Movie Review: Coraline

After our sake excursion, Ken and I met his lovely bride Julie for a quick bite to eat and then a 3D showing of the new movie, Coraline.

Made by the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline is based on a fantastical, dream-like children's story. It's not the type of movie I would normally go to see, or enjoy, but I very much wanted to see Coraline because it was entirely animated and produced here in Portland by a new company founded, in part, by Phil Knight of Nike fame. I have no allegiance to Phil Knight, but I definitely wanted to support this project as it could really be great for Portland's future to have a legitimate animations studio in the area.

That explanation aside, I have to say that was absolutely amazed by this movie!

The animation and special 3D effects were absolutely the most amazing I have ever seen. The style of animation, "stop-motion," is different than the recent offerings from Pixar and I think I like this style better.  And the way the effects were used to develop the plot, as opposed to being merely thrown in for effect, was very pleasing. 

Perhaps most of all, I appreciated that this fantasy story, like fairy tales of old, was really a cautionary tale! Without giving too much of the story away, the main character, Coraline, essentially wishes her life  away imagining all the ways her life could be better. 

But, as you might imagine, she learns that all the things that offer an "alternate reality," and promise her the perfect life she imagines, are really all mirages - or worse, they are traps that ultimately destroy everything she really did love about here life, whatever its imperfections.

Well, make the connections for yourself. This movie could easily be a cautionary tale for children about the abuse of, or addiction to drugs, alcohol, video games, whatever.  And it clearly encourages a spirit of gratitude for the blessings we take for granted until they're taken away.  

When a movie can offer that kind of lesson, entertain, and visually stun all at the same time, it is definitely worth the while.

(You'll need to see the movie to understand the graphic of my name at the top of this post. It refers to a scene from the movie and was created for me by Ken Hallenius on the Coraline web-page which is linked above.)