Coraline (film)
Encyclopedia
Coraline is a 2009 stop-motion 3D
fantasy
/horror
children's film based on Neil Gaiman
's 2002 novel of the same name
. It was produced by Laika and distributed by Focus Features
. Written and directed by Henry Selick
, it was released widely in US theaters on February 6, 2009, after a world premiere at the Portland International Film Festival. The film was made with Gaiman's approval and cooperation.
The film made $16.85 million during opening weekend, ranking third at the box office
. As of September 2009, the film has grossed over $120 million worldwide. Coraline won the Annie Awards for best music, character design, and production design and received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Animated Feature.
) moves from Pontiac, Michigan
with her mother (Teri Hatcher
) and father (John Hodgman
) move to the Pink Palace Apartments in Ashland, Oregon
: an old house subdivided into three residences. With her parents frantically working on a gardening catalog in order to make ends meet and paying little attention to her, Coraline begins to feel neglected. While exploring the grounds, she meets Wyborn Lovat (Robert Bailey, Jr.), the talkative, nervous grandson of the landlady
. Wyborn finds a doll that is an exact replica of Coraline and gives it to her. Back in the house, Coraline finds an oddly small door that has been covered over with wallpaper. She asks her mother to unlock it, only to find a brick wall behind it.
That night, Coraline is awakened by the sound of a jerboa
and follows it to the small door. She discovers that the brick wall has disappeared, replaced by a long corridor to another door. At the other end, Coraline finds herself in the "Other World", which is inhabited by her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" (doppelgängers of her parents, except for black buttons in place of their eyes). In sharp contrast to her real parents, the Others are attentive to Coraline. She decides to stay the night in the Other World, but when she wakes the next morning, she finds herself back in her bed in the real world.
The next day, Coraline tries to tell her parents what happened, but they think she has just had an elaborate dream. She visits the other residents of the Pink Palace, the eccentric Russian acrobat Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane
) and retired English actresses Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders
) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), who warns Coraline she is in danger. She also runs into Wybie, who tells her that his grandmother's twin sister had found a doll that looked exactly like her sister shortly before she disappeared, never to be seen again.
Coraline continues to go to the Other World at night and is entertained by the Other versions of her neighbors, including the Other Wybie, who has been rendered mute by the Other Mother; the Other Mr. Bobinsky, who has an amazing professional mouse circus; and the Other Spink and Forcible, who entertain Coraline with an elaborate Broadway-like show. During one visit, Coraline encounters a black cat from her own world (Keith David
), who has the ability to talk in the Other World. He warns Coraline of the dangers of the place, but Coraline pays him no mind.
That evening, the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in the Other World forever. Coraline is eager to accept until she is told she must have buttons sewn on her eyes. She refuses and demands to be returned home. This angers the Other Mother, who transforms into a taller, malevolent version of herself and thrusts Coraline through a mirror into a small room. There, Coraline meets the ghosts of three children who believed the Other Mother and lost their eyes and souls to her. She promises them she will find their eyes so their souls can be freed. The Other Wyborn helps Coraline escape home, but Coraline finds her parents have disappeared. Coraline tries to tell Wyborn about the Other Mother and Other World, but he calls her crazy and leaves. That same night, the cat wakes her and shows her, via a magical mirror, that her parents have been kidnapped by the Other Mother. With no other choice but to return to the Other World, equipped with a seeing stone given to her by Spink and Forcible, Coraline sets out to free the ghost children and rescue her parents.
On the advice of the cat, Coraline challenges the Other Mother to a game, since she never turns down a good game. If she can find her parents and the eyes of the ghost children, everyone goes free; if she loses, she will stay in the Other World forever and have buttons sewn into her eyes. With the help of her seeing eye stone, the black cat, and the Other Father, Coraline outwits the guardians of the children's eyes. One eye is hidden as a part of a gardening machine in an enchanted garden, there she dodges the Other Father to get it, the second as the Other Spink and Forcible's ring which she fights the Other Spink and Forcible for, and the last as a toy ball in the Other Bobinsky's circus where she endures the wrath of Other Bobinski's rats as she tries to get the last eye. She almost loses the last eye after being thrown from Other Bobinski's collapsing balcony, luckily, the cat retrieves it for her. As she retrieves each eye, part of the Other World slowly disintegrates.
