The Coraline movie is real magic

The Coraline movie is here! Neil Gaiman's marvellous kid's book Coraline has become a suitably enchanting feature film overseen by the highly talented Henry Selick, the man that directed the 1993 cult classic animated movie 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. If anyone was capable of bringing Gaiman's weird story of Button-eyed people in a strange version of our own world, it is Selick. The visual element of the Coraline movie is a superb example of stop-motion animation, a moviemaking process that can truly be brilliant when executed well.

Where the novel was of the same strange and unnerving sort that we have come to expect and demand from Neil Gaiman, the visual element of the Coraline movie took many people unawares with its use of radiant colours and the method of animation. The Coraline movie is a wonderful piece to look at, and will enchant viewers young and old with its weird story and thoroughly entertaining cast of characters.

The voice talent attached to the stop motion adventures of the Coraline movie is extremely impressive too. Dakota Fanning handles the lead role of Coraline herself, and the cast has a number of English TV icons involved, namely Ian McShane, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Teri Hatcher provides the vocal work of both incarnations of Coraline's mum. The Coraline movie's wisecracking feline friend is voiced by John Hodgman.

It is quite apt that such a deliciously odd tale is brought to the screen in such a way as to capture the ambience of a dream. Stop-motion has that wonderful dreamlike feel to it that Computer generated effects are yet to possess. There is something wonderfully unnerving about stop motion, especially here in the Coraline movie. It may be the knowledge that the viewer is witnessing inanimate objects moving around on a giant screen, or it may just be that the finished style of a stop-mo movie is so different to most other animated movies of the contemporary scene.

While the Coraline movie is nowhere near as filled with lingering images as The Nightmare Before Christmas, it is certainly not without it's visual treats. Just look out for the musical scenes, the strange transformations of the characters, and naturally, the weird buttons that characters have instead of eyes in the alternate universe. Viewers that are yet to read the book are in for a genuine treat as they discover the strange universe that Gaiman created, a world that is similar to ours, just somewhat skewed.

For people who have enjoyed the book (and it has been enjoyed by just as many grown-ups as children), the Coraline Movie is as near a faithful movie version of the source material as it's possible to get. This is one children's film that will certainly become a much-loved classic for every generation. The Coraline movie is pure magic.