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Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David ... see more see more... , John Hodgman , Robert Bailey Jr. , Ian McShane , Aankha Neal , George Selick , Hannah Kaiser , Harry Selick , Marina Budovsky , Emerson Hatcher , Jérôme Ranft , Christopher Murrie , Jeremy Ryder , Carolyn Crawford , Yona Prost

A young girl walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality that is eerily similar to the life she already knows, yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways, in director Henry Selick's an... read more read more...imated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's international best-seller. Eleven-year-old Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is fearlessly courageous, and perhaps far too adventurous for her own good. Coraline and her parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have recently relocated to Oregon from Michigan. Bored in her new home since her parents are distracted by work and she has yet to make any new friends, Coraline passes the time by exploring her new neighborhood with an annoying local boy named Wybie Lovat (Robert Bailey Jr.). But after paying a visit to her eccentric neighbors Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), a pair of aging British actresses, and crossing paths with the outright weird Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane), the precocious young girl becomes convinced that her new surroundings are just as dull as she'd initially suspected. Shortly thereafter, Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new house, and decides to investigate. Venturing into the eerie passageway inside, Coraline emerges into an alternate version of her own reality. At first glance, this strange new world seems even better than the real thing; there her parents aren't distracted by work, and Coraline is always the center of attention. There's even a mysterious Cat (Keith David) that's fascinated by her every move. But when Coraline's button-eyed Other Mother (also Hatcher) attempts to make her stay permanent, the frightened young girl must summon her resourcefulness and bravery in order to find her way back home and save her real family. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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77% liked it

317,343 ratings

Critics

90% liked it

231 critics

PG, 1 hr. 41 min.

Directed by: Henry Selick

Release Date: February 6, 2009

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DVD Release Date: July 21, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (29,906)

  • jmanard52
    July 21, 2009
    jmanard52
    When they put Neil Gaiman on screen we get magic. Again an amazing adaption of an amazing tale. Me and my daughter enjoyed every second of this one.
  • ironclad1609
    April 11, 2012
    ironclad1609
    The creators of "Nightmare before Christmas" return with the adaptation of a Neil Gaiman children's horror novel. Once again, the animation is breathtakingly beautiful, even if in a creepy way. You can see that this was certainly a beauty in 3D and on the big screen. The imaginat... read moreion and love that went into the creation of each of those characters and settings clearly is showing. While the plot starts out as a mystery adventure, the second half is nothing short of horror and not for younger kids at all. Which clearly shows the film's dilemma. It's a bit too hysterical and silly for grown ups and way too creepy for the younger kids. Everyone between that who likes Tim Burton-esque weirdness could have a great time with this, it's definitely very entertaining, even if it all doesn't make all that much sense.
  • fb100002090596996
    January 19, 2012
    fb100002090596996
    This wasn't directed by Tim Burton, nor was it directed by David Lynch, and of course, it wasn't directed by me (must get through the Police Force until then), no... we have a new Tim Lynch on the loose... his name is Henry Selick. And man Henry, you dream of some of the most cre... read moreepy, bizarre things at night. Coraline is by far the most traumatizing children's film since The Adventures of Mark Twain, which for your information, has the Devil murder allot of innocent clay people in a greedy clay world. Creepy stuff, but Coraline kicks it up a notch. Like you all know, Eraserhead is one of the 5 fav films I have. These are Saw, Eraserhead, Ghost Protocol, Matrix, and Terminator. Eraserhead is number 2 of awesomeness, must mean I like surrealness in my movies. Oh yeah, I said it, I made up a new word. This is a great movie if you love Tim Burton or David Lynch, or if you just love original films that are really eye catching and weird, watch this movie
  • danperry17
    November 20, 2011
    danperry17
    So this is embarrassing: I didn't really get it. I was waiting most of the movie to find out that Coraline's parents acted the way they did because they were getting a divorce or something, only to find out that the point really was just about the difference between reality and f... read moreantasy. My first reaction was that the story was a little rough around the edges, unfinished and ambiguous and therefore (possibly) too complicated for its target audience (kids); however, given some time to think about, I've started to piece it back together, and I think I really should have watched this at home and not on an airplane. That's what I'll do the next time. And if it's no better, so what? It's still great to see a Tim Burton influence layered on a Neil Gaiman story: it's in the margins where the best work is always being done, and sometimes it takes a long time for the "normal" movie watcher to understand.
  • paulsandberg
    November 13, 2011
    paulsandberg
    In this stop motion film, you have a marvel of imagination, hemmed in by a story that is all too predicable in spite of some wondrous flights of fancy.

