Rating: PG
Genre:
Fantasy
Theatrical Release: 02/06/2009(USA
Release Date: 12/08/2009
Flags: Scary Moments, Mild Language
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
A young girl walks through a secret door and discovers a parallel reality that is eerily similar to the life she already knows, yet deeply unsettling in a number of ways, in director
Henry Selick's animated adaptation of
Neil Gaiman's international best-seller. Eleven-year-old
Coraline Jones (voice of
Dakota Fanning) is fearlessly courageous, and perhaps far too adventurous for her own good.
Coraline and her parents (
Teri Hatcher and
John Hodgman) have recently relocated to Oregon from Michigan. Bored in her new home since her parents are distracted by work and she has yet to make any new friends,
Coraline passes the time by exploring her new neighborhood with an annoying local boy named
Wybie Lovat (
Robert Bailey Jr.). But after paying a visit to her eccentric neighbors
Miss Spink (
Jennifer Saunders) and
Miss Forcible (
Dawn French), a pair of aging British actresses, and crossing paths with the outright weird
Mr. Bobinsky (
Ian McShane), the precocious young girl becomes convinced that her new surroundings are just as dull as she'd initially suspected. Shortly thereafter,
Coraline discovers a hidden door in her new house, and decides to investigate. Venturing into the eerie passageway inside,
Coraline emerges into an alternate version of her own reality. At first glance, this strange new world seems even better than the real thing; there her parents aren't distracted by work, and
Coraline is always the center of attention. There's even a mysterious
Cat (
Keith David) that's fascinated by her every move. But when
Coraline's button-eyed
Other Mother (also
Hatcher) attempts to make her stay permanent, the frightened young girl must summon her resourcefulness and bravery in order to find her way back home and save her real family.
~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
;)
