present in the novel, his creation was so the viewer didn't see Coraline talk to herself the whole time.

The character of the Other Mother is later called a beldam. The term was meant for folk tales of older women or creatures, like witches or hags, that took a liking to the abuse and suffering of children.

We're never given a full explanation of the cat, if being in her world made him intelligent or if he was a supernatural being himself.

My rating is PG (Ages 8 and 9)

Oh god did I want to give this a G rating, I did...but the fact is this is a freaking dark and creepy film, even for kids. I even almost gave it an R rating of 10 and 11, due not only to the scary aspects, but to the rather revealing scene with the two older ladies doing a play nearly naked (one of them with breasts so big you'd think she was a porn star). But...the fact is it's still claymation and because of that, I'll let it slide and give it the PG rating.

That's it for this issue. Next I follow with the film I intended to do, the Lost Boys. Until then, enjoy.