IT’S generally best to avoid movies released at the beginning of the year, but I urge you to make an exception for Henry Selick’s wonderfully creepy “Coraline,” the first stop-motion animated feature shot in 3-D.
The dark sensibilities of Selick – the genius best known for directing the classic “Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas” – perfectly mesh with Neil Gaiman’s children’s book, a twisted variation on “Alice in Wonderland.”
Coraline Jones, voiced by the ubiquitous Dakota Fanning (also on hand today in the flesh with “Push”), is a bored 11-year-old who has just moved into a dreary boarding house with her workaholic writer parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman), who are vegans to boot.
One day she discovers a door that leads into a parallel dimension (or whatever) where she discovers alternate versions of her parents who are cheery, attentive and serve food she actually enjoys.
Coraline is delighted to find there is no place for boredom in this universe, where the elderly boarders – a pair of actresses (Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French) and a circus performer (Ian McShane) – are always ready to put on a show.
Before you can say “Be careful what you wish for,” the Other Mother announces her plan to make Coraline a permanent guest by sewing black buttons in place of Coraline’s eyes – just like she and the other alterna-boarders have.
Can the suddenly frightened Coraline escape this fate with the help of a talking cat (voiced by Keith David) and a goofy neighbor (Robert Bailey Jr.)?
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” was beautifully converted to 3-D a couple of years ago, but the exquisitely designed “Coraline” was conceived specifically for three-
dimensional presentation.
It’s an ideal way to experience the tactile delights of stop-motion, in which animators move tiny puppets and objects by hand – a fraction of an inch for each frame.
This is perhaps the most effective 3-D movie I have ever seen, with a sophisticated, involving story that will appeal to many adults.
The only reservation I have is with the PG rating, which seems too lenient for a story that may give very young children – particularly if they are sensitive – nightmares.
If you can, try to see “Coraline” on the huge screen at the Ziegfeld.
They didn’t screen the 2-D version showing at some theaters for critics, but, personally, why bother?
CORALINE
3-D stunner.
Running time: 101 minutes. Rated PG (scary images, suggestive humor). At the Ziegfeld, the Empire, the Union Square, others.