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"Coraline", a concise review

Well, I saw the movie "Coraline" over the weekend...it's made by Portland-based animation studio Laika (owned by Nike co-founder Phil Knight). This is their first movie, so it's a big deal around here. Lots of people have been asking me what I thought, so I thought I'd put down some thoughts here...

First of all, the look of it is very unique. We're so used to the computer-animated look, thanks to movies like the "Ice Age" franchise and movies like "Flushed Away" and "Surf's Up" that it's a refreshing change to see a stop-motion animation movie. This is where, instead of images being computer-drawn, there are puppets or sculptures that are moved incredibly small amounts for each frame shot. Needless to say, it's VERY labor-intensive, but definitely it gives a movie a "made by hand" look.

The story is inventive and engrossing, for young ones and adults. I saw the movie with my wife, 12 year old stepson and our 8 month old daughter. We all liked it (well, I can't speak for my daughter...she wasn't talking). The plot concerns Coraline, a ten-ish girl who has just moved to Oregon from Michigan. Her parents are writers of gardening books, and fairly harried and distracted. The house they are renting, the "Pink Palace", is creaky and old. Coraline is lonely and bored, and discovers a window to another place, where all the same people are there, but they are more fun, the food is better...and everyone has buttons on their eyes. At first, Coraline toys with the idea of staying with her "new" family...but then...well, things change for the worse.

As a Portlander, I of course was rooting for Coraline to be a good movie. I'd definitely give it a solid three stars. It got very good reviews, nationwide, which helped it to an opening weekend in 3rd place, with $13.6 million. It's well-deserved.
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