Your eyes are cute as buttons...
Special bonus URGA MOTW
Coraline in 3D
One of my most anticipated films of the year - especially because we've had to wait six months from the US release which was in February - is Henry Sellick's Coraline, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman.
I'm a big Gaiman fan and always happy when one of his works makes it to the movies. The recent adaption of "Stardust" was amazing, a true "Princess Bride" of the new generation, and "Beowulf" was an interesting take on the oldest surviving English-language story, even if the motion capture film making process and Austin Powers-like nudity covering made parts of the film seem far more cartoony than it should have been.
Coraline is the first stop motion animation film done in 3D, and considering how rarely stop motion animation is done nowadays (CGI is quicker and cheaper) it's a rare gem purely due to the filmmaking process used. Henry Sellick directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (no, it wasn't Tim Burton, and he didn't even write "Nightmare", he just came up with the concept and story, and yet he still gets his name in the title) and has adapted and directed Coraline too.
A quick plot summary for those of you who haven't read the book: Coraline Jones and her overworked and busy parents have just moved into the Pink Palace Apartments with some weird upstairs and downstairs neighbours. Coraline is easily bored and loves exploring, and soon discovers a strange small door in the wall of the living room... which goes nowhere. However, one night she sees a tunnel through the door and travels along it to another copy of her house, but much nicer, and there she meets her Other Mother and Other Father who are everything she ever wanted in parents... except they have buttons for eyes.
This is a great spooky story for kids - so if you've got any who are in the 8-12 age group, this is one that will enthral them and possibly scare them too (in a good way!) I think because I was familiar with the story (having read the book) I didn't find it quite as creepy as I was anticipating, but it was still quite a satisfactory adaptation of Neil Gaiman's wonderful novel. The puppetry is just amazing, and it's quite often so smooth you could be forgiven for thinking it was CGI. They don't over do the 3D effects (i.e. things poking out of the screen) which means that even if you see this film in 2D, it's well worth it. We just wanted to see the 3D version based purely on the fact that this is stop motion animation and not computer generated (which most 3D animated movies are).
If you like the fantastic imagination of Neil Gaiman, or have kids you'd like to entertain for a few hours with something a little creepy, then definitely go see this film. Hopefully the film adaptation of "The Graveyard Book" also lives up to its novel.
9/10
Coraline in 3D
One of my most anticipated films of the year - especially because we've had to wait six months from the US release which was in February - is Henry Sellick's Coraline, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman.
I'm a big Gaiman fan and always happy when one of his works makes it to the movies. The recent adaption of "Stardust" was amazing, a true "Princess Bride" of the new generation, and "Beowulf" was an interesting take on the oldest surviving English-language story, even if the motion capture film making process and Austin Powers-like nudity covering made parts of the film seem far more cartoony than it should have been.
Coraline is the first stop motion animation film done in 3D, and considering how rarely stop motion animation is done nowadays (CGI is quicker and cheaper) it's a rare gem purely due to the filmmaking process used. Henry Sellick directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (no, it wasn't Tim Burton, and he didn't even write "Nightmare", he just came up with the concept and story, and yet he still gets his name in the title) and has adapted and directed Coraline too.
A quick plot summary for those of you who haven't read the book: Coraline Jones and her overworked and busy parents have just moved into the Pink Palace Apartments with some weird upstairs and downstairs neighbours. Coraline is easily bored and loves exploring, and soon discovers a strange small door in the wall of the living room... which goes nowhere. However, one night she sees a tunnel through the door and travels along it to another copy of her house, but much nicer, and there she meets her Other Mother and Other Father who are everything she ever wanted in parents... except they have buttons for eyes.
This is a great spooky story for kids - so if you've got any who are in the 8-12 age group, this is one that will enthral them and possibly scare them too (in a good way!) I think because I was familiar with the story (having read the book) I didn't find it quite as creepy as I was anticipating, but it was still quite a satisfactory adaptation of Neil Gaiman's wonderful novel. The puppetry is just amazing, and it's quite often so smooth you could be forgiven for thinking it was CGI. They don't over do the 3D effects (i.e. things poking out of the screen) which means that even if you see this film in 2D, it's well worth it. We just wanted to see the 3D version based purely on the fact that this is stop motion animation and not computer generated (which most 3D animated movies are).
If you like the fantastic imagination of Neil Gaiman, or have kids you'd like to entertain for a few hours with something a little creepy, then definitely go see this film. Hopefully the film adaptation of "The Graveyard Book" also lives up to its novel.
9/10