DVD Review: Coraline (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition w/ 3D): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane, Aankha Neal, George Selick, Hannah Kaiser, Harry Selick, Henry Selick, Bill Mechanic, Claire Jennings, Harry Linden, Mary Sandell, Neil Gaiman: Movies & TV
DVD Review: Coraline (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition w/ 3D): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane, Aankha Neal, George Selick, Hannah Kaiser, Harry Selick, Henry Selick, Bill Mechanic, Claire Jennings, Harry Linden, Mary Sandell, Neil Gaiman: Movies & TVASIN=B00288KNLS&
Amazon.com
A dark and creepy film about family relationships directed by Henry Selick of Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach fame, Coraline is based on the haunting book Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The first stop-motion feature shot in stereoscopic 3-D, Coraline features big-headed, stick-bodied animated characters with huge eyes and demonic grins set against menacing backgrounds and an undercurrent of spooky music. Coraline is a teenager who has just moved to an old house in the middle of nowhere with her writer parents and she is bored, bored, bored. Her only companions are an annoyingly talkative boy Wybie (short for Why Born), some eccentric neighbors from the theater and circus, and a strange, button-eyed doll with a marked resemblance to Coraline which Wybie found in an old trunk of his grandmother’s. When Coraline finds an old door hidden behind an armoire and papered over with wallpaper, she convinces her mother to unlock it, only to find a wall of bricks. When Coraline revisits the door later that night, the bricks magically disappear and she discovers a strange pathway to another world where everything is just what she wishes for. In stark contrast to the real world where Coraline’s parents just don’t have time for her, her “Other Mother” and “Other Father” in this alternate world are the perfect loving, attentive parents who anticipate her every need and desire. Initially comforted and quite happy in this new world, suspicion that things may not be quite as they seem grows inside Coraline and her disquiet is furthered by the mute “Other Wybie” and a strange-talking cat that seems to move between both worlds. Eventually, Coraline discovers some dark secrets about her “other parents” and the seemingly perfect “other world,” but it may be too late for her to escape back to the real world. Teri Hatcher is especially effective in her dual (voice) role as Mom and “Other Mom” and Dakota Fanning also gives a great performance as Coraline. Coraline is a disturbing, intriguing film that both captivates and frightens. (Ages 11 and older) –Tami Horiuchi
Stills from Coraline (Click for larger image) 
Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 07/21/2009 Run time: 101 minutes Rating: Pg
See all Editorial Reviews
Delightfully creepy,
By wiredweird “wiredweird” (Earth, or somewhere nearby) -
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Coraline [Theatrical Release] (Theatrical Release)
This uncommon animation starts with tween-aged angst, the kind that demands independence but still wants mom and dad close by. Her busy parents don’t have much time for her, though, and her new, remote home doesn’t offer much reward for her explorations (other than some rather kooky neighbors). So, even if it’s not wholly conscious, Coraline wishes for a nicer place and parents that pay more attention.
As the movie’s tagline says, “be careful what you wish for.” Like Alice down the rabbit hole, Coraline finds a secret passage to a more magical place. Soon, however, the magic turns dark. That’s where the brilliant animation really comes into its own. The stop animation (or at least the look of it) bring to mind Tim Burton with a macabre touch of Brothers Quay. You know your child best - skittish ones might find some of the imagery a bit much. Still, kids’ stories (like Alice in Wonderland) have always had dark edges. That deliciously spooky sense, plus some great animation, really set this movie apart from the usual.
– wiredweird
DVD & BLURAY specs,
By T. El-khateeb “TAR1K” (JORDAN) -
Universal Studios Home Entertainment have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Coraline on 21st July 2009. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, this stop-motion animation written and directed by Henry Selick follows an adventurous girl who finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.