Finally she goes inside to find her parents, and confronts the Other Mother in her sitting room; Coraline presents the ghost eyes to the Other Mother, but refuses to hand them over until she finds her parents. forewarned that the Other Mother will never let her leave regardless of the game’s outcome, Coraline tricks her into opening the door to the real world, telling her that she is certain that her parents are behind it. As the Other Mother goes to open the door, the cat finds Coraline's parents trapped inside a snow globe
on the fireplace mantle. As the Other Mother prepares to sew buttons over Coraline's eyes and keep her forever, Coraline throws the cat at the Other Mother. During the struggle, the cat claws her button eyes off, blinding her. Furious, the Other Mother disassembles the Other Pink Palace completely, revealing it to be a giant spider web; the cat quickly flees, and the Other Mother blindly attempts to stop Coraline from escaping. Coraline barely manages to elude her and, with the help of the ghost children, slams the door to the Other World on the Other Mother's now-mechanical hand, severing it. Coraline runs back through the portal to the real world as the Other Mother cries out, begging her not to leave and banging on the door, causing it to move forward and collide with the door to the real world. Coraline locks the door in the real world and finds that her parents are free and safe with no memory of the experience.
The next night, Coraline is visited by the ghost children one last time. They tell her she is still in danger while she has the door key. To keep the Other Mother from ever kidnapping another child, Coraline decides to drop the key down a well located on the property. The Other Mother's severed hand stalks and attacks Coraline. Wyborn arrives in time to save her and smash the hand. They throw the pieces and the key into the well and cover it.
With their catalog complete, Coraline's parents are finally able to spend time with her and hold a garden party for her and the neighbors, including Wyborne's elderly grandmother (Carolyn Crawford
). Coraline informs the grandmother she has something to tell her about her lost sister.
s as thin as human hair. Several students from The Art Institute of Portland were also involved in making the film.
Coraline was staged in a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2) warehouse in Hillsboro
, Oregon. The stage was divided into 50 lots, which played host to nearly 150 sets. Among the sets were three miniature Victorian mansions
, a 42-foot (12.8 m) apple orchard, and a model of Ashland, Oregon
including tiny details such as banners for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
.
The film's creators used three 3D printing
systems from Objet in the development and production of the film. Thousands of high-quality 3D
models, ranging from facial expressions to doorknobs were printed in 3D using the Polyjet matrix systems, which enable the fast transformation of CAD (computer-aided design) drawings into high-quality 3D models. The characters of Coraline could potentially exhibit over 208,000 facial expressions.
The soundtrack for Coraline features songs composed by French composer Bruno Coulais
with one, "Other Father Song," by They Might Be Giants
. The Other Father's singing voice is provided by John Linnell
, one of the singers from the band. They wrote ten songs for the film; when a melancholy tone was decided, all but one were cut. Coulais's score was performed by the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and features choral pieces sung by the Children's Choir of Nice
in a nonsense language
. Selick mentions that the main soloist, "a young girl you hear singing in several parts of the film" is coincidentally named Coraline. Coraline won Coulais the 2009 Annie Award
for best score for an animated feature.
distributed the film. Coraline appeared at Comic-Con 2007. A trailer
was shown with the films Beowulf
, U2 3D
, Twilight
, The Nightmare Before Christmas
, Inkheart
, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, My Bloody Valentine 3D, and The Tale of Despereaux
.
and Blu-ray
on July 21, 2009. A 3-D
version comes with four sets of 3-D glasses—specifically the green-magenta anaglyph image
.
Coraline was released in the United Kingdom on DVD
and Blu-ray
on October 12, 2009. A 3-D version of the film was also released on a 2-Disc Collector's Edition.
The DVD opened to first week sales of 1,036,845 and over $19 million in revenue. Total sales stand at over 2.6 million units and over $45 million in revenue.
A four disc Blu-ray 3D set which includes a stereoscopic 3D on the first Blu-ray disc and an anaglyph 3D
image.
On June 16, 2008, D3 Publisher
announced the release of a video game based on the film
. It was developed by Papaya Studio
for the Wii
and PlayStation 2
and by Art Co. for Nintendo DS
. It was released on January 27, 2009, close to the film's theatrical release.
The soundtrack was released digitally February 3, 2009 by E1 Music, and in stores on February 24, 2009.
