Coraline (Laika)

Discussion of non-Disney DVD and Blu-ray.
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ajmrowland
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Post by ajmrowland »

I'm sorry to hear you all feel that way. Me? The movie does have it's flaws, but it was never going to be a fast-paced film. The sort of "return to the real world" thing has been done many times before, and the characters are meant to be eccentric(bobinski, obviously), except the parents, who, as we're supposed to understand, are overworked and tired. It seems like the ending wasn't a matter of whether things will get better, but how Coraline can appreciate them the way things ARE.

Plus, it is a lot like Alice in wonderland: Girl who's sick of reality stumbles into a fantastic world only to find out she's got a pretty decent life already.

And Henry Selick made a conscious decision to keep some things from being explained directly to the audience.

I've also heard many cases of adults being more scared of the movie than kids. It's a modern fairytale in that sense.
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Post by pap64 »

Has anyone read the original book? If so, how true the film was to it? What changes were made?

Don't worry too much about it, aj. Like I said, the movie is quirky enough that it will gain a loyal following. I just think it wasn't THE best film of the year.
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Neal
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Post by Neal »

Alice in Wonderland
The Wizard of Oz
Peter Pan
Labyrinth

... all films with a "girl gets lost in strange world, wants home" theme that have much better pacing and keep the plot rolling right along.
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Post by ajmrowland »

I still really enjoyed Up(hilarious) and other movies this year. I'm just defending Coraline because it's unique and I enjoyed it, and barely caught any of the plotholes.

And Alice doesn't really keep the plot rolling quite so well(so many stops), and is still paced rather slowly. The only thing it really keeps is the nonsense/no-rules basis of Wonderland, which is the only thing that keeps the plot in the story at all.

And in the case of changes from the book, they were made, but mostly in smaller things(like whether or not the mice exist) and the addition of Wybie as a character, and the moving of the location from England to the Mid-west.
Last edited by ajmrowland on Sun Aug 23, 2009 11:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by pap64 »

Speaking of plot holes, I didn't want to mention this as a con because I may be clueless about it, but I am wondering...

In the movie, the Other Mother kidnaps Coraline's parents. When she returns after she learns that the Other Mother wants to capture her she notices that the food is rotting and that no one has seen them for days.

For how long was Coraline in the other world? For how long were her parents captive?

Also, when she finally rescues them why are they cold and wet yet have noi memory of it? If they saw the other mother and asked Coraline for help through the mirror why did they lose memory of it?
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Post by ajmrowland »

Who knows? They are cold and wet because they were trapped in a snowglobe. Maybe they got hit in the head when it broke.

The "Other" Snow globe, must have turned to dust, because that's what "Other world" residence are made of, and so are the props.

Coraline being in the Other World for probably only some hours and the Other Mother's Magic would have somehow caused the groceries to rot. Just like how the phone is left in the car, and everything else that hints at Mom and Dad missing. I guess they could have done without the groceries, though.
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Post by SpringHeelJack »

I'm actually glad to see other people were left underwhelmed by "Coraline". After all the positive reviews it got, it seemed like I was one of the few left cold by it. Stunning animation, yes, but I found the story to be too spotty and simple to sustain my interest. Particularly at the end when Navi the fairy- er, the ghost children started giving Coraline advice on how to defeat Queen Gohma- er, to find the missing children, it became more like watching someone play a beautifully rendered video game than an actual film.

Additionally, the only character I really cared about was Wyborne, as everyone else pretty much came off as a jerk when first being introduced. Coraline was a whiny brat, and her parents were self-absorbed jerks- I found myself wondering later on if Coraline really wouldn't have been better off without them.
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Post by o0Andy0o »

Neal wrote:Many people can be won over by the flash and fizzle, and forget that substance is equally important.

I mean, I knew this wasn't a musical like one of my all-time favorite films "The Nightmare before Christmas" - but this just had a lot of dead air, and the whole 'search for the stones' thing was like out of a video game in terms of how it was all set up.

And yes, Up was much better.

