Evokes "Beetlejuice" and "Pan's Labyrinth" but is much more of a children's movie and a damned good one at that.
Coraline (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:210
Fresh:186
Rotten:24
Average Rating:7.6/10
Consensus: 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.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Childrens
Theatrical Release:Feb 6, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $75,169,351
Synopsis: As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation... As covetous children are often warned: "Be careful what you wish for." It’s this very cautionary wisdom that sets the stage for Henry Selick’s CORALINE, an eerily eye-popping stop-motion animation tale of fractured dreams and families made whole. As the films opens, Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and her parents (Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman) have moved into the Pink Palace, a once-vibrant boarding house that’s turned drab and dilapidated. As her parents work feverishly on a new gardening catalog, the bored and belligerent Coraline is admonished to explore her new world’s possibilities. Along the way she meets her fellow tenants, including two aging English showgirls and a mouse-training Russian acrobat, as well as an outcast neighborhood boy named Wybie. But it is a mysterious hidden door that most piques Coraline’s interest--a gateway to a parallel world where her "other" parents and neighbors live only to see Coraline well fed and endlessly entertained. All is not cakes and carnivals for Coraline, though, and the black buttons that have replaced the eyes of these otherworldly imitations hint at darker intentions. When these intentions are revealed, Cora and a friendly magical cat use their wits and willpower to defeat Coraline’s wicked "other mother" and restore balance in the real world. Based on Neil Gaiman’s beloved children’s novel, director Selick (THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS) uses the stop-motion technique to bring CORALINE to life with amazing visual and emotional depth. The result is a frightfully magical adventure that will give the whole family plenty to shriek, cheer, and talk about. [More]
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Dawn French
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ian McShane
Director: Henry Selick
Director: Henry Selick
Screenwriter: Henry Selick
Producer: Bill Mechanic, Claire Jennings, Henry Selick,
Composer: Bruno Coulais
Studio: Focus Features
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Coraline
It might be too sophisticated and scary for children, but it at least never insults their intelligence.
With Coraline, Henry Selick and his team of stop-motion animators have created a real wonder, one that will entertain children for years to come.
Coraline has enough exhilaration and dread to remind viewers of the first time they read about Gretel pushing the Witch into the oven
This is one of those films that works best if you can forget about the source material. Selick’s film is more like a three-ring circus.
The 3-D animation is just superb in Coraline; the imagination of Neil Gaiman has taken flight with director Henry Selick.
Coraline is a genuinely creepy film that employs 3-D trickery to its best affect. A deliciously entertaining mythological adventure.
The visual invention is staggering, ranging from fabulous fantasy to eerie scary
A whimsical fantasy created in stop animation and set in alternate universes, Coraline is a visual treat certain to whisk every age into a magical wonderland.
A whimsical fantasy created in stop animation and set in alternate universes, Coraline is a visual treat certain to whisk every age into a magical wonderland.
It takes an extraordinary mind to create a truly original, truly new, truly beautiful fable, Coraline is one such creation.
A wonderfully weird film, a modern-day Alice in Wonderland that marries technology and good old-fashioned storytelling.
Coraline is near perfect family entertainment - if your family can handle some pretty ghoulish creatures.
At times it was trying too hard to be WHIMSICAL %u2122 and missing the point that whimsy is best taken unselfconsciously. By all means see it if you can also endure the tedious splendor that is Nightmare Before Christmas. They are both stunning to look
If you're going to make a movie that doesn't quite add up to the sum of its parts, you might as well make sure those parts are beautifully formed.
The film combines stunning visuals — there are scenes of incredible beauty — with good old-fashioned storytelling that is funny, inventive and at times scary. Destined to be a classic.
The movie is beautifully crafted, but like the same director's other stop-motion feature, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, it will mystify and in some cases terrify younger children.
It's easy to admire the film's psychedelic surrealism and its marvellous design, but it's not a great deal of fun.
Latest News for Coraline
December 10, 2009:
Henry Selick Discusses Life After Coraline ![]()
He's had a busy 2009, but Henry Selick isn't resting on his laurels -- and as he recently told HitFix, one of the three projects he's working on is a reunion with Neil Gaiman. More...
December 02, 2009:
Awards Tour: Annie Nominations, Up and Coraline lead
State of the art CG and stop-motion lead the way in the most well-known animation awards ceremony. More...
November 13, 2009:
James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
James Schamus might be a workaholic. If it's not enough that he's the head of Focus Features -- the independent imprint of Universal -- he's also an established producer and... More...
November 02, 2009:
Henry Selick Talks Coraline, Future Projects, and More ![]()
If you're a fan of "Coraline" director Henry Selick's work, you won't want to miss this interview, which finds him discussing projects past, present, and future. More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 90% 90% | District 9 |
| 86% 86% | 500 Days of Summer |
| 63% 63% | Extract |
| 06% 06% | All About Steve |
| 78% 78% | It Might Get Loud |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.

What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!

Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!







