This past weekend, my boyfriend and I decided to go out on a date. So, we went to the movies and saw Coraline in 3D. Coraline was released in February, but my lack of cable does not keep me up with the times.
Coraline has just moved to a new city and living at the Pink Palace apartments. The Pink Palace is actually just one large house divided between 3 people. Coraline and her family live in the actual house and they have eccentric neighbors living in the attic and basement.
Coraline’s parents are writers and they write about gardening, yet her dad has never planted a plant and her mom hates dirt. So, they two pretty self absorbed people who pay very little attention to Coraline. So, Coraline goes off looking for adventure. While exploring the house (which is 150 years old, I believe) she comes across a small, locked door in the den hiding behind wallpaper. It’s been bricked off but you can immediately tell that something is different from this door. In case you were wondering, doors like this were very popular during slavery times and the use of the Underground Railroad. They either led outside or into a room below the house in order for the freed slaves to escape quickly or hide.
Anyway, during the night, Coraline follows a couple of jumping mice to the den and the brick wall behind the small door is magically gone. She crawls through to a world much like her own except she’s paid more attention to and her parents are fun and it’s Coraline’s fantasy turned reality. Everything seems magical until Coraline finds out that in order to stay in this world she must sew buttons on her eyes, just like everyone else.
I don’t want to give too much of the movie away, but Coraline’s fantasy world collides with her reality world and it’s a race against time to save her friends and her family. The movie is one adventure after another. The soundtrack also helps add to the feel of the movie. This isn’t a Tim Burton, but the producer who worked with him for The Nightmare Before Christmas also produced Coraline, so you can tell that there are some Tim Burton influences although the movie is a complete original.
I fell in love with Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and the movie was wonderfully written and produced. You are pulled in from the beginning and are taken on a wild roller coaster ride.
