I thought Coraline was a typo....

I just came back from opening night of this absolute GEM, Coraline. I haven't seen a stop motion flick since Corpse Bride, however this film has the distinction of being the first fully stop-motion produced film in 3D. Let me tell you, the effects were well worth looking like Ray Orbison's long lost cousin for an hour and forty minutes. The premise of the story is somewhat of a modern day Alice in Wonderland, with our Coraline being a well-to-do, if not more mature for her age (remarkably voiced by Dakota Fanning...go figure) kid, yet an afterthought to her overworked parents. As expected this release was directed by Henry Selick, whose credits include James and the Giant Peach, Nightmare Before Christmas, and others. The amazing part of this film was that it was based of of a book. How the hell is that amazing Cap'n, every thing's fucking based on a book these days! Can I finish? Shit! The author of the book, British Author Neil Gaiman, actually wrote the book in 2002 while getting ideas from Selick's work. In the end, this somewhat arranged marriage feels cohesive and tight, unlike many of the adaptations playing on screen to this day. BE WARNED that this is no kids movie. If I was to see this shit as a youth, I'd probably need therapy, real talk. Definitely a winner for all you college kids and recent post-grads to go see after lighting up some of that greenery. Most importantly, however, we have a great formula film that never feels boring or cliche, simply because all of the predictable twists and turns are rather enjoyable. It's rare in this day and age of shock cinema and elitist, subtitled art fuck movies that you can find a rare gem that accomplishes the main goal of cinema: make a piece of art for art's sake that the masses will be able to enjoy. My early favorite for Best Animated Picture at next year's Academy Awards. Think it's too early? I already called Jerod Mayo a future Hall of Famer. Ahoy!