- davidahallnum5
Coraline 3D Blu-ray Review
MOVIE REVIEW
Coraline is a 2009 stop-motion animated film about an 11-year-old girl of the same name. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, the story follows Coraline Jones as she's getting used to moving into a new home. With her overworked parents, her quirky neighbors, and, let's face it, her bratty attitude, life isn't exactly going her way. But one day, she discovers a small door hidden in the living room. Upon opening it up, she goes through a long purple and blue tunnel that takes her over to a parallel world that looks almost exactly like her own, except it's lot more bright and inviting. At the head of it all is the Other-Mother, who, just like everyone else in this Other-world, has buttons sown into her eyes. Coraline doesn't seem to mind, though, as in this world, she's been treated the nicest she's been treated in a long time. For once, things seem to be going Coraline's way. That is, until she discovers a dark secret lying behind this seemingly perfect, ideal place that will reinforce the classic phrase "Be careful what you wish for."
There's no way other way to say it: Coraline is an animated tour de force. Stop-motion is a medium of storytelling that we see very little of in today's world. But as films like Coraline show us, when we do get it, it can be absolutely mesmerizing. I'm not sure a lot of people know this, but stop-motion is one of the most difficult animation processes a film can go through. It requires incredible attention to detail, abundantly cautious careful planning and effort, and above all, passion. It's one thing to create a stop-motion film, but it's a whole other deal to make it look as good as most modern animation we have nowadays. Luckily, Coraline has no shortage of any of those details. This film was brought to us by director Henry Selick whose arguably most famous work was The Nightmare Before Christmas. And his knack for visual flare and clever direction is on full display here. Everything on-screen is smooth, surreal, creatively shot, colorfully rich, and even quite downright terrifying at times. There's never a moment where you can tell the animation team slacked off. They keep themselves challenged throughout and it results in a technical marvel that any fan of animation should certainly get the chance to see. The studio Laika, whose first work is this film, really hit the ground running and would keep the ball rolling with later films such as ParaNorman and Kubo and the Two Strings. The sheer passion to bring the story of Coraline to life in such a visually amazing manner alone is worth the price of admission.
But enough about the animation. What about the story? Is it deserving of quite the animated treatment? Yes, absolutely. To say the plot of the film is kooky would be an understatement. It's quite a creepy and unsettling trip. But it's the good kind of creepy and unsettling, the kind that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout and sticks with you long after the film's end. At it's core, Coraline is a morality tale about being ungrateful with your life and seeking something that fulfills your selfish desires. That part is clear. But it's brought to us in one of the most imaginative fashion I've witnessed in a long time. The incorporation of dolls, parallel worlds, and beings that prey on selfish children are all brought together in a mysterious and enthralling. The plot is paced very well and never allows a dull moment to go by. And the animation, which by now I'm sure you know is superb, really builds up and helps to sell the atmosphere. At times, the film can be delightful and exciting, and other times it can be dark and freaky. It's a thoroughly engaging movie and one that this medium of animation was practically built for.
The biggest complaint I hear from most people with this film comes with the characters, mainly Coraline herself. When the film starts out, she's introduced to be a bit of a jerk to those around her. While I do find it a little understandable in that the environment she's put into isn't exactly ideal, there are times some of the things she says and does come off as a bit ungrateful. In fact, Roger Ebert said in his review of the film "It's fine with me that Coraline is an unpleasant girl. It would be cruel to send Pippi Longstocking down that tunnel, but Coraline deserves it. Maybe she'll learn a lesson." I do agree that she, and most of the other people she meets, aren't all incredibly likable characters. However, I didn't really find that to be of a disservice to the story. If anything, Coraline's poor behavior probably helps drive home the morality tale even further. And it's worth mentioning that film also, especially in the third act, make use of her good qualities such as her bravery and wit. Bottom line: I don't think young kids watching this film would be encouraged to imitate the negative aspects of the protagonist.
