Coraline

Contrary to popular belief, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas wasn't directed by Burton, but rather by Henry Selick, an imaginative craftsman whose bizarre sensibilities are perfectly suited to this 3D animated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's twisted YA novel. The story kicks in when the titular ‘tween (voiced by Dakota Fanning)—who lives a dull life in a dreary boarding house with her inattentive workaholic parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman)—discovers an entrance to a parallel dimension where the counterparts of her mom and dad are cheerful and engaging. Delighted with the “new” versions of her folks and other friends she makes, Coraline is entranced by this brave new world—until finding out that she's trapped and that her Other Mother plans to remove Coraline's eyes and replace them with sewn-in black buttons! A grisly prospect, to be sure, inspiring the girl to craft an ingenious but difficult escape. Beautifully executed in the manner of old-fashioned stop-motion animation, Coraline boasts a plot that seems simple in outline, but reveals multiple layers as this parable about a dissatisfied little girl looking for greener grass progresses. Earning its PG rating, the nightmarish, expressionistic imagery here may be too intense for very young children. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include both the standard 2-D and 3-D versions of the film, audio commentary by director Henry Selick and brief comments by composer Bruno Coulais, a 36-minute “making-of” featurette, a “Voicing the Characters” behind-the-scenes featurette (11 min.), nine minutes of deleted scenes, a bonus digital copy of the film, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are three picture-in-picture tracks (one with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, the second offering a feature-length animatic viewable alongside the film, and the third a tours and voice sessions track allowing viewers to watch the actors record their voices), a “Creepy Coraline” segment with Selick and author Neil Gaiman (6 min.), and a standard DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a winning extras package—especially on the Blu-ray version—for a winning film.] (E. Hulse)