 ***PLEASE NOTE: A Blu-ray 3D disc is only compatible with 3D Blu-ray players.*** Remember: A PG rating and stop-motion animated aesthetic do not always make a child-friendly adventure. This is a story that won the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers. Tagline: Be careful what you wish for. And now for the best part. Coraline's 3D Blu-ray release is a show stopper. Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her into a world that's just like her own.....but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her "other" Mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home. Coraline is "A visual marvel." (Claudia Puig, USA Today). Ray Harryhausen would be proud. Coraline boasts a wonderfully-realized stop-motion animation technique that's beautifully seamless and only looks better in 3D. The worlds of Coraline are dark and unforgiving, obviously reflective of the film's themes that explore the dangers of sacrificing reality for fantasy and the consequences of accepting at face value anything that promises the moon but usually comes with obscured and out-of-sight stipulations and vague consequences that negate all that's good on the surface. The film's visual structure and stop-motion animation allow for the story to further exaggerate its themes by engendering a surreal look that's somewhere between reality and digital animation; employing the former might have made the picture too intense for younger viewers, while the latter seems better suited to Comedy and light Horror motifs, found in something like Monster House. The stop-motion effects seem to offer more in the way of artistic license for the filmmakers to get away with delving into the truly bizarre in an effort to further demonstrate the story's psychological undertones and complex characters. Whatever the reason in choosing stop-motion over live action or digital animation, Coraline excels as a visual wonder; even when viewed as a 2D presentation, the worlds prove remarkably and intricately detailed while also appearing dimensionally extravagant, these features only accentuated by a 3D viewing. Storyline: When Coraline moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, January 13, 2011 -- So sharp you won't feel a thing. Kudos to Universal for being one of the first out of the gate to offer a previously-exclusive Blu-ray 3D title for sale at general retail, behind only Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Coraline's wide release debuts with the same stunning 1080p Blu-ray 3D transfer and mesmerizing lossless soundtrack as was found on the aforementioned release, but this time the final product is accompanied by a handful of extra features and a second disc sporting DVD and digital copies of the film. Universal couldn't have chosen a more fitting title for their first ever wide release of a previously-exclusive title; Coraline remains one of the best movies available in 3D both in terms of content and technical presentation. Director Henry Selick's picture is a fantastically dark tale that looks at the twisted line between reality and fantasy, yielding incredible stop-motion animation and an even better high definition 3D presentation. Now with the inclusion of some high quality bonus content -- notably an informative audio commentary track in which Selick discusses not only 3D in general but how it was used to emphasize certain aspects of the film -- the Coraline Blu-ray 3D experience is complete. Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is a young girl recently relocated with her parents from Pontiac, Michigan to the Pink Palace Apartments located in a cold and seemingly barren area of the Northwest. Bored with her new surroundings and upset that her parents have already reverted to workaholic mode, she explores the run-down home and discovers a small door that's been covered with wallpaper. She pesters her mother into opening it, only to find a hardened brick wall behind it. A disappointed Coraline dreams that night that through the wall lies her perfect world. There she finds carbon copies of her parents who are in this universe friendlier, happier, and more willing to spend time with their daughter and, best of all, do all they can to cater to her every desire. Their world is brighter and happier, but there's one unmistakable difference: her mother and father in this world have buttons where their eyes should be. It's odd, yes, but Coraline shrugs off the peculiarity as she revels in the joy she's found away from her real life. When Coraline wakes up in her old bed and in the same house as her typically dull mother, father, and existence, she only longs all the more for the world that seems to exist behind the door and beyond the brick wall; little does she know, however, that something sinister awaits, and that the price for "true" happiness may be more than she's willing to pay. Ray Harryhausen would be proud. Coraline boasts a wonderfully-realized stop-motion animation technique that's beautifully seamless and only looks better in 3D. The worlds of Coraline are dark and unforgiving, obviously reflective of the film's themes that explore the dangers of sacrificing reality for fantasy and the consequences of accepting at face value anything that promises the moon but usually comes with obscured and out-of-sight stipulations and vague consequences that negate all that's good on the surface. The film's visual structure and stop-motion animation allow for the story to further exaggerate its themes by engendering a surreal look that's somewhere between reality and digital animation; employing the former might have made the picture too intense for younger viewers, while the latter seems better suited to Comedy and light Horror motifs, found in something like Monster House. The stop-motion effects seem to offer more in the way of artistic license for the filmmakers