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Coraline (2009)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 231
Fresh: 207 | Rotten: 24

With its vivid stop-motion animation combined with Neil Gaiman's imaginative story, Coraline is a film that's both visually stunning and wondrously entertaining.

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 7

With its vivid stop-motion animation combined with Neil Gaiman's imaginative story, Coraline is a film that's both visually stunning and wondrously entertaining.

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Average Rating: 3.8/5
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Movie Info

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.

PG, 1 hr. 41 min.

Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Directed By: Henry Selick

Written By: Henry Selick

In Theaters: Feb 6, 2009 Wide

On DVD: Jul 21, 2009

Box Office:$75.2M

Focus Features

Coraline Trailer & Photos

More Photos (63)

Cast

Dakota Fanning
Coraline Jones
Teri Hatcher
Mel Coraline's Mother/O...
Jennifer Saunders
Miss Spink
Dawn French
Miss Forcible
Keith David
Cat
John Hodgman
Charlie Coraline's fath...
Robert Bailey Jr.
Wybie Lovat
Ian McShane
Mr. Bobinsky
Aankha Neal
Sweet Ghost Girl
George Selick
Ghost Boy
Hannah Kaiser
Tall Ghost Girl
Harry Selick
Photo Friend
Marina Budovsky
Photo Friend
Emerson Hatcher
Magic Dragonfly
J�r�me Ranft
Mover
Christopher Murrie
Toy
Jeremy Ryder
Toy
Carolyn Crawford
Wybie's Grandmother
Yona Prost
Shakespeare Rascal

Critic Reviews for Coraline

All Critics (231) | Top Critics (37) | Fresh (211) | Rotten (24) | DVD (14)

Employing stop-motion animation that renders human beings with the distinctive characteristics evident in both The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, Selick finds the perfect look to bring Gaiman's vision to life.

February 25, 2009 Full Review Source: ReelViews

| Comment

James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

A gift to imagination.

February 23, 2009 Full Review Source: New Yorker

| Comment

David Denby

New Yorker

Top Critic

Neil Gaiman's hugely popular 2002 children's horror novel Coraline has been given the animated 3-D treatment but you may want to keep the toddlers away from this one.

February 9, 2009 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor

| Comment

Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Top Critic

Well-crafted and effectively creepy.

February 7, 2009 Full Review Source: Richard Roeper.com

| Comment

Richard Roeper

Richard Roeper.com

Top Critic

Selick puts his real faith not in the gimmickry that Coraline's audiences will think they've shown up for, but in the stronger virtues that they'd likely view as old-fashioned: character, and story, and so on.

February 6, 2009 Full Review Source: NPR.org

| Comment

Bob Mondello

NPR.org

Top Critic

[The] chilly visual vocabulary, along with a narrative that too often detours into ingenious irrelevancies, makes Coraline an object to be admired, but not embraced.

February 6, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comment

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

The sinister undertones could be unsettling for preschoolers, but Coraline is a rare treat for kids old enough to appreciate its exotic rush of wonder, weirdness and wildly imaginative adventure.

September 28, 2011 Full Review Source: American Profile

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Neil Pond

American Profile Source: American Profile

Freudians, you have our permission to knock yourselves out.

August 16, 2011 Full Review Source: East Bay Express

| Comment

Kelly Vance

East Bay Express

Coraline looks fantastic and is wonderfully told, but you should probably leave your five and six year olds at home, especially if they get nightmares easily.

March 18, 2011 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net

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Joshua Starnes

ComingSoon.net

Will win over older audience with the story and design, rather than 'adult jokes' hidden within a juvenile narrative.

March 1, 2011 Full Review Source: What Culture

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Mike Edwards

What Culture Source: What Culture

Kids can enjoy this but they're not the primary target.

October 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Cut Print Review

| Comment

Katina Vangopoulos

Cut Print Review

It's wildly inventive, thoroughly amusing and fuelled by unhinged imagination. And it's creepy as all hell.

October 27, 2010 Full Review Source: Quickflix

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Simon Miraudo

Quickflix

With its silky visuals and breathtaking creativity, Coraline is one of the few modern features to prove that Pixar doesn't have a monopoly on animated excellence.

