Sunday 6 June 2010

Coraline - Phil's Five Words for Films

Coraline. Director Henry Selick ( James and the Giant Peach and The Nightmare Before Christmas ) lets loose his wild imagination and takes us in to the twisted and psychedelic world that lies behind a secret door in Coraline's new house. At first, the new, other-world is full of wonder and excitement but all is not what it seems. Dark, grotesque characters mingle with trippy, insane dreamscapes and the result is a perfectly balanced voyage in to an eerie and frightening world. The stop-motion animation is incredible and the invention and originality that fills the screen is fantastic. Part fairytale, part nightmare, this film is definitely a children's story told for adults. Menacing enough to terrify young children and so full of beauty that it will mesmerise all. Coraline has everything that the recent 'Alice in Wonderland' lacked - humour, darkness, menace and style. A masterpiece of surreal animation.

9 out of 10
Cert PG (uk) 2009.