But I'd have to say I'm most looking forward to being blown away by "The Princes and the Frog" and "Where the Wild Things Are."
I consider The Nightmare Before Christmas to be one of my all time favorites as well but I have to say that I was fully entertained by Coraline. I'm 16 now, but when I first saw it I was 15 and I saw it with two other friends, one who was watching it for the first time and the other for the THIRD time, and we all enjoyed it very much. I held it as the 4th best movie of the year but now after purchasing it and watching it quite a few times I can now say it's the 3rd best movie of the year, in my professional movie critical opinion. (The first being UP, second being Star Trek, 4th being Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince, 5th being Drag Me to Hell, 6th being Watchmen) This film had a good message for all, young and old, and fully see it as universal. It may not be for the more younger type or the much older but it certainly appeals to many. I also believe that the voice acting was incredibly well done, I thought I was going to get annoyed by Dakota's voice but I always forgot it was her and always just saw the voice as being Coraline. I hope you guys who don't like this film aren't the kind of movie goers who obsess over, pardon my french, shit movies like Transformers 2, and would reconsider giving this movie another chance. :)
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Post by pap64 »

SpringHeelJack wrote:I'm actually glad to see other people were left underwhelmed by "Coraline". After all the positive reviews it got, it seemed like I was one of the few left cold by it. Stunning animation, yes, but I found the story to be too spotty and simple to sustain my interest. Particularly at the end when Navi the fairy- er, the ghost children started giving Coraline advice on how to defeat Queen Gohma- er, to find the missing children, it became more like watching someone play a beautifully rendered video game than an actual film.

Additionally, the only character I really cared about was Wyborne, as everyone else pretty much came off as a jerk when first being introduced. Coraline was a whiny brat, and her parents were self-absorbed jerks- I found myself wondering later on if Coraline really wouldn't have been better off without them.
Yes, the last half of the movie truly did feel like a videogame, complete with boss battles and a reward at the end of it.

Though, I am willing to forgive Coraline's whining. It looked as if before they moved they were a close, caring family and Coraline had a happy life. You too would be whiny if your parents treated you like you were some sort of disturbance.

This is why I think the story needed a little more exposition. I wanted to know why Coraline's parents treat their daughter that way and what caused them to move.
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Post by disneyboy20022 »

My ideas are of this movie:


The reason everyone seemed down and droopy or depressed was because of the prescence of the "other world with the Other Mother" has been there for 50 years and the lost children and it was like a haunted house since Wybourne's Grandma whose sister was one of the Lost/Dead ones....and when the Wicked Other Mother was vanquished by Coraline the curse of the residence was lifted.....and everyone began to slowly be happy again...
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Post by Neal »

o0Andy0o:

My favorite movies of all time are:

Howl's Moving Castle
Finding Nemo
The Dark Knight
V for Vendetta
The Nightmare before Christmas

As for movies I saw in theaters this year:

Bride Wars
Inkheart
Coraline
The Last House on the Left
Star Trek
Angels & Demons
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Up
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Orphan
District 9

...I'd make the top three I saw: Up, District 9, and Coraline

As for my top ten most looked-forward to at this point:

Ponyo (hope to see it yet, but it's only playing 45 minutes away from here)
9
Cold Souls
500 Days of Summer (hope to see it yet, but it's only playing 45 minutes away from here)
Where the Wild Things Are
The Road
The Princess and the Frog
Avatar (except I've been hearing negative reviews of the 16 minutes of previewed footage)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (except, the trailer looks...weird)
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
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Post by o0Andy0o »

Neal wrote:o0Andy0o:

My favorite movies of all time are:

As for movies I saw in theaters this year:

...I'd make the top three I saw: Up, District 9, and Coraline

As for my top ten most looked-forward to at this point:

Ponyo (hope to see it yet, but it's only playing 45 minutes away from here)
9
Cold Souls
500 Days of Summer (hope to see it yet, but it's only playing 45 minutes away from here)
Where the Wild Things Are
The Road
The Princess and the Frog
Avatar (except I've been hearing negative reviews of the 16 minutes of previewed footage)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (except, the trailer looks...weird)
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Haha we have very similary movie tastes. ;)

My Favorite Movies of All Time Are:
Pan's Labyrinth
WALL-E
Babe
Beauty and the Beast
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Pulp Fiction
Spirited Away
The Lion King
No Country for Old Men

You already saw my favorite movies of the year so far.

