CINEMA KNIFE FIGHT: CORALINE (2009)
by Michael Arruda and L. L. Soares
FADE IN
(Inside a 3-D animated kitchen, a stop-motion animated MICHAEL ARRUDA and L.L. SOARES confront each other. LS has buttons for eyes and is cooking an animated pot roast.)
MA: Are you the “Other” LL?
LS (ripping the buttons from his eyelids): Naw, it’s just me having some fun, that’s all.
MA: Fun? Didn’t that hurt?
LS (eyes bleeding): Not really.
MA: But you just ripped your eyelids off!
LS (touches his eyes): So I did. Oh well. I’ll just have to grow new ones. (He grows new eyelids over his eyes).
(Camera pans backwards to reveal the real MICHAEL ARRUDA and L.L. SOARES watching their animated selves on a flat screen computer monitor.)
MA: Do you find it difficult reviewing a movie like CORALINE when this column specializes in horror films? I do.
LS: Stop your whining. We’ve done this before. We can review anything!
MA: Thanks for sharing, Mr. Sensitive. Jeesh! Hey, I’m glad we review films on the fringe of horror as well as straight horror, but I was just pointing out that in a column like this, it’s more of a challenge, that’s all.
LS: Maybe we should let our animated selves do this one.
(They look at the monitor. The animated LS is walking around the kitchen with his head in his hands, while the animated MA is juggling his ears and nose).
MA: I think we can handle it. (Addresses audience) Welcome to another edition of Cinema Knife Fight. Today we’re reviewing the new animated 3-D PG-rated kids film CORALINE, based on a Neil Gaiman book, and directed by Henry Selick. First let me start off by saying—.
LS: Did you see it in 3-D? A few weeks back your theater didn’t show you the 3-D version of MY BLOODY VALENTINE, and I think you got ripped off.
MA: No, I didn’t see it in 3-D.
(LS grows red in the face and shouts expletives to the point where it appears his head might explode.)
MA: Careful now. You’re not animated, you know.
LS: I’m not?
MA: Let him do the hard stunts (points to the monitor). But I agree with you. I do feel ripped off, and it’s not like I’m seeing the film at a second-rate theater. We’re talking a major multiplex at our area mall. The fact that they choose not to show 3-D prints must be a cost-saving measure, and I think it’s lame. I also suspect this theater is not alone, and that there are lots of theaters out there who opt not to show the 3-D print. I wonder how many of our readers saw the 3-D version compared to the regular version. Feel free to let us know.
Anyway, back to the movie.
CORALINE is a wildly imaginative tale about 11 year-old Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who has just moved with her parents from Michigan to Oregon into a new home, a very old house with character. Bored because her busy writer parents can hardly find the time to pay attention to her, Coraline discovers a secret door hidden behind some wallpaper. When she opens it, she finds only a wall of bricks.
But one night, with her new doll in hand – a strange toy given to her by her new friend and neighbor Wybie, a doll that looks a lot like her – Coraline returns to the door in the wall and this time finds a bizarre corridor which she of course decides to climb through.
LS: Yeah, it’s a very strange tunnel, that looks organic. Alive. Like a birth canal, perhaps?
MA: I’d agree with that description. On the other side of the tunnel, she finds a parallel world, a house that looks similar to her house only more cheery, and parents who look just like her parents, only with buttons for eyes. These “Other” parents, as they call themselves, treat Coraline wonderfully, listening to what she has to say, feeding her hearty meals and decadent desserts kids love, and basically acting the way Coraline wants her real parents to act.
Of course, things aren’t really as they seem. It turns out, the goal of these “Other” parents is to sew buttons onto Coraline’s eyes as well and then keep her there with them forever. When Coraline refuses, the evil “Other” mother (both mothers are voiced by Teri Hatcher) captures Coraline’s real parents, and it’s up to Coraline to rescue them and put an end to the evil “Other” mother’s reign forever.
LS: Don’t forget the poor ghost children. Children the “Other” mother captured before Coraline. They’re dead but their ghosts cannot go to the afterlife until she finds their eyes. So Coraline is trying to rescue them, as well as her parents. A tall order for an 11-year old girl.
MA: Along the way, Coraline is helped by a talking cat (voiced by Keith David)), the “Other” version of her friend Wybie, and yes, some ghosts of previous children held captive in this “Other” world, as LL mentioned. The story builds to a thrilling conclusion, especially given that this is a PG-rated movie bound to be seen by lots of kids.
(An animated black CAT walks into the room)
CAT: You gents wouldn’t happen to have any cat food lying around this place, would you?
LS: No, but if you like rats, here’s a big one (points to MA).
