The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of

Okay, enough of the 1970s. I'm ready to talk about Coraline, a kids movie not suitable for kids since it is actually a terrifying horror film about daydreams that turn into nightmares. What if you wanted a different life with different parents in a different world full of possibilities and wonder but it turned out to be a creepy backwards world full of dread and sadness? Coraline brilliantly explores the wonder of discovering a door to an alternate reality and all the exciting potential that brings followed by the crushing hammer of disappointment when this hall of mirrors shatters into tiny, jagged fragments. People had told this was a genuinely creepy movie and it certainly is. It's the kind of thing that could easily give a little kid nightmares and can trouble the soul of even the heartiest adult.

I was blown away by the animation in this film. So richly detailed and full of gorgeous colors. The shadows and backgrounds and set designs shocked me stupid with wonder and amazement. I give Coraline a big fat 9.

There is no doubt some serious work was done to create this movie but it left me wanting more and I'm not sure why. Something about the whole package just didn't click for me. I don't know what it is but it was the same way I felt after watching A Nightmare Before Christmas. All the pieces are there but I couldn't give myself over fully to Coraline.

I can't imagine what it could be. This is an incredible fantasy with genuine thrills and scares and it's full of truly interesting ideas.

I agree completely and yet...the voices were a little grating. Plus I didn't like Coraline's face or her attitude very much. She wasn't a heroine I could identify with or really root for. Plus Wybie's haircut was pretty lame. I know it's nitpicky but...

Seriously, that's why you can't stand behind this film and recommend it heartily? Because you didn't like the plasticine hairdo of one of the main claymation characters?

Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. A bad hairdo can derail an otherwise Oscar-worthy film. That's why Raging Bull lost to Ordinary People. It was all Joe Pesci's hair's fault and he will never be forgiven.