Coraline

Coraline is a cutesy story about a girl who is just annoyed with everything around her, from her emotionally dead parents to her weird neighbors. Thankfully, it just so happens that there’s a secret door in her room that leads her to an alternate reality, where everything that annoys her is turned topsy-turvy into what she likes. Too bad she discovers that if she expects to keep it up, she has to *sigh* sell her soul and have her eyes turn into buttons by a really sadistic witch (even for a kid’s movie). I’ve been a fan of Henry Selick’s films for a long time. Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Monkeybone are all great flicks, and this one is just as good. Based on the famous story by Neil Gaiman, the animation is top notch (how great is it to see a stop-motion animation movie after so much CG crap), and the voice acting is great, particularly Teri Hatcher who plays both Coraline’s mother and the sinister witch The Bedlam, which is a truly nightmarish creation, part woman part spider part Terminator. It’s best part however, is it’s anti-consumerism message, that’s very subtle but at the same time easy to pick up. Very recommended.