Coraline is an animated fantasy that follows a young girl who discovers an alternate reality that isn’t as fun as it first seems. Coraline Jones is a brave and adventurous girl who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and be herself. She moves into a new house with her mom and dad who are always distracted with work and too busy to spend time with her. One day, Coraline finds a hidden door that leads her to a parallel world. In this world, at first, everything seems better. Her “other mother” cooks amazing meals for her and her “other father” plays music, but there’s a scary twist, everyone in this world has black buttons as eyes. Soon, Coraline realizes this world isn’t as magical as she thought. It’s a trap! Her “other mother” is a manipulator that wants to steal her soul and tries to sew button eyes on her. Coraline has to find a way to escape and leave this parallel world.
Coraline is directed by Henry Selick with a runtime of 100 minutes. One of the most beautiful parts of Coraline is its stop motion animation. Every scene is handcrafted which makes you feel like you’re in a dream. It might appear to be a kids movie but it’s a great watch for any age. It’s a creepy but fun watch whether you’re watching for halloween or want a little bit of a haunting movie.
Coraline was made here in Portland! It is made in Laika studios known for films like Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings along with many more films. According to the Laika website, “Laika is driven to tell bold, original stories that stand the test of time- and to share them with audiences everywhere.” Laika has been making award winning films for over 20 years. Coraline got many awards including Academy awards, Annie awards, BAFTA, and Golden Globes. Over 500 people worked on Coraline with scenic artists, puppet painters, visual effects and many more!
Let’s talk about stop motion animation! It requires a lot of patience and precision to move each object frame by frame. The process is very slow and repetitive, that’s what makes this movie so creative and different. I talked with the animation teacher, Ms. McKay here at Roosevelt and she says, “It’s very hands-on and creative with lots of materials you can use depending on what kind of artist you are.”
You can watch Coraline on Pluto Tv, Tubi, Amazon prime or Apple Tv. Make sure to give it a watch!
