| Overall Grade: |
A- |
|
| Story: |
B- |
|
|
| Acting: |
B+ |
|
|
| Direction: |
A+ |
|
|
| Visuals: |
A+ |
|
|
Kids Adored, Adults Scared
by Puff (movies profile)
Feb 8, 2009
7
of
9 people found this review helpful
I went into this movie with an idea what to expect, having read the book, but I still got a surprise. Namely, not a single crying child in the theater I was in. There were some squeals at how cute the mouse circus was, some gasps at the Other Mother's final form, and a lot of chatter about how cool the 3D effect was. In fact, the kids seemed less scared of the movie than several adults were. I heard several murmurs that echo reviews on the site, that they never would have brought their children if they knew how creepy the movie was (though with the trailers it was given, how could you not guess?), but the children in question loved the film.
Moving past that, I did have a few problems with the story itself, though they were minor. Mainly, the inclusion of Wybie. I understand why they did it, since Coraline in the book tends to spend a lot of time thinking or talking to herself, and that would be somewhat awkward in a film medium, I felt that his role was too large. That it took away from Coraline's struggle at certain points of the film.
Visually is where the movie gets to shine. I saw it in 3D, so I honestly don't know whether the effect would be as pronounced in a regular viewing, but some of the movements and designs just left me in awe of how much work that the entire film would have taken, like the mouse circus, or any scene involving the enchanted garden. The movement in Coraline is fluid, the scenes in the Other World lush and complex, underscored by a well-composed soundtrack that gives the feel of some sort of demented music box. |
My Public Profile 