Movies I Look Forward to Seeing this Year in Particular Order:
Precious
Avatar
9
Nine
Invictus
District 9
Ponyo
Where the Wild Things Are
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Road
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
The Princess and the Frog
Amelia
Broken Embraces
The Hurt Locker
Brothers

More than anything I want to see Precious and Avatar as well as The Road seeing as it is my favorite book of all time.
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Post by Neal »

There definitely are parallels between our favorites!

We both have a favorite from Miyazaki and Andrew Stanton.

I love Nausicaa, as well, but must say "Castle in the Sky" is my second favorite Ghibli.

And Pan's Labyrinth was wonderful, too!

You must be a big Cormac McCarthy fan?
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Post by o0Andy0o »

Neal wrote:There definitely are parallels between our favorites!

We both have a favorite from Miyazaki and Andrew Stanton.

I love Nausicaa, as well, but must say "Castle in the Sky" is my second favorite Ghibli.

And Pan's Labyrinth was wonderful, too!

You must be a big Cormac McCarthy fan?
Well my all time favorites aren't exactly in any specific order except for the first three. I rewatch them and they move up and down but definately the first three are in the right place. Finding Nemo should also be on my list but I completely forgot.

And I wouldn't consider myself a "big" Cormac fan but I do really enjoy his work very much. My favorite book of all time, The Road, will probably be added to my list after seeing it. I have very high hopes for that film!
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Post by Prudence »

pap64 wrote:Has anyone read the original book? If so, how true the film was to it? What changes were made?
I read the book around 2002 and remember it.

Whybie was made for the movie. He wasn't in the novella.

Coraline didn't have blue hair in the novella.

There is no lookalike doll in the novella.

Coraline's mother had no neck brace in the novella, though this detail is not relevant.

Mr. Bobinsky's name was Mr. Bobo in the novella, in which he was not referred to as drunk.

The Other Father turns into a monster in the novella.

Otherwise, the movie followed the book. I really liked both, by the way.
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Post by ajmrowland »

pap64 wrote: This is why I think the story needed a little more exposition. I wanted to know why Coraline's parents treat their daughter that way and what caused them to move.
They treated her that way because they were on a very tight deadline for their catalog. The Audio commentary fills in some stuff that's not completely clear in the movie, for the record.

And the Other mother barely changes form in the Novella. That was mostly for the film.
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Coraline Gift Set coming for the Holidays!

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For those who didn't get Coraline on DVD or Blu-Ray yet, try waiting til' Dec 8th. 'Cuz Universal is releasing a Coraline Gift Set just in time for the Holidays!:

http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=71763

"Universal Studios Home Entertainment have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Coraline Limited Edition Gift Set on 8th December 2009. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, this stop-motion animation written and directed by Henry Selick follows an adventurous girl who finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Released earlier this year on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Coraline returns for the holiday season as a Limited Edition Gift Set which comes in special packaging with a book and post cards. The 2-Disc DVD and Blu-ray sets offer the same disc content as the previous releases (Disc 2 on the Blu-ray is a DVD/Digital Copy of the film) and come with 4 pairs of 3-D glasses."
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Post by PixarFan2006 »

Pass. I already have the Blu-Ray and I am content with it. This just seems like another scheme to get people's money (Much like the Mamma Mia! set).
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Post by slave2moonlight »

Haven't gotten it yet, but this set doesn't interest me. If it had come with a collector's quality action figure or something (like the 3rd Pirates film did at Best Buy, not the crappy figures the DC comics animated films have come out with), I would probably have looked into the price and considered it.
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Post by SmartAleck25 »

I got this movie yesterday on Blu-ray, and I liked it better than Nightmare. I was amazed at the stop-motion.javascript:emoticon(':o') It's some of the smoothest and best I've ever seen! But the 3-D did seem a little funky, because the colors weren't that visible, there was just a purple-ish green-ish tint. The plot did seem to drag at times, like the Ms. Spink/Forcible Show, but otherwise it was great. I wish the other mother was there more, she freaked me out.
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