September 30, 2010 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine

| Comment

Sean Edgar

Paste Magazine

Visually, "Coraline" rests between Terry Gilliam's rudimentary "Monty Python" work and Pixar's prestigious polish. Every background is beautiful in a children's film that's mesmerizing and a bit bothersome at times, just as it should be.

September 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com

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Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

as near perfect as a film can be, with a chilling yet charming story along with a compelling soundtrack and a fascinating look

September 21, 2010 Full Review Source: 7M Pictures

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Kevin Carr

7M Pictures

Parents of impressionable littlies should be mindful that the film does descend into a very effective nightmare world in the final reel and some time could be spent shielding eyes from Selick's more confronting creations.

August 9, 2010 Full Review Source: sbs.com.au

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Simon Foster

sbs.com.au

Gaiman's great story and Selick's direction make it a fun few hours in the theater. Just don't take anybody under eight.

July 6, 2010 Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan

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Jean Lowerison

San Diego Metropolitan

Coraline is equal parts funny and frightening. This isn't a cute story for kids... but one of the most sophisticated, rewarding works of American fantasy cinema.

May 11, 2010 Full Review Source: Looking Closer

| Comment

Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

An amazing stop-motion achievement.

April 2, 2010 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy

| Comment

Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

While Selick's production is not by any stretch graphic or gory, the use of odd and irregular shapes, proportions, and movement creates a dark symphony of macabre images that horrify the psyche and chill the blood all the same.

January 6, 2010 Full Review Source: Bangitout.com

| Comment

Jordan Hiller

Bangitout.com

One of the ten best home video releases (and one of the best films period) of 2009

December 31, 2009 Full Review Source: Orange County and Long Beach Blade

| Comment

Fr. Chris Carpenter

Orange County and Long Beach Blade

Evokes "Beetlejuice" and "Pan's Labyrinth" but is much more of a children's movie and a damned good one at that.

December 21, 2009 Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews

| Comment

Louis Proyect

rec.arts.movies.reviews

It might be too sophisticated and scary for children, but it at least never insults their intelligence.

December 13, 2009 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Coraline

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When they put Neil Gaiman on screen we get magic. Again an amazing adaption of an amazing tale. Me and my daughter enjoyed every second of this one.

July 21, 2009

John Manard

Super Reviewer

This wasn't directed by Tim Burton, nor was it directed by David Lynch, and of course, it wasn't directed by me (must get through the Police Force until then), no... we have a new Tim Lynch on the loose... his name is Henry Selick. And man Henry, you dream of some of the most creepy, bizarre things at night. Coraline

January 19, 2012

Tyler Kirk

Super Reviewer

Coraline Quotes

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1. Mel Coraline's Mother/Other Mother: There's just one thing wee need to do.
2. Coraline Jones: What's that?
3. Coraline Jones: No way! Your not sewing buttons into my eyes!
4. Mel Coraline's Mother/Other Mother: Oh, but we need a yes, if you want to stay.
– Submitted by Gina H (50 days ago)
1. Coraline Jones: How can you walk away from something and then come towards it?
2. Cat: Walk around the world.
3. Coraline Jones: Small world.
– Submitted by Eduardo T (57 days ago)
1. Coraline Jones: Oh my God.
– Submitted by Adrian G (3 months ago)
1. Tall Ghost Girl: Hush, and shush, for the beldam might be listening.
– Submitted by Lisa L (7 months ago)
1. Wybie Lovat: I'm Wybie. Wybie Lovat.
2. Coraline Jones: Wybie?
3. Wybie Lovat: Short for Wyborn. Not my idea, of course. What'd you get saddled with?
4. Coraline Jones: I wasn't 'saddled' with anything. It's Coraline.
5. Wybie Lovat: Coraline what?
6. Coraline Jones: Coraline. Coraline Jones.
7. Wybie Lovat: Hm. It's not real scientific, but I heard an ordinary name like Caroline can lead people to have ordinary expectations about a person.
– Submitted by Lisa L (7 months ago)

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