Coraline - REVIEW

Either I don't "get" Neil Gaiman, or his books and graphic novels simply need to be kept away from the silver screen. 2007 brought us a clunky adaptation of "Stardust" that was lacking in cleverness, charm, or genuine excitement, and filled with more than a few segments that were just flat out boring and sluggish. Now, we get "Coraline", and unfortunately, I have similar feelings towards it. Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) has just moved with her boring parents (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) to rainy Oregon. Dismayed by her parents' general indifference to her, Coraline one day discovers an odd little door that leads her to a parallel world inhabited by her Other Mother and Other Father, along with more fun versions of her apartment building's wacky inhabitants. Oddly enough, everyone in this magical, much more pleasing new world have buttons for eyes, and Coraline is about to find out that the Other world may not be quite so great. From the beginning the problems are obvious. The dialogue is thin and awkward, without any cleverness, and the pacing is sluggish. Even the eccentric inhabitants of the "Pink Palace Apartments" feel more dull than delightfully kooky. No one, not even the central character, really pops, and when Coraline finally enters the Other world, the movie refuses to shift out of Neutral and slam on the damn gas pedal. As Coraline ventures back and forth between reality and "Other", there are a number of bizarre lapses in story where the narrative train of thought pointlessly derails itself and grinds to a halt. It all feels more like a work in progress, with the story being changed and the rules being altered along the way (it's never clear what happens when someone gets their button eyes). Things do improve marginally as the film grows darker and weirder, and the Other world becomes less enchanting and more spooky, but even then, the plot seems to fall into little ruts here and there. There are some good things to be found, however. The stop-motion animation is gorgeous and the score is particularly offbeat. But neither of these aspects are enough to overcome the lazy storytelling (some of which, I suspect is Gaiman's own fault), underdeveloped sub-plots, and total lack of cleverness that makes Pixar's films so wonderful. It's also a bit dark for younger children, which leaves an odd question hanging in the air as the credits roll: if it's too dark for younger kids, and too dull for older kids and adults, then who in the hell was this movie made for?

Grade: C

Number of 2009 Films Seen: 2