Coraline

There's no way I would have been allowed to watch Coraline in my cloistered childhood. The eerie poster alone would have sent my parents hunting for the safe, brightly colored haven of Disney, movies where parental lookalikes don't attack their children and hands stay attached to their owners. Which seems a bit boring, but that's what safety is all about. After all, I had nightmares after seeing Harry and the Hendersons, so I have to admit that perhaps my parents had some idea what they were doing. But I digress...

Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, the stop-motion film Coraline belongs on the hallowed shelf right next to The Wizard of Oz and Spirited Away. It's a children's fantasy that would make Lewis Carroll, Terry Gilliam, and the book's author, the twisted genius Gaiman, proud. This is a gleefully, hilariously dark film that enjoys playing in the shadows, and it isn't afraid that it might send some children running for the exits.

Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is the only child of a mother and dad (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) who spend their days creating a gardening catalog. Buried in their work, her parents consistently tell her to go away, that is, when they're paying any attention to her at all. But Coraline has their new apartment to explore: a rickety, Victorian-style house that also is home to two retired actresses (Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French) and a Russian man (Ian McShane) who is training his mice in a circus. She also befriends a neighbor boy, but she tires of his constant chatter. When she discovers a hidden door that takes to to a shiny, new apartment that looks like hers--only better--and a new mother and father, who look like hers--only better--Coraline is tempted to stay for awhile. But her "other mother" (Hatcher again)--though a good cook who actually pays attention to Coraline--may have more sinister ideas in mind than just stuffing Coraline full of hearty food. More plot and visual details might spoil the fun, but Coraline is a jaw-dropping delight that I was more than a little sad to see fade to black.

Though the term "stop-motion animation" may spark memories of childhood viewings of Gumby, Selick's ambitious work is so refined that it could stand against any of Pixar's computer-animated offerings. The visuals are seamless, not to mention incredibly inventive and visibly painstaking in their construction. Huge amounts of effort went into the production, and it's obvious in every frame. It's not a stretch to call Coraline a work of art, but that's not to say that it isn't incredibly entertaining as well.