Coraline is a rare breed in many different ways: stop-motion features, bold kids films, on-screen stories that are inherently unnerving, and movies that are visually inventive. Not only does the film fulfill all those checkboxes, but it does it with such flare and creativity that it's truly an endeavor to be treasured. Now is it family fare? Probably not. I'm not the type of guy to say that a PG-rated movie actually deserves a PG-13 just because it contains a bit more violence, language, or scary images than your average kiddie flick. The PG stands for "Parental Guidance Suggested". So it's natural films like Shrek and Frankenweenie fit pretty squarely in that rating. However, the intense thematic content and freaky imagery in Coraline, especially in the third act, borders quite highly on PG-13, if not downright deserves it. For teens and adults, this is a piece of modern art that I highly recommend you check out. But it's not one for the easily sensitive or those below the age of 10.
OVERALL FILM RATING: 4.5/5
3D REVIEW
The back cover of the 3D Blu-ray of Coraline claims it's the very first stop-motion film to be natively shot for 3D. And it even gives a quote from a man named Leonardo Maltin who calls it the best 3D movie he's ever seen. This film came out back in the year 2009, the same year Pixar's Up came out and Avatar got the 3D ball rolling again. So I think it's safe to say this was a revolutionary year for 3D. Does Coraline stand as one of the great 3D pioneers of the 21st century? Many people seem to think so not just because of how it combined 3D with stop-motion, but also because of how carefully crafted the film was to best suit the 3D format. And honestly, I can't seem to disagree. Coraline not only came out at just the right time, but it stands as one of the most surreal 3D experiences I've ever seen in a good, long while and possibly the greatest I've seen in a stop-motion animated film.
The thing that really sets this movie apart from around 80% of most 3D flicks I've seen is not just how well-integrated the 3D is, but also just how naturally is works with the bizarre world this film creates. At the start of the movie, we get an opening credits sequence of needle hands stitching together a doll that looks exactly like our main lead. We get a small doll flying through a window and into the room before the needle hands grab it. The native 3D allows every piece of stuffing, thread, needle, button, and stitch in close up to not only look natural, but almost pop in 3D. There's even one very neat use of 3D pop out with a needle going through a button. When the Coraline doll is finished, the needle hands let it go back out into sky through the same window it came in. This scene is an excellent 3D highlight and it sets the tone for the 3D in the rest of the movie, or at least around 70% of it.
Selick does a pretty interesting thing here with the 3D. When Coraline is in the real world, the field of depth is kept very shallow. But when she enters the Other-world, the 3D really ramps up. From a storytelling standpoint, that's a pretty neat creative decision. However, because the real world scenes are technically in 3D, they count towards how I rate the overall product. If it had been something like Tron: Legacy or even Spy Kids 3D: Game Over where the film is only in 3D when it needs to be and flat everywhere else, I would for sure call this a 3D tour de force. As it is though, I can really only say that most, but not all, of the movie impresses in 3D. That doesn't mean the shallow parts don't have any interesting 3D offer, though. Outdoors, the trees, plants, houses, hills, and characters all carry decent 3D shape, as well as some fog and structures like a metal balcony and stairs. And indoors, you can still look through windows, doors, and staircases. There are also some shots that are composed quite nicely for 3D viewing. One includes a character looking through a telescope, one involves Coraline talking to her father and her reflection comes through in a computer screen, and one character playing with a slug.
When the 3D does kick up, though, the 3D really kicks up. And it starts when Coraline first opens the small door and the tunnel forms. Similar tunnel shots like this occur several times throughout the film. And in the climax, the 3D really helps to build up the tension when the reverse happens. But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, let's start with the more delightful stuff. The depth throughout these portions of the movie is so extensive that even in settings as modest as dining rooms, things like candles, cakes, and a gravy train look more captivating with the added depth. But the 3D is used splendidly in places like a spinning piano with mechanical glove hands throwing themselves all over the place and a large garden with bright, vibrant plants and a flock of birds. There's also a mechanical mantis that gets some 3D time to shine. But in the grander moments, there's a mice circus where the creatures dance and jump around the screen in some fun 3D ways that even at one point involves a tower, and a trapeze act where the ladies are jumping in, out of, and around the screen and at such heights that the 3D makes ever evident, and that's not to mention large crowd shots of dogs in the audience of a show.
