Coraline (2009)

Directed by

Henry Selick

Genre

fantasy film, horror film, dark fantasy, family film, cinematic fairy tale, thriller film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 41m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.9 of 10 from 9,133 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young girl moves into a new house and finds a secret door. Behind it is a perfect version of her life, but the perfection hides a dangerous secret.

whimsicaleeriesuspensefuldreamlikedarkly imaginativeunsettlingvisually lushcurious

What happens

Coraline is a 2009 American stop-motion animated gothic dark fantasy horror film written, co-produced and directed by Henry Selick and based on the 2002 novella by Neil Gaiman. The first feature film produced by Laika Studios, it features the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Ian McShane. The film tells the story of a young girl (Fanning) discovering an idealized alternate universe behind a secret door in her new home, unaware that it contains something dark and sinister. As Gaiman was finishing his novella, he met Selick and invited him to make a film adaptation, as Gaiman was a fan of Selick's other stop-motion works. When Selick thought that a direct adaptation would lead to "maybe a 47-minute movie", the story was expanded. Looking for a design different from that of most animation, Selick discovered the work of Japanese illustrator Tadahiro Uesugi and invited him to become the concept artist. Uesugi's biggest influences were on the color palette, which was muted in the real world and more colorful in the alternate universe. Production of the animation took place at a warehouse in Hillsboro, Oregon. Coraline premiered at the Portland International Film Festival on February 5, 2009, and was released theatrically in the United States on February 6 by Focus Features. The film was met with widespread acclaim from critics and grossed $126 million on its initial release. Several theatrical re-releases raised its box office total to $186 million, making it the third-highest-grossing stop-motion film of all time. The film was selected by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2009, won Annie Awards for Best Music, Best Character Design, and Best Production Design, and was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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