The Oregan-based stop motion studio Laika, I would say is like the Pixar of stop motion animation. They’re a group of filmmakers that obviously love what they are doing and they’re responsible for creating original and even groundbreaking stories that resonate with audiences from around the world. But no matter how good the studio may get in its storytelling and animation, the movie that started everything would be the horrific but pleasant movie known as Coraline which is based on the Neil Gaiman book of the same name and directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas director, Henry Selick. (Not Tim Burton)
Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) has moved with her family from her hometown in Michigan to the pink palace in Oregon. Her parents have little to no time to pay attention to her because of their work and the people she meets such as a random kid named Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr) disgusts Coraline immensely. One day she finds a door that when opened only reveals a brick wall. During the night, the door reveals itself to lead to the other world where there is another mother and father who seem better and pay more attention to her. They even have strange buttons for eyes. Every night she keeps coming back to the other world only to soon discover that there may be some dark secrets that could prove that things seem too good to be true.
The story invites you to be part of an experience that you’d think would be fun and entertaining but slowly but surely leads you into a horrific trap that becomes dark and twisted. Director Henry Selick has proved that he has learned a lot after working on movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach as this movie not only is great in its morals and character growth but also great in just how spooky it can get without going over the PG rating. The first half starts out as a well-crafted family adventure and then suddenly turns itself into a kid-friendly horror flick that provides some good scares and even dark scenarios. This would be the first film to come out of Laika and for a first film, it succeeds in telling a great story with character development and creative horror-like ideas.
What I like about the characters in this movie is that none of them are written as nice people who are completely misunderstood. Coraline in particular is not a perfect protagonist. She can be repulsive and even selfish at times but they make it clear what her problems are which can help provide some relatability to the audience. Even the parents in the “real world” aren’t mean-spirited toward Coraline as they are more busy, normal, overworked parents who may not pay attention to Coraline that much, but still show signs of caring and love, even if it’s not obvious to Coraline herself. From what I’ve heard, Wybie was not originally in the book as he’s a new addition to the movie, in any other movie this would be a downgrade, but I like how Wybie interacts with Coraline in the real world and they have some nice character moments with each other. There are many other characters in this movie including the other mother who is brilliant in her performance but all and all, the characters are fun and mysterious in all the right ways.
The animation is not only good at creating a lifelike environment with stop motion, but it’s also great at making the audience feel like they are actually there with the characters. When Coraline is enjoying an experience in the other world I feel like I’m with her enjoying that experience along with her. Even the colors palette of the movie is great at leading you into a false sense of security. I personally like how the colors in the real world are gray and drab while the colors in the other world are so vivid and lively. Even during the beginning, everything looks so pretty but the visuals still have a bit of an off-putting feel to make things seem not quite right with the button eyes being the first clue. Once the other world shows its true colors, the visuals get more spooky and even scary at times with plenty of brilliant design choices that are sure to leave an impression on the audience.
The Music for the movie was composed by French composer Bruno Coulais. His score is interesting because the majority of the music (At least in the real world) gives a more innocent and childlike feel seeing as Coraline herself still is a child. It’s super effective especially during the beginning when we get to see Coraline’s character in action. When the music needs to be warped and twisted, however, it succeeds greatly at it and gives a good amount of tension to the horror aspects of the movie. There are even some songs written for the movie and while there aren’t as many songs as there are in say The Nightmare Before Christmas, they are still well sung and well made. The one that sticks out to me is the Other Father song written by “They Might Be Giants” it’s only 30 seconds, but it conveys a lot in that short amount of time especially if you stop and think about the song’s hidden meaning.
Coraline is a Halloween Classic in my opinion and it only keeps getting better and better with every viewing. The well-paced storytelling, relatable characters, expertly crafted animation and wonderful music make this movie a must-watch for Stop-motion fans or anyone looking to get a good scare. This would mark the start of Laika’s ever-growing film career and I think the studio has Coraline to thank for getting them as far as they are right now.
(Final Grade: A)