Coraline

Ahhh...the beauty of stop-motion animation...something that has kind of fell along the wayside for the ease of a computer animation (not trying to take the hard work out of that). I just miss the hand drawn and the claymation that seems to have been replaced. I'm an old fashion girl at heart, though I do love the beauty of CG stuff and nothing can be the special effects. Still, if you are a lover of the genius of Neil Gaiman's work, Coraline will take you on a dark adventure into a little girl's want for everything and the realization that sometimes getting it is not always best.

Coraline is the story of a little girl that is forced to move somewhere new for her parent's work, both who ignore her and are absorbed in their own little worlds. In an effort to entertain herself, she meets Wybie, a weird boy with a stray black cat, who tells her of his grandma's sister disappearing in the same apartment as she lives now.

Coraline laughs it off, but when she find a little door that seems to lead to another world at night, she starts believing that just maybe Wybie is right. On the other side is her life only the way she wants it with everyone catering to her every desire and totally absorbed in making her happy. The only thing that is odd about this new place is everyone except the black stray cat as buttons for eyes and the cat seems to talk. Will Caroline stay or will see she what is really going on in front of her?

For lovers of Nightmare Before Christmas and Corspe Bride, Coraline will give you all the good fun darkeness you've enjoyed, but this is definitely not a movie for younger viewers. It is scary, has a scene that involves a fat woman and a thong, and could give nightmares rather easily. I suggest that this one can wait until they are at least ten, same as the novel that started it all. Besides that, Coraline is visually gorgeous and a definite buy on BluRay, if you have it. The clarity and 3D scenes make it stunning as well as pull you into the world that Gaiman creates.

I would definitely give this one a 4 1/2 out of 5. Be careful what you wish for.