Available on single-disc DVD, two-disc Collector’s Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc, all include both the 2-D and 3-D version of the main feature and come packaged with 4 pairs of 3D glasses. Features are outlined below…
Single-Disc DVD
* 2-D and 3-D Presentations
* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English, French and Spanish DD5.1 Surround
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais
2-Disc Collector’s Edition DVD - As above plus a bonus disc with the following content:
* Digital Copy of Coraline 2-D Version (Expires 07/31/2010)
* Deleted Scenes
* The Making of Coraline
* Voicing the Characters
Blu-ray Disc - This is a Blu-ray Combo release which comes bundled with a standard-def DVD that includes the 2-D version of the film (AV specs as per the DVD releases), audio commentary, and a Digital Copy of the film. Features include:
* 2-D and 3-D Presentations
* 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
* English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
* French and Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* U Control - Picture in Picture (2-D Feature Only)
* U Control - Tours and Voice Sessions (2-D Feature Only)
* U Control - Picture in Picture Animatic (2-D Feature Only)
* Deleted Scenes
* The Making of Coraline
* Voicing the Characters
* Creepy Coraline
* Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais
* D-Box
* BD Live - My Scenes Sharing
* BD Live - The World According to Henry
* Disc 2: DVD with standard-def 2-D version of the film, audio commentary & 2-D Digital Copy of the film (expires 31st July 2010)
You are not my mother,
By E. A Solinas “ea_solinas” (MD USA) -
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)
Nobody can drench a book in creepy, dank atmosphere like Neil Gaiman, infused with humor and more than a little horror.
Fortunately that flavour is kept alive in the movie adaptation of “Coraline,” brought to life by the talented Henry Selick. It’s a haunting little dark fairy tale full of decayed apartments, dancing rats and eerie soulless doppelgangers, as well as a gutsy heroine who finds herself in this ominous “other” world.
Newly moved into an aged apartment, Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is bored. Her parents are too busy to do anything with her, and her neighbors are either insane or boring. The one exception is Wybie, a boy who annoys her no end.
It’s the sort of relentlessly dull world that any little girl would want to escape from — until Coraline does. She encounters a plastered-up door and a colourful wormhole, leading to a doppelganger of new home. In fact, it’s so similar that she has a button-eyed “other mother” (Teri Hatcher) and matching “other father,” (John Hodgman) as well as great food, games, a shimmering magic garden, a chorus of circus rodents and magic toys.
At first Coraline is fascinated by the other world, especially since her other parents are as attentive as her real ones aren’t. Then she finds her real parents sealed inside a mirror. With the help of a sarcastic cat, Coraline ventures back into the other world. But with her parents and a trio of dead children held hostage, Coraline’s only hope is to gamble with her own freedom — and she’ll be trapped forever if she fails.
Neil Gaiman’s book “Coraline” is a brilliant dark fairy-tale vibe — decayed apartments, dead children, spiderwebs, beetles, disembodied hands, button eyes, and an insectile button-eyed woman who wants to claim Coraline for herself. It’s a fairy tale world that turns into a nightmare realm where souls are lost and horrific things scuttle in the shadows.
Most directors would turn the story into a cutsy, unscary affair… but not the director of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach.” Instead, Selick gives it a dark, cobwebby atmosphere, brilliant colours and surreal details (the button eclipsing the moon). And it’s full of lovely details that could have been silly (the creepy-crawly claw hand) yet work brilliantly.
The story starts off as merely surreal, but grows more ghastly and eerie as the movie unwinds — and in the last third, the slow-moving story suddenly spins into a thoroughly spooky territory, and a truly terrifying climax where the Other Mother shows her true self. And along the way, there are plenty of wonderfully creepy moments — the three ghosts in a rotting bedroom/mirror, the offering of buttons and thick black thread, weird circus acts, and much more. The horror is subtle, the delicious creepiness is not.
Coraline — the Alice in this Notsowonderland — is a wonderful little heroine: strong, sensible, self-sufficient but still fairly freaked out about what is happening around her. Normally I’m not crazy about Dakota Fanning, but voice-only she’s quite good in this role.
The sarcastic cat is a wonderful counterpoint, and the movie’s original character Wybie makes a nice companion (albeit an extraneous one). And the other mother is the stuff of nightmares — she’s utterly inhuman and merciless, and by the movie’s climax she’s become the stuff of nightmares. Oh, and French and Saunders make a pair of fun cameos as the kooky neighbors.
“Coraline” is a brilliantly dark little movie, full of dark magic and eerie creatures. Definitely one of this year’s must-sees.
ASIN=B00288KNLS&Search Coraline (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition w/ 3D): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane, Aankha Neal, George Selick, Hannah Kaiser, Harry Selick, Henry Selick, Bill Mechanic, Claire Jennings, Harry Linden, Mary Sandell, Neil Gaiman: Movies & TV from AmAzon
ASIN=B00288KNLS&
First tagged "video" by Kristi A. Gay "Kris Gay" Customer tags: camcorder light(7), video production(6)
First tagged "video" by Deren P. Abram Customer tags: video games(2)
First tagged "video" by Randall EL Customer tags
First tagged "video" by Marie C. Velez "marie" Customer tags: kate beckinsale(10), action thriller(7)