Reviews: Coraline (2009) Movie Review
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Coraline (2009) shocked audiences with its ending. Our spoiler-free review explains the scares, themes, and what makes this film unforgettable.
Coraline (2009) is a 1h 40-min American stop-motion family animated 3D dark fantasy-horror movie that was based on Neil Gaiman‘s 2002 novel, Caroline. Director and screenwriter Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Monkeybone (2001)) did an astounding job executing this excellent stop-motion film. Caroline had an estimated budget of $60 million and grossed over $124.6 million at the box office.
Caroline revolves around an adventurous girl discovering a parallel world in her new home behind a secret door and does not know that the alternate world has a dark/sinister secret. The movie starts with a doll being made that looks like Coraline and then we saw Caroline and her family moving into Pink Palace Apartments on a rainy day. She Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr. - The Happening (2008), Dragonfly (2002), Mission to Mars (2000)) who did not take long to annoy her. Wybie gave Caroline a doll that looks like her and was made by his grandmother. He told Caroline that she is not allowed in her apartment because this someone went missing there. She woke up later that night and followed a mouse into the passageway that leads her to the parallel world. We saw Caroline’s mother blocking the passageway earlier
In the movie.
Coraline’s (Dakota Fanning - War of the Worlds (2005), Man on Fire (2004), I Am Sam (2001)) parents are not paying her much attention after moving into their new home. Her parents Mel (Terri Hatcher - Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)) and Charlie Jones (John Hodgman) are working on a book. Caroline thought that she found a better version of her life after entering the parallel world with better parents, food, and just about everything was better. Caroline has to do something horrible if she wants to keep this lifestyle. Will she do it?
All of the voice actors did a fantastic job with their voice acting that was convincing and fits the characters accordingly. Coraline is an excellent unnerving, scary movie with charm when needed that both children and adults should enjoy. Every parent knows what their child can handle, but I would probably recommend the film for ages nine and up although my kids were younger than nine when they saw this film. I was astounded by how much story was crammed into its acts, and there was no supporting players that felt as if it was tacked on or expendable. Coraline contains a series of encounters that intertwines like a collage. The animation was beautiful where color was not always needed, and the story was splendid enough to keep me/us sitting on the edge of our seats.
Similar films like Coraline can be found in kids horror movies sub-genre(s), check them out for more movies like Coraline.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- Coraline Rating Scores
- Our Score: 8/10
- Overall Score: 8.20/10
- IMDB: 7.8/10
- MetaCritic: 8.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 9.1/10
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