In the second half of the film, though, the tone of the 3D switches from wondrous to terrifying. Eventually, the Other-mother starts to gradually becomes more horrifying and not only has a freaky 3D presence, but also has no problem protruding the screen often. My condolences to all the 6 year old kids who sat down and watched this film in 3D at the theater. But that's not the only are where the 3D adds an extra dimension of creepiness to the picture. We also get ghost children who float around the screen at a lower frame rate than everyone else, a couple of brief, but neat parts involving mirrors, and the same settings we saw earlier in a much more beautiful state such as the garden, the mice circus, and the theater are now twisted against out hero, leading to some scary action sequences. At one point in the movie, the cat takes Coraline to the ends of the Other-world where the world starts to dissolve into nothing but whiteness. And there are some shots of the moon that look genuinely far away. There's also some good 3D composition involving spider webs whether we're looking at them through windows or when Coraline is being chased by the other mother when the floor turns into one giant spider web. It's also around this point in the movie when almost anything that can reach out and try to attack you will. Among the perpetrators of that are the Other-mother (obviously), the trapeze artists busting out of a candy wrapper, flying bat dogs, a reluctant character with a giant mantis, plants, and more that I'm probably not thinking of now. Point is, this is probably the best I've seen 3D work with horror since A Christmas Carol.
Once again, we have another example of another 3D masterpiece that I'm forced to give a "great" rating to in spite of how fantastic it is. It's not like The Lorax or The Little Mermaid where the movie can still be enjoyed well enough in 2D. 3D is an absolute must for Coraline. But it's more like Ready Player One where the 3D is superb when it needs to be, but it's downgraded because the real world scenes are either shallow or don't use 3D to the best of their ability. This is a creative decision I'm totally fine with, but it doesn't show up that great on this rating system (technically it does, but you get the idea). But still, a "great" rating is a very good score to earn, and Coraline absolutely deserves it. It uses 3D in the most surreal fashion to support a very surreal movie. And the experience overall is not just immersive, but also equally mesmerizing and intense. If you're looking for Coraline, make sure you can see it in 3D the way it was intended.
3D RATING: GREAT
OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D:
High-Def Digest's Review: https://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4324/coraline_3d.html
Real Future Picture's Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etstNCFXdD8
FINAL THOUGHTS
Like I said before, Coraline is a one-of-a-kind movie. It's creepy, strange, delightful, engaging, and a complete visual masterpiece. It must be seen to be believed. We really deserve more films like this that are bold, unique, and creative. Stop-motion has been the king of these types of movies for years, but it's such a shame we've been seeing so few of them in recent years. Still, it's great to look back on the films like this that we did get. If you haven't seen Coraline yet, put it on next time you get the chance. You won't regret it in the least. And while you're at it, make sure you catch the 3D version. The 3D here is practically up there with some of Robert Zemeckis's animated features. It's not just a cheap gimmick to make a little more money, it's crucial to the experience. It's not always for the faint of heart with all the creepy details the 3D brings out and all the times the Other-mother reaches out for you. But then again, the movie already isn't for the faint of heart in 2D. This is a little bit of a tricky title to pick up on 3D Blu-ray as there's at least several versions of it out there in 3D, some on 3D DVD. Don't worry though, I'll put a link down below so you can find the U.S. 3D Blu-ray version I bought. Go there, purchase it, watch it, and have yourself an unforgettable time.
BUY IT HERE
DID YOU LIKE "CORALINE" IN 3D?
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