MA (to LS mockingly): Ha, ha! (to Cat) Sorry, Mr. Cat, our cupboard is bare, but if you’re looking for eats, I hear WILLARD’S down the street does a good business (drum beat).
CAT: No thanks. BEN there, done that (another drum beat). (Exits).
MA: I have to admit, I really liked CORALINE. I found it most imaginative, and I was really drawn into its world of lavish colors, eccentric characters, and grim subject matter. To me, it was just the right blend of light and darkness. Unlike MONSTER HOUSE from a few years back, which I thought had an over-the-top hit-you-smack-in-face horror style, a style that proved more loud than scary, CORALINE is much more subtle, yet also much more creative. There is a deep, dark, creepy feel to this movie which blends in seamlessly with its bright, colorful animation. It sounds like a clash of styles, but it really isn’t. It works incredibly well, I think because its story is taken seriously. There’s not a lot of over-the-top silly humor, yet there are humorous parts, and it’s not a spoof of the genre in any way shape or form. It reminds me of a well told fairy tale, the kind that kids enjoy, but adults cringe as they read it when they realize, “this is kinda creepy.”
LS: I hate to rub it in, but in 3-D, it even adds more depth to the animation.
MA: Don’t worry about rubbing it in. It’s okay. It doesn’t bother me. (walks towards the back of the room, picking up a baseball bat on the way).
LS: It’s not the kind of 3-D where things are jumping out at you; it’s more a chance to provide depth perception so that you really feel like you’re looking into a real world. (Behind LS, MA lifts a baseball bat and angrily starts smashing a TV set, sending sparks flying everywhere). The use of 3-D is very subtle, yet very effective. I’m actually very impressed with the new 3-D technology, (MA hurls TV through a window, swearing) and I see there are plenty more films coming, including the upcoming MONSTERS VS. ALIENS, that will also be in 3-D.
Too bad I can’t just send you a pair of 3-D glasses for the next one, but I’m afraid that unless it’s a special print, they won’t work.
MA (returns to LS and takes a deep breath): That’s fine. It really doesn’t mean all that much to me.
As I sat there watching this film, I allowed myself to enter its “Other” world, and I was struck by how “adult” the experience was. I didn’t necessarily feel as though I was watching a kids’ movie, lets put it that way, although there’s certainly nothing inappropriate in this film, in terms of violent images or language. Yet, it succeeds as a creepy little tale, and I love the fact that it was able to pull it off.
There were certain images that stuck with me. I loved the door behind the wallpaper, for instance. If you’ve ever been in a really old house and looked around, you’ll find all sorts of quirks and oddities that really can get your juices flowing wondering about their history and meaning. This little door looked exactly like something you could easily find in an old house, and thus added a sense of realism that say, that old wardrobe in NARNIA, lacked. Not that old wardrobes aren’t real, but a hidden world reached through the back of wardrobe seems less rooted in realism to me than a door which might lead to an unknown part of a house, which could easily house an entirely different world altogether. (Easily? Okay, I’m a writer with a big imagination, so maybe not easily, but would you believe, plausibly?) Perhaps this is too fine a point, I don’t know. Let’s just say that for me, that little door in the wall worked.
LS: Stuff like that “little door” is pretty much standard issue in the world of Neil Gaiman. The author of the SANDMAN comic book series, and several novels like NEVERWHERE and the recent GRAVEYARD BOOK, has a pretty remarkable imagination. And his books geared more toward children, like CORALINE, show that he’s able to use that imagination quite easily to tell children’s tales as well. There is a very strong fairy tale feel to all of this, and it seems like something that comes pretty effortlessly to Gaiman. His being a very solid writer, there’s always going to be a level that will work for adults as well. So frankly, going into this one, I was pretty confident that the storyline would be impressive.
Gaiman also does a great job straddling the fence between fantasy and horror, and CORALINE is no exception. It starts out very fantastical, but as it develops, there are definitely some horrific elements to keep horror guys like you and me happy. The spider-like “Other” Mother, for example. So our reviewing this film isn’t so out of the norm after all.
MA: I also really enjoyed Dakota Fanning in the lead. I don’t always notice or appreciate the actors’ voices in these animated movies, but I thought Fanning really gave life and personality to the Coraline character, beyond what the animators did. Her voice possessed a tremendous energy that gave a lot of “oomph” to the character.
LS: I agree. Fanning does a great job.
MA: The other voice that stood out was the character of the Cat, voiced by Keith David, who has made a ton of movies, going back nearly 30 years. Of course, my favorite Keith David performance of all time was his role as Childs in John Carpenter’s THE THING, back in 1982. As Cat, David’s voice is both sonorous and eerie.
