Coraline: Animated Movie (2009)

[The Shoe Fairy]

Sugary sweet for kiddies with fart jokes, obvious celebrities, and talking dogs from da hood. Seriously, anyone see those commercials for Air Buddies in Space? They really look like an out of touch 50 year old wrote it.

When it comes to something clever, I have faith kids would want to see it. Look at Ratatouille... sure, it wasn't a super smash hit, and the merchandise went straight to clearance... but we had a film that was basically like... I dunno... Sideways Jr. Something with gourmand speak, and like a comic routine on that sort of stuff with sharp parody of the gourmet world. The scene where the dead chef's likeness was plastered all over "gourmet" food, wearing racist Asian head gear, and cowboy stereotypes... selling things like corn dogs (which the shifty chef had to explain was an American snack food). I mean, that's some sharp writing. And that movie was also pretty dark, and had a bittersweet ending.

The Incredibles was also very dark humor. The main plot was a super villain that wanted to kill all the super heroes so he could swoop in and save the day, because of a massive psychological trauma that twisted him. And the No capes joke was just... really really dark humor.

On to my next subject... when can we expect Hot Topic to be flooded with Coraline merchandise that all the goth and emo posers are gonna buy up?

*Sigh* I wish they had Hot Topic here
Anyway, Hot Topic isn't all bad, just 3/4 of the merch there sucks. Same with the Emo/Scene/hxc kids there. They tend to suck too. But, no doubt the creators will make a truckload from them.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

No matter where you go, there will be problems.

That's true. I mean you go away to escape your problems and a new set of ones comes your way... So, in addition to these new set of problems, the older ones come creeping back and you now have twice the problems you started out with. So by trying to escape, you now have even more. And of course it's better to deal with and face the ones you always have before moving on.

 

[frogboy4]

*Sigh* I wish they had Hot Topic here
Anyway, Hot Topic isn't all bad, just 3/4 of the merch there sucks. Same with the Emo/Scene/hxc kids there. They tend to suck too. But, no doubt the creators will make a truckload from them.

(I'm a little off-topic here...)
It's funny because I work at an action figure/toy store and get emos and goths all the time. Many of them are nice; a few of them act as though they're too hip for the room. Some of them give me the impression that they think I'm "the man" or something and it kind of tickles me. These days I'm all blond, twinkly eyed and comfortably waspy, but there were many years that I had the black (and multi-colored) hair and goth style because it suited me. It never made me feel superior or want to judge others and I dressed for myself and not to seek attention. It just used to take so friggin long to get dressed that by my mid-early 20s I quit doing it. One more thing about the goths in my store - they never buy anything! I am nice to them all the same.

Back to topic - I do know there are some Coraline toys out there and I've been trying to get the owner to stock some in the store. Once I see the movie this week I'll be able to know what characters would be the best sellers.

 

[Drtooth]

Back to topic - I do know there are some Coraline toys out there and I've been trying to get the owner to stock some in the store. Once I see the movie this week I'll be able to know what characters would be the best sellers.

Oh yeah, I've seen one. I think ToyFare has a picture of them. But I saw the one with Coraline in PJ's at a store that was going on clearance because it was going to move across the street (I guess it's just cheaper to sell things at rock bottom prices than to move every single box back and forth). I didn't pick it up, but I thought it was really well done. I believe NECA put them out.

 

[frogboy4]

Coraline Review A- (Read the book and see it in 3D)

I saw the film Tuesday night and highly recommend it. Henry Selick can now distinguish his name from that of Tim Burton. Let's face it, Nightmare Before Christmas was a concept by Tim Burton, but he rarely visited the set and it was director Selick and his artisans that created the film and brought it to life. IMHO - Nightmare is just a hair or two more Tim Burton's film than Beauty and the Beast was Walt Disney's. Burton and Selick are both fine filmmakers, I'm just glad the latter is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

A brief introduction: Selick created a lot of those MTV and Nickelodeon stop motion station identification bumpers in the 80s as well as some Pillsbury Doughboy commercials. He also began as a Disney animator on such projects as The Fox and the Hound and Pete's Dragon and storyboarded Walter Murch's Return to Oz. He directed Monkeybone (we'll forgive him for that), Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach.

I did read Neil Gaiman's book right before seeing the picture and must say that I enjoyed both in their own right. Selick retains about 80% of Gaiman's short novel and moves some events around, yet still keeps the pace of the book. This is the first time in animation I have ever seen a director allow his scenes to breath rather than be chopped up into a blitz of quick cuts. It really felt like I was tagging along and sharing the house with Coraline.

There are a few inventions - the garden outside, a neighbor boy, a creepy doll, a creepy visual reveal of the villain and a song written by They Might Be Giants. These all help expand the story and make it better for the big screen. I wasn't initially keen on the character addition of Wybie. Some felt that his insertion into the picture was intended to increase male appeal, but I feel he serves to balance the protagonist so she can remain willful and slightly bratty.

