Coraline

After moving to an old creaky house in the country, a young girl finds a secret door to an alternate, idealized version of her life, only to discover that not everything is what it seems.

Coraline is a dark fantasy that makes wonderful use of the intricate stop-motion animation that director Henry Selick became known for with is breakout hit, The Nightmare Before Christmas. But, despite its PG rating, Coraline is definitely not for children that scare easily. Indeed, some of the film’s greatest, and most imaginative, imagery is also its most nightmare inducing. Well, that and the concept of sewing buttons into your eyes with a giant needle.

But that’s what makes the film so great. It never feels like its playing down to children, or censoring itself for their sake. Selick, who adopted the screenplay from Neil Gaiman’s book, doesn’t pull any punches and the result is a film that plays well to older audiences, perhaps even better than to children, who may miss its thinly veiled reference to drug addiction.

That said, the only real problem with Coraline is its length, which at an hour and 40 minutes feels long. There simply isn’t enough story here to sustain that kind of running time and, as a result, you’ll find yourself waiting for the film to catch up to the plot points you’ve already figured out. It’s a frustrating flaw in what’s otherwise a solid effort that’s nonetheless worth a look if only for the amazing animation.