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• RE: Coraline

  Sunday, Feb 8, 2009 4:41PM / Standard Entry / Movies / Members only
  

  The passage unraveled like the bending section of the straw; and adventure commences.
  
  I read the book 'Coraline' by Neil Gaiman a night before I sat in the dimmed theatre, with a pair of polarized 3D glasses perched on my nose, and watched Henry Selick's version flash before my eyes. A million thoughts whizzed through my mind, but some that stayed as I rolled them around and around were:
  a) Wow. Coraline is such a strong child. I especially loved the part where she talked about her father fighting wasps to buy her the time to run out of the wasteland. It's from the book:
  

  "And he said it wasn't brave of him, doing that, just standing there and being stung," said Coraline to the cat. "It wasn't brave because he wasn't scared, it was the only thing he could do. But going back again to get his glasses, when he knew the wasps were there, when he was really scared. That was brave."
  
  b) Even though it was written as a children's story, the dark hmour, dark insinuations, and vivid diction would have shaken most children. If a ten-year-old watched this movie, I would suggest his/her parents/guardians to have a new bedsheet ready, because he/she will wet the bed from nightmares.The movie especially hammered this point, for if the child read the book and didn't understand, it would stump their vivid imagination from picturing the story in their heads. They would ask an adult to explain, or go to the dictionary. But the movie feeds images to children. And these visuals are much easier to relate to: the colours, the appearences of the characters, the music, and the tone of the dialogue. Some examples are: Misses Spink and Fircible's waspy, coccoony appearences on the stage, the stuffed dogs, the corner's of Wybie's mouth sewn up into a painful smile, the grotesque form that used to be Coraline's other father, the black lifeless button eyes... too many to list. The ratings may need to be changed...
  c) When I was halfway into the book, I had the impression of this book being a product of "Alice in the Wonderland" and "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - Narnia Chronicles". A door that leads to a fantastical, too perfect, parallel universe. A bit like Edmund's first reaction to Narnia and the 'love and attention' the evil witch showered him with. The children were able to choose when they could enter/leave Narnia, much like how the tunnel from Coraline's world worked.
  d) The movie's tagline: "Be careful what you wish for" had also given this movie a new meaning. It is not just a movie to scare children or show how heroic Coraline was. It also encompasses the idea that every wish comes with a price - a conseqnence. And in order to obtain your goal, you must earn it fair and square. Through love. Through trust. Through friendship. Something concret and sturdy. It must be bestowed upon for good behaviour, given as encouragement for one's way of handling situations. Not carelessly, thoughtlessly given as a treat.
  
  I definitely recommend this movie to all who enjoys a good thriller. A good meaningful animation. But (probably) not for young children.
  

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