Thursday, March 12, 2009

Coraline

For my birthday, Tina and Tara came to visit me at school, and we went out shopping and then to a terrible dinner and a movie! We watched Coraline. I liked the movie, but Tina didn't. She thought it was too scary.

For those who didn't know, Coraline is freaky! It's about a little girl who moves to a new house called The Pink Palace. There, we see how her parents neglect her and are too involved in their own work to pay any attention to their little girl. (I heard Tina whispering cries of outrage.) That's when she finds a small door in the house that, at night, opens into a portal to a different reality that promises false happiness. There, she plays the most challenging game of her life, one that can determine life or death.

I thought Tim Burton did this movie for the longest time. But nope! Henry Selick directed this film, the same man who did Monkey Bone. This movie is 100 minutes long, which is the longest running stop-motion picture ever. It took 5 years to create this film, because for every movement, they move the doll slightly and take a picture. So basically this is a 100 minute long flip book! Dakota Fanning, who plays Coraline, has been working on this movie since she was 10. She's now 15! (I learned most of this information when she went on Jay Leno.)

What I really want to talk about is the visual appeal of Coraline. The dolls are made with such detail and care. Before the clay dolls were even created, there were a bunch of processes that came first. Tons of artists had to make sketches and graphic designs of the character before the artist Damon Bard was able to create this final product. Every detail of these clay creations is made seamlessly.

This film may not have been completely worth watching in theaters, but its worth watching on video. I'm not sure how children will like it, but I don't think it's too scary for them to watch. If your not much into children's movies, maybe you'll appreciate it as an artistic creation.

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Entertaining piece albeit a bit long. Haha, jk. You forgot the button eyes! Yes, button for eyes!! This movie is too freaky for little children. And the little kid ghosts are scary too.

Tara said...

For some reason, I really liked Monkey Bone. I should go watch it again. But I remember seeing it when I was home sick. Usually I hate those movies because it reminds me of being sick like Forces of Nature, Steel Magnolia and worst of all, Center Stage. To this day, I hate those movies cuz I saw them when I was sick. Is that weird?

Tina said...

Maybe I was watching Coraline through my daughter's eyes, but I thought it was too scary. For some reason Carmen wanted to watch this really badly. I'm glad I didn't let her. Like Tara said, "Buttons for eyes!!!"

Laura said...

Thanks for giving it away, guys! I wanted to keep the movie shrouded in mystery! Sheesh.

Anonymous said...

Whatever, dude. You would know it from the commercials anyway. And it doesn't hurt to give some stuff away in a blog. Don't wanna be too vague, ya know.

Laura said...

But.. but.. i hate hearing too much about movies so why would i tell it! I didn't know about the button eyes til someone told me before i watched it. And that sucked!!