Halloween Day by Day: "Coraline" (2009)

Moving into a new house can be a wonderful and marvelous adventure. Other times... it can be the start of a journey into darkness and terror...

Coraline Jones has moved into a new apartment building in rural Oregon. It's filled with colourful residents, and comfortable corners. But she's not happy being alone while here parents work.

A chance encounter with a neighbour, and a doll that creepily looks like her, sends Coraline on a path to another world. One filled with brightness and joy... one with a dark, sinister secret that hungers for her...

"Coraline" is a great little stop motion animated film. The story is truly a modern fairy tale that mixes all of the magic and adventure of the classics, while making the genre feel new and interesting again. It flows smoothly with wonderful pacing. I found myself losing track of the time, and was surprised that time had passed when it ended.

While the majority of the characters don't receive much in the way of development in this film, they are still interesting, unique, and likely to keep you watching due to their slightly quirky nature. Coraline, and the Other Mother are marvelously developed characters that play well against each other. You wind up wanting to see more of them by the end of the film

The appearance of "Coraline" is beautiful. A nice balance of curves and edges that gives a real unique look and feel to everything. The colour palatte is just marvelous as well- a great balance of bright colours, and slightly drab ones. The choices really create a wonderful mood to the scenes.

If you want a modern animated fairy tale that blends wonder and scares into a delicious treat for the eyes, then I would certainly recommend "Coraline". "The Good" for sure.

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