to get away with delving into the truly bizarre in an effort to further demonstrate the story's psychological undertones and complex characters. Whatever the reason in choosing stop-motion over live action or digital animation, Coraline excels as a visual wonder; even when viewed as a 2D presentation, the worlds prove remarkably and intricately detailed while also appearing dimensionally extravagant, these features only accentuated by a 3D viewing. Coraline's dark visuals and somewhat complex themes dont exactly make it something that seems primed to replace those well-loved copies of Monsters, Inc., Cars, and Kung Fu Panda in the kids' movie rotation, but it will satisfy adults in search of a more involved and thought-provoking animated title that explores themes that might be presented from a child's perspective but certainly prove relevant for most all viewers of any age. The picture plays out with a delightfully intriguing air of mystery about it. Characters are developed in due time and to an extent that makes Coraline's decisions later in the film seem to stem naturally from her upbringing, attitude, experiences, and surroundings, but the picture manages to build up these points-of-reference without relying on dull actions, extreme circumstances, boring dialogue, or humorless moments in the process. Coraline succeeds in large part thanks to the filmmakers' ability to keep things moving at a wonderfully robust pace whether during scenes of intense action, dramatic relevance, or gut-busting humor, and each of these elements play a natural and understandable part in taking the picture from its humble-but-oddball origins to a chilling conclusion that brings its motifs full circle with plenty of excitement and age-appropriate scares in tow. Indeed, the mystery surrounding the events depicted in Coraline prove riveting by themselves, but the film generates enough visual eye candy, dramatic overtones, and exciting action and horror elements to make the journey that takes viewers from the introduction of a curious circumstance to an all-out and terribly intense conclusion well worth the effort. No doubt Coraline seems like something from the mind of Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam, and the film is more likely to appeal to audiences that are more open to untraditional cinema on both visual and psychological levels. By design, nothing about Coraline seems quite right; whether distorted figures or frightening creatures, talking and dancing animals or barren and darkened landscapes, the film revels in the peculiar but does so in an effort to better illustrate its themes. At its most basic, Coraline is about the want for something that seems unobtainable, at least in the world as it exists in the little corner in which Coraline resides. Hers is a bleak and lifeless world both outside and inside; her parents are workaholics who don't have time to play with or cook proper meals for her, seeing her more as an obstacle than an object of affection. She longs for a more cheerful life, tastier food, and loving parents, but her foray into a world that offers her those things comes with a price. She is ultimately required to have buttons sewn over her eyes should she wish to remain in her fantasy world forever, an act which can be seen as the ultimate in surrender, sacrificing the gift of sight -- the ability to assess, to enjoy, and most clearly and unmistakably sense and understand the world around her -- so she can be forever blind to the realities of her true existence. Coraline warns viewers that while it's OK to dream, it's potentially harmful to ignore reality -- no matter how good or how bad it may be -- in favor of escapism that will, in this case literally, suck the life out of those that seek it at the cost of everything they know to be true. Coraline is a beautifully dark and alluringly peculiar picture with wonderful animation, well-developed characters, and a message that speaks on the importance of coping with reality rather than falling victim to the dangers of reality-destroying fantasy. The picture boasts an excellent voice cast on top of its gorgeous visuals and pertinent themes, and while it may not be the film small children will play on a loop with every waking hour, it's a must-see picture for mature viewers of all ages, particularly those who will be able to understand its themes within the context of the bleak visual picture it paints. Universal's Blu-ray 3D release of Coraline excels from the top down. Great movie, stunning technical presentation, and now an honest and even, arguably, necessary assortment of extra content makes this a complete must-own package that's already one of the best among the limited Blu-ray 3D releases. Hopefully, it's only a matter of time before other exclusive titles like Monsters vs. Aliens, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and Avatar also become available for general sale and offered with the necessary extras intact. As for Coraline 3D? Very highly recommended. Cast Notes: Dakota Fanning (Coraline Jones [voice]), Teri Hatcher (Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam [voice]), Jennifer Saunders (Miss April Spink / Other Spink [voice]), Dawn French (Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible [voice]), Keith David (The Cat [voice]), John Hodgman (Charlie Jones / Other Father [voice]), Robert Bailey Jr. (Wyborne 'Wybie' Lovat [voice]), Ian McShane (Mr. Sergei Alexander Bobinsky / Other Bobinsky [voice]), Aankha Neal (Sweet Ghost Girl [voice]), George Selick (Ghost Boy [voice]), Hannah Kaiser (Tall Ghost Girl [voice]), Harry Selick (Photo Friend #1 [voice]), Marina Budovsky (Photo Friend #2 [voice]), Emerson Hatcher (Magic Dragonfly [voice]), Jerome Ranft (Mover [voice]). IMDb Rating (02/11/17): 7.7/10 from 152,657 users
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