Coraline

[Fish and Chips]

I'd actually really like to see this. I've taken in interest in Neil Gaiman's works, and the artstyle distinctively grabs me. I sort of wish people would stop comparing every film like this to Nightmare Before Christmas though. Nightmare isn't bad (nor is it particularly good), but it's Tim Burton. This is Neil Gaiman. Neil Gaiman who does not have his own tropical island fortress financed entirely by Hot Topic sales receipts.

Unless it comes to the local dollar theater though, I'll probably wait till the DVD hits shelves.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Like I said, comparing the two is comparing apples and oranges. Although I have to say I'm getting kind of tired of the milking of the classic burton franchise. I don't even feel nostalgic about it anymore. Hard to miss something that won't go away, amirite?

[GrubbTheFragger]

saw it loved it. Awesome, especially in 3d

[Scarecrow]

Saw it today in 3D too... I really enjoyed it.

I was impressed with how they kept any 3D Gimmicks to a minimum. I kind of hate it when they go overboard and throw all this extra stuff for the sake of the 3D effects.

[ShiroiHikari]

I went to see it last week and I thought it was pretty fantastic, somewhat creepy and unsettling, but not downright scary. The animation was really amazing.

[LadyRushia]

I saw it on Monday with some friends in 3-D and we got in for free because my friend works at a movie theater. It was pretty good and also trippy.

[ShiroiHikari]

I want to go see it again so I can see it in THREEEEEE DEEEEE

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Saw it. In 3D. It was AWESOME!

[GhostontheNet]

Alright, I just got back from watching Coraline, and here's what I wrote in response:

So I just got back from the theater watching Coraline with my friends the Coyles. I must say, it's quite awesome, though a lot of the imagery really threw me for a loop (that's ok, I'm really into that sort of thing). Anyway, the film is really interesting for its fusion of horror, fairy tale, and fantasy elements, which I think when you really get down to it are basically the same thing. Filled with creative but isolated people who have difficulty really relating to each other, the element of barren creativity is effectively condensed into imagery of barren gardens, desolate trees, and bland modernity. Perhaps, then, the reason the fantastical other world ruled by the eerily overattentive Other Mother is so seductive is that it is a place where creation and creativity can seemingly take bloom freely without all the looming issues out in the real world. But if the Other Mother is so ready and willing to give the level of love and attention people really desire, it is because she too demands the same standard of love and attention, effectively becoming quite overbearing over the world and people she rules over. But of course, naturally here overbearing rule over her world is all on behalf of Coraline, the main protagonist, or so it seems... You know, it's interesting, after the movie, my friend Cameron asked me what my world would be like if I was in Coraline's shoes, and thinking it over, I soon realized that I could scarcely conceive of such a thing and that such a place would probably be pretty scary. Who knows, maybe I would have free reign to transform my house into a looming Gothic castle on the hill, my brother would be well instead of sick, the monsters would be mashing, the government and society would be clear and clean, I would have a black cat, my parents and other people would actually understand me and the stuff I'm talking about, and everybody would be forced to immerse in my music, media, and creations whether or not they like it. Yeah, actually that sounds kind of nice, but it would probably drive all the people who like the world to be bright and cheerful completely crazy. So apparently in order to reach my own ideal level of happiness I would have to drive droves of other people into terror and misery, and I am currently in loneliness and misery because other people built the world like they wanted. It reminds me of what our pastor Mike Sares when we were working on getting a new building: the place was beautiful, but decoration would be a living nightmare in a church full of artists. I guess that's the testament to God's wisdom in bestowing eternal life that he can take a world of difference and division and make everyone happy after all. As much as we humans try to do that, we always just make other people alienated and miserable. Maybe that's why that scene where the ghosts of the children who had been ensnared by the Other Mother are laid to rest to ascend to heaven in a living rendition of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night is so compelling - now at last they have attained what they were always really looking for in the first place. So yeah, I guess the chief imperative is to tend to our gardens so they may be fruitful and multiply, and so we don't have to be alone our whole lives.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

This, my friends, is why Neil Gaiman rules.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I just saw it today. I loved it, but we really could have done without the nearly naked lady with gargantuan boobs...

[christianfriend]

XD Ahaha, I completely agree with you Shao Feng-li! I saw Coraline in 3D and that part just made me cringe x_O

But besides that, it was a fantastic movie! I had heard a mixture of good and bad things about the movie--like"If you don't see it in 3D it's not worth it" Or "It's just too weird to even get into it"
Psh, phooey on the people who said those things! This is the most original movie I've seen in a long time, everything about it was great! X3 I love the characters and just the whole storyline, also, it has a great ending, which scores major cool points for me! I've seen way too many movies recently where they're just awesome...and then the ending is a total let down and you walk out of the theater disappointed. Thank goodness Coraline wasn't like that, because I was beginning to loose faith in the movie industry for a while there e.e

Anyway, so yeah, this movie gets an 9/10 from me!~ I highly recommend it! :3

[FukuokaGirl]

Well I saw it and loved it.
I've read the novel and the graphic novel... both of which are superior, but I've long since given up on complaining about films not being as good as books haha.

I thought the visuals were stunning, and getting to see it in 3D was such a treat! It's been so long since I've done that! Yes there were differences, certainly. But I appreciated the film just as it was.
My ONLY problem... the thing that made me totally cringe was that they totally pronounced something wrong. Instead of calling The Other Mother as The Bedlam... they kept saying BELDAM. Did anyone else pick up on that?
Either way... loved it! Thoroughly entertaining!

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I've just returned from seeing Coraline. Brilliant detail and atmosphere, great story and interesting characters - what more could you want?
I thought the movie was excellent! In most respects it's even an improvement on Neil Gaiman's original novel (on which the movie is based).
Deliciously creepy and highly imaginative. My only complaints: the boy seemed a bit useless at times and the fat woman's almost naked bosoms were WRONG.
Still a great movie but not for the really little ones. I give it a 9/10.