Basically this is the story of a lonely girl who is ignored by her busy parents, takes them for granted and has to fight to get them back in this Other World where she is trapped by her Other Mother - a malevolent being that needs her for a reason we learn later on. And of course we have the Other Mother coaxing Coraline to have buttons sewn in her eyes in order to stay in the toxic candy coated world she has created. It is rumored that this part was written as Neil Gaiman's misgivings of having been raised by Scientologists, but that is not confirmed. It would make sense.

This is not a cheerful story, but it is colorful. The stop motion puppetry is breath taking and the artistry is undeniably the best I've seen in any animated film this decade. The 3D elements are underplayed nicely and only pop out when they serve the story. Coraline is not an in-your-face gimmick movie. It slowly unfolds and yes, some people might find it boring in parts. This is not really a children's movie and it doesn't have to be. It's much more of a fine art piece than just another animated movie.

I suggest reading the book first as it painted my experience and likely made it more enjoyable. Either way I give it a firm A-. If this doesn't win the Animated Oscar next year I will never watch the program again. No competition could be better than Coraline this year.

 

[Drtooth]

I suggest reading the book first as it painted my experience and likely made it more enjoyable. Either way I give it a firm A-. If this doesn't win the Animated Oscar next year I will never watch the program again. No competition could be better than Coraline this year.

I dunno... is Pixar releasing a film this year? It's like they hand them the award every other year.... If Monsters and Aliens even gets nominated, I'll agree not to watch the program again. That trailer I saw before Coraline really made me not want to see it at all, but I will give it a chance (plus they pretty much stole a character from me).

SPOILER:




I still can't decide if I think the part where the twisted other world father mumbling "Squish Squash" was funny or kinda disturbing....

And anyone else think that while Coraline's mother looked a little like Teri Hatcher, the second form of the other world mother looked EXACTLY like Teri Hatcher....

And it was also great to see Sanders and French together again. But that's the most claymation nudity I EVER want to see. Especially on old, exaggerated overweight frames.



END Spoiler:

I loved it too. Surprised HT didn't have anything yet (I checked last night- mainly to see if they had new TMNT stuff)... but the movie didn't seem as goth as Nightmare or Corpse Bride... more twisted living with a filter washed mundane if anything. And I really think that makes the movie pop. Had it nothing but skeletons and pumpkins and stuff like that, it would have been too close to the others.

 

[frogboy4]

Pixar's "Up!" just doesn't intrigue me. I can't see it matching their track record of wild success unless there's some great reveal or their advertising campaign changes. I'm sure it will be successful enough.

Monsters vs Aliens looks kinda funny to me. I just hope it contains an actual story and more humor than just what is featured in the trailer.

Neither of those films are something I didn't expect. Coraline's animation was better than expected. I also think it will take home the statue next year because some voters believe he should have gotten it for Nightmare when there was no category for Animated Picture.

I don't really consider that bit nudity in the Coraline film. It was just risqué in a very grotesque sense. Some critics did complain about that sequence, but again culture is rounding off the edges in a silly effort to safeguard children. I believe it backfires more often than not. That little section was humorous and not titillating in the least. I don't think that scene would have drawn as much fire in my youth. There's more nudity in billboards these days. I think the fact that the character was unattractive could have been off putting to some self-conscious women and mothers in the audience. Hey, we all get old one day and gravity is a fact. I think that is the real deal. The humor in Coraline was both creepy and amusing.

Oh, and "Squish Squash" he he!

 

[Drtooth]

Pixar's "Up!" just doesn't intrigue me. I can't see it matching their track record of wild success unless there's some great reveal or their advertising campaign changes. I'm sure it will be successful enough.

I didn't even see a preview of it yet. They usually hype up their movies a year in advance. Of course, I never got around to checking out Bolt... maybe they advertised it there.

That said, anyone else think it was refreshing that they didn't take the obvious route and hire Danny Elfman to do the score again? I really like how Selick distanced himself from Burton's influence/style and did his own thing in this one.

 

[frogboy4]

Pixar's "Up" plot synopsis: By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip. Up is written and directed by the writer of "Finding Nemo" and the voice of Roz in "Monsters Inc." It's due out May 29th also in 3D. Up seems fine and will certainly look nice, but it just doesn't intrigue me. Here's the trailer.

Here's the Disney & Pixar lineup for the next few years:
Toy Story in 3-D - October 2nd, 2009
The Princess and the Frog - Christmas 2009
Toy Story 2 in 3-D - February 12th, 2010
Pixar's Toy Story 3 in 3-D - June 18th, 2010
Rapunzel - Christmas 2010 (In 3D)
Newt - Summer 2011 (In 3D)
The Bear and the Bow - Christmas 2011 (In 3D)
Cars 2 - Summer 2012 (In 3D)
King of the Elves - Christmas 2012 (In 3D)

Disney/Pixar easily could have cometition from the sound of things.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I thought they were re releasing Bambi and Beauty The The Beast in 3D. It's still a possibility I guess.