Coraline 3D review

Beautiful and creepy. This handmade movie is filled with stunning details that leave with a how-did-they-do-that feeling that can't always be explained with CG means. Everything on the set from the popcorn garden trees to the painstakingly micro-knitted gloves was made with human hands. The creativity that went into this film appears to have carried every scene through a world of storybook fantasy.

The story is a fresh take on a familiar little girl journey, but instead of Alice or Wendy Darling, or even Dorothy, you get Coraline, bitter, unpleasant, and full of spunk. Coraline moves with her parents, gardening workaholics, to an apartment building in rainy dreary Oregon. Coraline, board out of her mind and ignored by her parents, then finds a mysterious little door which she has to open (of course). But on the other side is a Wonderland set in Plaesantville. Button-eyed (creepy) copies of the apartment's inhabitants greet Coraline with a pleasant and here-to-serve attitude (creepier). And (of course) everything is not what it seems.

The plot is a bit borrowed from other works (though what story isn't!), but the characters hide this fact with their original design (Wybie and Other Mother, to name a few). Overall the film was not what I expected from the trailers, but I should have know better when they said it was from the makers of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (which If you loved and don't care that there are no songs then you'll love Coraline). Once again it's a kid's movie that's not really a kid's movie. Some parts were a bit disturbing (in a good way) and a few moments were a little...well... just watch the scenes with the two crazy sisters from downstairs and you'll see what I mean.

As a whole, Coraline is a truly inspiring movie. I can't wait to see some fan art on this one and to get the DVD. I also hope that they release the songs They Might Be Giants created when the project was a musical. I fully recommend watching it in 3D if you haven't already; once you see the setting, you'll want to walk around in this strange colorful world.