    A young girl from Michigan is uprooted to Oregon by her parents, who seek peace and quiet to write some kind of gardening boo... read morek. Ignored by her parents, and resentful for the move, the young girl Coraline Jones (hmm, and how come no-one has mentioned the alliteration to Carolyn Jones who portrayed Morticia Adams???) is bored and yearns for a better life. Low and behold, while asleep one night, she is led to a door that opens upon an alternate reality where her mom is especially loving and attentive - or at least so it seems at first.

    When she awakens, she is back in her dreary room, so one wonders, Is it just a dream? This is a great idea, but due to the surreal effect of the animation, I started to question; what is real to the surreal? For sure, the doppelganger doll with the button eyes doesn't look that much different from the artistic cartoon of the girl herself - which makes the effect much less jarring.

    Going into the technical aspects of the film, the voice acting is fairly solid, though Dakota Fanning as Coraline sounds very out of sorts in places and though I love French and Saunders with a passion (think Ab Fab) I often had problems understanding what the heck they were saying (a problem I never had with Ab Fab, oddly enough). The stop motion is very fluid with a few jarring exceptions - just when you start to lose yourself in the film there's a scene that's just too herky jerky - bringing you out of your reverie and back into "?hey, I'm just watching a film".

    And yet, there are moments of pure magic, especially concerning Mr. Bobinsky (voiced by my hero Ian McShane, who will forever be Al Swearington to me). The scene with the jumping mice is almost worth the price of admission by itself, and the operatic/vaudeville/ trapeze scene with French and Saunders, while superfluous, was still a lot of fun - it was almost as if the director asked the pair "ok, we're going to let you riff for awhile, what can you come up with".

    There are inventive touches galore, and yet the motis operandi of the final third of the film is based on a hokey convention, and unfortunately the final coda is hackneyed at best, making you wonder, as with so many animated films, who the target audience is supposed to be ? once again we seem caught in the middle, between an adult and a children?s film; and once again, seeking the middle ground muddies up what by rights should have been a classic film. This is certainly a worthwhile view, but rests firmly in the good, but could have been great category.

    For the record - I saw this in 2d, so can't comment about the 3d version.
  • StarCrossedVoyager
    October 10, 2011
    StarCrossedVoyager
    A fantastic and original stop motion animation. I was interested throughout the film and loved the aesthetics of it. They really did put a lot of work into this and it completely paid off. Reminds me of my childhood...
  • 76Majikat
    August 26, 2011
    76Majikat
    Predicted rating: 4 stars

    Coraline is really a Horror film for young children, it really does play on many fears that a young child may have, with a very dark side to the story, it carries itself in a Burtonesque style.

    There are clear signs of influence of Henry Selick's earl... read moreier film The Nightmare before Christmas.

    Coraline starts off slow, but soon becomes an interesting adventure of two parallel worlds merging together.
  • fb1672039553
    June 25, 2011
    fb1672039553
    Wonderfully imaginative art style. There is so much detail, detail that is worth noticing, that even multiple viewings will not capture it all. Every character is full of unique personality. The same can be said of the soundtrack. Everything about this movie seems antithetical t... read moreo the safe and bland "mass appeal" approach of most animated movies today. It feels unique and genuine all the way down to its stitching.
  • TomBowler
    June 18, 2011
    TomBowler
    Beautifully constructed and totally original, not to mention genuinely terrifying at times. Full review later.
  • LWOODS04
    June 6, 2011
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Dakota Fanning, Ian McShane, Teri Hatcher, Keith David, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr.