LS: Yep, he’s a stand-out, too. I actually liked a lot of the choices for voices in this one. I thought Terri Hatcher was simply perfect for the Mother/Other Mother’s voice. There’s something very “normal” and motherly about her voice, and she fits in perfectly (maybe because she is a star of a mainstream hit show like DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES adds to the familiarity factor). I thought she was a great choice. There are also some other interesting choices like the British comedians Jennifer Saunders (who most people know as Edwina from ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS) and her comedy partner Dawn French as Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, the dotty old women downstairs who were once actresses, and the terrific Ian McShane (Al Swearengen from DEADWOOD) as the Russian acrobat the Amazing Bobinsky (who also has a jumping mouse circus – a crucial plot point), who lives in the attic apartment. Even John Hodgman (the “PC” guy from those Macintosh commercials, who is also a regular on the DAILY SHOW) does a good job as the Father/Other Father. All in all, a well-cast group.
MA: And I should also say that it wasn’t just animation here, but puppets. Director Henry Selick used the same kind of puppetry back in 1993 with NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, a film I didn’t like as much as most other people. Evidently, CORALINE is the first stop-motion animated film in 3-D. So, if you’re into technical stuff like that, you might want to check it out just for that reason. It does look terrific.
LS: I know that a company like Pixar has set the bar pretty high with their realistic CGI style, but I always have a soft place in my heart for stop-motion animation. Maybe it was all those Rankin and Bass holiday specials I saw as a kid, like RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER and A YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA CLAUS. While it may not be as dazzling as the Pixar stuff, there is a certain “comfort food” element to old school stop-motion animation. And it certainly works well here with 3-D, which fleshes everything out nicely.
In fact, the scenes where the Other Mother makes scrumptious meals for Coraline look so good that I wanted to reach into the screen and grab a chicken leg!
CAT (pops head in): Did someone say chicken leg?
LS: Get out of here, you mangy alley cat!
MA: One thing I wasn’t sure about was why the “Other” mother had to sew buttons onto Coraline’s eyes? Why not just keep Coraline a prisoner in the parallel world the way she was? I guess you have to be a puppet to live there.
But other than this, I thought it was great. Sure, CORALINE isn’t an adult horror film, so if you’re in the mood for hardcore horror, it’s not going to satisfy, but if you’re in the mood for a subtle, creepy exercise in near-perfect creative storytelling, you might want to give CORALINE a try. It’s better than your standard kids’ movie.
LS: I agree. I was very impressed with CORALINE. I thought it was far superior to the last horror-themed animated film we reviewed, IGOR, which was pretty dismal in comparison. And the storytelling by Mr. Gaiman, as adapted for the screen by Mr. Selick, was top-notch. However, while I was very impressed with the film, and enjoyed it, I didn’t exactly love it. But that’s only because I’m not the target audience for this thing. I actually had a lot more fun at MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D. But that’s just me. As you like to point out, I’m a Neanderthal. What can I say, BLOODY VALENTINE touched on a nostalgic note that will resonate with old-school slasher film fans.
(A guy in a miner’s uniform and gas mask pops up)
MINER: Gee, thanks a lot!
LS: But CORALINE is clearly the superior film when it comes to script and its very pure sense of wonder. This film will resonate most with tweener girls and young teenagers, and on that level, it seemed to work well. The audience I saw it with (which appeared to be mostly high school and college-age kids) applauded afterwards and was clearly appreciative.
I thought this was the best kids’ movie I’d seen in a long time, and I know adults will love it as well. The main theme, of a daughter who simply wants her mother’s love and attention – but it could easily be any child’s same desire from a parent -is something just about all kids, and anyone who has been a kid, can relate to.
It’s smart and vivid, and my only complaint is that it does get a bit convoluted toward the end, when we think the story is over, and yet the threat remains. It seems whenever Coraline does what she has to to defeat the central evil of the story, there’s still more to do, which gets a tiny bit tedious.
Let’s see. All of the voice actors do a fine job. The story is compelling. The stop-motion animation is good, and a nice change from the usual CGI cartoons we get these days. The 3-D effects even add a level of realism to the look of everything. What’s not to like?
MA: I agree. So that’s our review for this week. Now go out and see CORALINE. You’ll enjoy it.
LS (Raises two big buttons and a needle with thread): Now let me sew – er, put – these new 3-D glasses on you, so you can enjoy the film more next time.
MA: Gee, thanks, but it really doesn’t matter all that much to me.
HIGH-PITCHED VOICE FROM OUTSIDE WINDOW: Hey! What the—? What happened to my car? Someone smashed my car. Is that a TV in my windshield?
—END—
(Originally published on Fear Zone on 2/8/2009)
© Copyright 2010 by Michael Arruda and L.L. Soares
