Coraline
August 31st 2009 00:48
By accident, I ended up seeing the movie adaption of Neil Gaiman's book, Coraline a few weeks ago. I was supposed to be seeing something at the Brisbane International Film Festival, but missed out on tickets so we headed to the 'normal' cinemas.
It was a fortunate accident. I love kids fantasy stories especially those where the child heroes discover gateways to other worlds. I grew up on stories like Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair and loved the idea that there were other worlds touching ours and that kids were the only ones observant enough to find them.
Coraline carries similarities to other stories in this genre, but the world that she discovers through the tiny door in her family's new apartment is far from the idealic worlds that were often waiting at the top of the Faraway Tree.
With two busy parents, Coraline feels neglected and as though people don't pay enough attention to her. But when she discovers her other mother and other father on the other side of the tiny door, she thinks her wishes have all come true. Her other mother is sweet and attentive, her father wacky and creative. Her boring, eccentric neighbours become exciting and entertaining on the other side of the door and her talkative friend, Wybie, becomes quiet and compliant.
But there's something wrong with the other side of the door. All the people have buttons for eyes and Coraline soon discovers that if she wants to stay on the other side, she'll have to agree to have her other mother replace her own eyes with buttons. It's quite a scary tale and I'd recommend that parents at least read the book to their kids before taking them to see it.
While the story ultimately does carry a moral ("Be careful what you wish for"), it's not delivered in such a way that kids will think they're being preached too. There are some moments that made me roll my eyes, namely the attempt at giving some old child-ghosts period dialogue, but for the most part, Coraline was a film that I was glad to have seen, even by accident
It was a fortunate accident. I love kids fantasy stories especially those where the child heroes discover gateways to other worlds. I grew up on stories like Enid Blyton's The Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair and loved the idea that there were other worlds touching ours and that kids were the only ones observant enough to find them.
Coraline carries similarities to other stories in this genre, but the world that she discovers through the tiny door in her family's new apartment is far from the idealic worlds that were often waiting at the top of the Faraway Tree.
With two busy parents, Coraline feels neglected and as though people don't pay enough attention to her. But when she discovers her other mother and other father on the other side of the tiny door, she thinks her wishes have all come true. Her other mother is sweet and attentive, her father wacky and creative. Her boring, eccentric neighbours become exciting and entertaining on the other side of the door and her talkative friend, Wybie, becomes quiet and compliant.
But there's something wrong with the other side of the door. All the people have buttons for eyes and Coraline soon discovers that if she wants to stay on the other side, she'll have to agree to have her other mother replace her own eyes with buttons. It's quite a scary tale and I'd recommend that parents at least read the book to their kids before taking them to see it.
While the story ultimately does carry a moral ("Be careful what you wish for"), it's not delivered in such a way that kids will think they're being preached too. There are some moments that made me roll my eyes, namely the attempt at giving some old child-ghosts period dialogue, but for the most part, Coraline was a film that I was glad to have seen, even by accident
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Comment by Wilson Pon
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Hopefully, this film is as good as the novel did...