    Director: Henry Selick

    Summary: In this stop-motion animation Oscar nominee, curious young Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) unlocks a door in h... read moreer family's home and is transported to a universe that strangely resembles her own -- only better. But when her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) doesn't want Coraline to return to reality, our heroine must summon an amazing amount of courage to go home and save her family.

    My Thoughts: "A good film to teach you that having it all perfect isn't always perfect. I liked that it was a bit dark and creepy. The animation was really good. The film has beautiful colors and I loved the garden. Dakota Fanning is great as Coraline. She fit the character wonderfully. I loved the story. I think it may be for older children though. My seven yr old newphew found it a bit scary. Plus there is a burlesque performance with an old lady wearing some pasties. My nephew was pretty grossed out. But I think ten and older will be OK watching this."

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Critic Reviews

James Berardinelli
February 25, 2009
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Employing stop-motion animation that renders human beings with the distinctive characteristics evident in both The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, Selick finds the perfect lo... Full Review

David Denby
February 23, 2009
David Denby, New Yorker

A gift to imagination. Full Review

Peter Rainer
February 9, 2009
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Neil Gaiman's hugely popular 2002 children's horror novel Coraline has been given the animated 3-D treatment but you may want to keep the toddlers away from this one. Full Review

Richard Roeper
February 7, 2009
Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

Well-crafted and effectively creepy. Full Review

Bob Mondello
February 6, 2009
Bob Mondello, NPR.org

Selick puts his real faith not in the gimmickry that Coraline's audiences will think they've shown up for, but in the stronger virtues that they'd likely view as old-fashioned: character, and story, a... Full Review

Richard Corliss
February 6, 2009
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

[The] chilly visual vocabulary, along with a narrative that too often detours into ingenious irrelevancies, makes Coraline an object to be admired, but not embraced. Full Review

Dana Stevens
February 6, 2009
Dana Stevens, Slate

Like Coraline in the doppelgänger world, we swoon over all the neat stuff without ever making ourselves at home. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
February 6, 2009
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

A a children's entertainment that's much too scary for little kids (ugly insects provide a pervasive visual motif) and too lifeless to enchant older audiences. Full Review

Claudia Puig
February 6, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

Coraline is a plucky heroine, and director Selig's imagination is indisputable. But the story falters in parts, and its dark tone could be off-putting for children. Full Review

Peter Howell
February 6, 2009
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

This animated screen rendering of Neil Gaiman's masterful children's horror fantasy is so full of life and texture, it's almost gilding the lily to add the third dimension to it. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Mel Coraline's Mother/Other Mother: There's just one thing wee need to do.
    • Coraline Jones: What's that?
    • Coraline Jones: No way! Your not sewing buttons into my eyes!
    • Mel Coraline's Mother/Other Mother: Oh, but we need a yes, if you want to stay.
    • Coraline Jones: How can you walk away from something and then come towards it?
    • Cat: Walk around the world.
    • Coraline Jones: Small world.
    • Coraline Jones: Oh my God.
    • Tall Ghost Girl: Hush, and shush, for the beldam might be listening.
    • Wybie Lovat: I'm Wybie. Wybie Lovat.
    • Coraline Jones: Wybie?
    • Wybie Lovat: Short for Wyborn. Not my idea, of course. What'd you get saddled with?
    • Coraline Jones: I wasn't 'saddled' with anything. It's Coraline.
    • Wybie Lovat: Coraline what?
    • Coraline Jones: Coraline. Coraline Jones.
    • Wybie Lovat: Hm. It's not real scientific, but I heard an ordinary name like Caroline can lead people to have ordinary expectations about a person.
    • Wybie Lovat: How do you know?
    • Coraline Jones: The cat told me.
    • Coraline Jones: Why aren't you listening to me?
    • Wybie Lovat: Because your crazy!
    • Coraline Jones: Crazy? You're the jerk wad that gave me the doll.
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  • Who wrote the book on which the stop motion film Coraline is based?  Answer »
  • In Coraline What was the color of Coralines hair  Answer »
  • What voice dose Dakota Fanny do in Coraline?  Answer »
  • which actress supplies the voice for Coraline?  Answer »
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