This animated adaptation of a Neil Gaiman book attempts to be something like The Nightmare Before Christmas, though the 3-D doesn’t pop with nearly the same magnitude. The storyline involves a young girl named Coraline (Dakota Fanning) who discovers a secret passage to an alternate version of her life where her parents actually listen to her and treat her like the queen she thinks she is. Turns out it’s all a ruse by a wicked witch who’s trying to steal her soul, and Coraline has to come up with an elaborate scheme in order to return to the real world. With its array of colorful foliage and talking animals, the film’s fantasy world is certainly stunning. The story, however, has a few too many lulls and follows a pretty predictable trajectory. HH 1/2
This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2009.