[Maokun]

I'll go this weekend, I've been waiting for it a while. Any aussie want to explain a puzzled immigrant why in the name of everything that is sacred, do some movies take SOOO long to get here? I mean, UP! is not going to be shown until next month, for goodness sake! I really can't see the problem, if other movies can be shown the same date it premiers in other countries.

[GhostontheNet]

I've just returned from seeing Coraline. Brilliant detail and atmosphere, great story and interesting characters - what more could you want?
I thought the movie was excellent! In most respects it's even an improvement on Neil Gaiman's original novel (on which the movie is based).
Deliciously creepy and highly imaginative. My only complaints: the boy seemed a bit useless at times and the fat woman's almost naked bosoms were WRONG.
Still a great movie but not for the really little ones. I give it a 9/10.

According to Henry Selick, Wyborne's chief purpose for inclusion in the film is that the original novel has Coraline basically alone, but a girl walking around and talking to herself for most of the narrative doesn't really work in a film medium. Even so, it's important that he not upstage Coraline's active and independent qualities, so his is a struggle for acceptance rather than dominance. As for Miss Spink and Miss Forcible's over-the-hill theatrics, the artistically savvy viewer will note that the scene is a burlesque of renaissance humanism (and implicitly, its ideological descendants) nearly ending in a chaotic Dada disaster. Also, Henry Selick may here wish to implicitly reference Whatever Happen To Baby Jane?, a horror film starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford long past the peak of their beauty and fame that makes an ambiguous commentary about the sexual objectification of Hollywood glamour and the cinematic apparatus. So while not entirely pleasant, these shots are still important to the narrative of the film.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Oh, okay, thanks mate. I understood the renaissance humanism part (she was obviously meant to be re-enacting Venus from the classic painting) but I totally missed the Dada moment.
Yes, Wyborne's role was necessary for the movie but still he wasn't that great a character.

Maokun, mate, I'd love to know the answer too. It's not like we speak another language here in Australia. I love our fauna and flora, but it's not the place to live if you want your entertainment on time.
Talking about movies being released late we get Ponyo on the 27th of this month (not bad), Up September 3 (utterly ridiculous) and Where the Wild Things Are (oh the agony of waiting) in early December. Where's the justice?
But figure this one out: District 9 was released here several days ago (still have to go see it). It really makes no sense.

[GhostontheNet]

Oh, okay, thanks mate. I understood the renaissance humanism part (she was obviously meant to be re-enacting Venus from the classic painting) but I totally missed the Dada moment.
Yes, Wyborne's role was necessary for the movie but still he wasn't that great a character.

You think so? Myself, I thought Wyborne is creative and morbid enough to be quite interesting.

[Shao Feng-Li]

I gotta say... I have no idea what GhostontheNet said up there. >>;;

[Zyborg22]

Coraline is yet another movie that I'd like to see but probably won't. I'm not sure I want to see the giant boobs, though, despite being a heterosexual male.

I have to agree with those who said that The Nightmare Before Christmas is overrated. It's still good, but it wasn't nearly as good as I went in expecting it to be. It seemed rather short and anticlimactic, and most of it was comprised of musical numbers. Then again, there are at least one or two other musicals that I liked pretty well, so I'm not sure that has anything to do with it. Well anyway, I actually liked The Corpse Bride better.

[Maokun]

Thanks for your answer W4J. It's hilarious that not even you guys know why, really puzzling. Anyway, I'm loving the country, so this little fact (and your horrible, horrible internet service) are not enough reasons to make me want to leave

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Coraline is yet another movie that I'd like to see but probably won't. I'm not sure I want to see the giant boobs, though, despite being a heterosexual male.

I have to agree with those who said that The Nightmare Before Christmas is overrated. It's still good, but it wasn't nearly as good as I went in expecting it to be. It seemed rather short and anticlimactic, and most of it was comprised of musical numbers. Then again, there are at least one or two other musicals that I liked pretty well, so I'm not sure that has anything to do with it. Well anyway, I actually liked The Corpse Bride better.

The boobs aren't really... fanservice. I mean, it's hard to find the women enticing at all. I think they were used more for comedic effect than sexual effect.

[Zyborg22]

The boobs aren't really... fanservice. I mean, it's hard to find the women enticing at all. I think they were used more for comedic effect than sexual effect.

That makes it worse .

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Maokun, how is our internet service horrible? Do you mean it's slow or just badly managed or bad range of availability? We're a huge country with a small population, so we don't have the funds to get better internet. It still sucks though. I guess I have nothing else to compare it too.

Zyborg, I struggle with lust and there is no way the near naked woman in this will make you lust, at all. If you do, I'd be very, very concerned.

[Scarecrow]

Well I never had a big problem with lust and that was still possibly one of the most disturbing things ever It's not a lust thing. It's more like if Wybie pulled his pants down and a huge 10 inch popped out and bounces around as he jumps around the stage. You coil in horror, palm your head, peek through your fingers with nervous laughter saying to yourself "Oh my gosh, I did not want to just see that".

[K. Ayato]

I'll have to agree with Chester A. Bum on this one: "Oh my gosh! This is the greatest movie I've ever seen in my life! But boy was it weird!"

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Scarecrow, I'd say that would be a bit more extreme than what's actually in the movie. Don't scare people away.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Or...

You could easily fast forward through the scene.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Yes, on dvd, but I watched in the cinema on Tuesday. Darn you Australia!
Good point though. You guys have it on dvd already, don't you?

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Scarecrow, I'd say that would be a bit more extreme than what's actually in the movie. Don't scare people away.

Uh, yeah.