Product Description

Genre: Family
Rating: PG
Release Date: 21-JUL-2009
Media Type: Blu-Ray

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #472 in DVD
• Brand: UNI DIST CORP. (MCA)
• Released on: 2009-07-21
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, 3D, Widescreen
• Original language: English, Spanish, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.com
A dark and creepy film about family relationships directed by Henry Selick of Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach fame, Coraline is based on the haunting book Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The first stop-motion feature shot in stereoscopic 3-D, Coraline features big-headed, stick-bodied animated characters with huge eyes and demonic grins set against menacing backgrounds and an undercurrent of spooky music. Coraline is a teenager who has just moved to an old house in the middle of nowhere with her writer parents and she is bored, bored, bored. Her only companions are an annoyingly talkative boy Wybie (short for Why Born), some eccentric neighbors from the theater and circus, and a strange, button-eyed doll with a marked resemblance to Coraline which Wybie found in an old trunk of his grandmother's. When Coraline finds an old door hidden behind an armoire and papered over with wallpaper, she convinces her mother to unlock it, only to find a wall of bricks. When Coraline revisits the door later that night, the bricks magically disappear and she discovers a strange pathway to another world where everything is just what she wishes for. In stark contrast to the real world where Coraline's parents just don't have time for her, her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" in this alternate world are the perfect loving, attentive parents who anticipate her every need and desire. Initially comforted and quite happy in this new world, suspicion that things may not be quite as they seem grows inside Coraline and her disquiet is furthered by the mute "Other Wybie" and a strange-talking cat that seems to move between both worlds. Eventually, Coraline discovers some dark secrets about her "other parents" and the seemingly perfect "other world," but it may be too late for her to escape back to the real world. Teri Hatcher is especially effective in her dual (voice) role as Mom and "Other Mom" and Dakota Fanning also gives a great performance as Coraline. Coraline is a disturbing, intriguing film that both captivates and frightens. (Ages 11 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

Stills from Coraline (Click for larger image)

Video Description
From KIDS FIRST!: Ever sometimes wish you had an “other-mother?” Well in the case of Coraline, she needs to be careful what she wishes for. This film feels like it is straight from Tim Burton’s reel, for it conveys the same kind of dark but whimsical world as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands; however this time it is Henry Selick to be credited. Coraline is a strong and confident girl who is well versed in magical tactics even before she moves to a very old house with her work-driven parents. In Coraline’s boredom, she finds a small door behind the wallpaper which leads to a charmingly dark parallel universe. Here she finds her “other-mother” and “other-father” who give Coraline everything she longs for in her own home. However, this other- world quickly loses its charm and becomes simply dark. Coraline must defeat her deceptive “other-mother” using her clever intellect and her newfound eclectic community. A particularly effective color score helps differentiate between Coraline’s real and parallel worlds as well as to subtly guide the viewer’s emotions. This film achieves effective subtleties in its animation, making the “real life” animation feel more life-like and the parallel universe animation feel more surreal. Though this film exhibits beautiful animation, it is consistently dark with quite a few scary sections. This film shows a dark world that a courageous little girl is able to navigate, a journey through which she realizes that her dull-colored world really wasn’t so bad. 100 min.; Ages 8-12.

Customer Reviews

Delightlfully Trippy Movie, But Don't Be Enticed by the 3D Feature Alone
My husband and I rented the dual sided version of the film a couple days ago as well as bought two pairs of the dual color 3D glasses.

The film was absolutely beautiful designed and animated. It was also delightfully balanced between trippy and creepy. I'd definitely say that if parents have young children, they should preview the film prior to showing it and use their personal judgment. The narrative has the same threads of menace that haunts original Brother's Grimm tales. The film at times can be rather disturbing. My husband and I humorously traded off with the line, "That is messed up!" several times through out the film. My only critique with the film is that the resolution falls too swiftly and maybe too neatly into place.

The reason my review is three stars is that I fail to see the reason behind packaging the DVD with a 3D version of the film. Even on a HD plasma with unimpaired vision, the dual colored glasses just did not work for me at all. I knew going in that the home television would lose the incredible effect of what dual projection in a theater could create, so I didn't have high expectations. I was merely curious if the industry had gotten better at implementing it over time.

I went in to watching the 3D version expecting to at least get a sense of scene depth similar to an old school View-Master. Unfortunately, I didn't even get that. None of the 3D effects worked for me. Even with a darkened room, my eyes would water while they constantly fought to refocus and make sense of the dual colors. I had to stop watching after about twenty minutes in, because my eyes were just exhausted. The 3D versions also dulls the color scheme. This really doesn't do the original film justice at all. It was rather shocking to see the vivid color difference switching from 3D to the 2D version.

In Conclusion: Skip the 3D gimmick and enjoy the 2D version.

DVD & BLURAY specs
Universal Studios Home Entertainment have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Coraline on 21st July 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.

Available on single-disc DVD, two-disc Collector's Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc, all include both the 2-D and 3-D version of the main feature and come packaged with 4 pairs of 3D glasses. Features are outlined below...

Single-Disc DVD

* 2-D and 3-D Presentations
* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English, French and Spanish DD5.1 Surround
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais


2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD - As above plus a bonus disc with the following content:

* Digital Copy of Coraline 2-D Version (Expires 07/31/2010)
* Deleted Scenes
* The Making of Coraline
* Voicing the Characters


Blu-ray Disc - This is a Blu-ray Combo release which comes bundled with a standard-def DVD that includes the 2-D version of the film (AV specs as per the DVD releases), audio commentary, and a Digital Copy of the film. Features include:

* 2-D and 3-D Presentations
* 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen
* English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
* French and Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround
* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles
* U Control - Picture in Picture (2-D Feature Only)
* U Control - Tours and Voice Sessions (2-D Feature Only)
* U Control - Picture in Picture Animatic (2-D Feature Only)
* Deleted Scenes
* The Making of Coraline
* Voicing the Characters
* Creepy Coraline
* Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais
* D-Box
* BD Live - My Scenes Sharing
* BD Live - The World According to Henry
* Disc 2: DVD with standard-def 2-D version of the film, audio commentary & 2-D Digital Copy of the film (expires 31st July 2010)

Delightfully creepy
This uncommon animation starts with tween-aged angst, the kind that demands independence but still wants mom and dad close by. Her busy parents don't have much time for her, though, and her new, remote home doesn't offer much reward for her explorations (other than some rather kooky neighbors). So, even if it's not wholly conscious, Coraline wishes for a nicer place and parents that pay more attention.

As the movie's tagline says, "be careful what you wish for." Like Alice down the rabbit hole, Coraline finds a secret passage to a more magical place. Soon, however, the magic turns dark. That's where the brilliant animation really comes into its own. The stop animation (or at least the look of it) bring to mind Tim Burton with a macabre touch of Brothers Quay. You know your child best - skittish ones might find some of the imagery a bit much. Still, kids' stories (like Alice in Wonderland) have always had dark edges. That deliciously spooky sense, plus some great animation, really set this movie apart from the usual.

-- wiredweird