, and a 80 out of 100 at Metacritic
, indicating "generally favorable reviews." David Edelstein
said the film is "a bona fide
fairy tale
" that needed a "touch less entrancement and a touch more … story":
A. O. Scott
of The New York Times
called the film "exquisitely realized" with a "slower pace and a more contemplative tone than the novel. It is certainly exciting, but rather than race through ever noisier set pieces toward a hectic climax in the manner of so much animation aimed at kids, Coraline lingers in an atmosphere that is creepy, wonderfully strange and full of feeling."
In its US opening weekend, the film made $16.85 million, ranking third at the box office. It made $15 million on its second weekend, bringing its U.S. total up to $35.6 million, $25.5 million of which coming from 3D presentations. As of November 2009, the film has grossed $75,286,229 in the United States and Canada and $123,106,072 worldwide.
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
/horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
children's film based on Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
's 2002 novel of the same name
Coraline
Coraline is a horror/fantasy novella by British author Neil Gaiman, published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, the 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, and the 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers...
. It was produced by Laika and distributed by Focus Features
Focus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
. Written and directed by Henry Selick
Henry Selick
Henry Selick is an American stop motion director, producer and writer who is best known for directing The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach and Coraline...
, it was released widely in US theaters on February 6, 2009, after a world premiere at the Portland International Film Festival. The film was made with Gaiman's approval and cooperation.
The film made $16.85 million during opening weekend, ranking third at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. As of September 2009, the film has grossed over $120 million worldwide. Coraline won the Annie Awards for best music, character design, and production design and received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Animated Feature.
Plot
Coraline Jones (Dakota FanningDakota Fanning
Hannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
) moves from Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
with her mother (Teri Hatcher
Teri Hatcher
Teri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
) and father (John Hodgman
John Hodgman
John Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
) move to the Pink Palace Apartments in Ashland, Oregon
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
: an old house subdivided into three residences. With her parents frantically working on a gardening catalog in order to make ends meet and paying little attention to her, Coraline begins to feel neglected. While exploring the grounds, she meets Wyborn Lovat (Robert Bailey, Jr.), the talkative, nervous grandson of the landlady
Landlord
A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...
. Wyborn finds a doll that is an exact replica of Coraline and gives it to her. Back in the house, Coraline finds an oddly small door that has been covered over with wallpaper. She asks her mother to unlock it, only to find a brick wall behind it.
That night, Coraline is awakened by the sound of a jerboa
Jerboa
The jerboa form the bulk of the membership of the family Dipodidae. Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They tend to be found in hot deserts....
and follows it to the small door. She discovers that the brick wall has disappeared, replaced by a long corridor to another door. At the other end, Coraline finds herself in the "Other World", which is inhabited by her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" (doppelgängers of her parents, except for black buttons in place of their eyes). In sharp contrast to her real parents, the Others are attentive to Coraline. She decides to stay the night in the Other World, but when she wakes the next morning, she finds herself back in her bed in the real world.
The next day, Coraline tries to tell her parents what happened, but they think she has just had an elaborate dream. She visits the other residents of the Pink Palace, the eccentric Russian acrobat Mr. Bobinsky (Ian McShane
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
) and retired English actresses Miss Spink (Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
) and Miss Forcible (Dawn French), who warns Coraline she is in danger. She also runs into Wybie, who tells her that his grandmother's twin sister had found a doll that looked exactly like her sister shortly before she disappeared, never to be seen again.
Coraline continues to go to the Other World at night and is entertained by the Other versions of her neighbors, including the Other Wybie, who has been rendered mute by the Other Mother; the Other Mr. Bobinsky, who has an amazing professional mouse circus; and the Other Spink and Forcible, who entertain Coraline with an elaborate Broadway-like show. During one visit, Coraline encounters a black cat from her own world (Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
), who has the ability to talk in the Other World. He warns Coraline of the dangers of the place, but Coraline pays him no mind.
That evening, the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in the Other World forever. Coraline is eager to accept until she is told she must have buttons sewn on her eyes. She refuses and demands to be returned home. This angers the Other Mother, who transforms into a taller, malevolent version of herself and thrusts Coraline through a mirror into a small room. There, Coraline meets the ghosts of three children who believed the Other Mother and lost their eyes and souls to her. She promises them she will find their eyes so their souls can be freed. The Other Wyborn helps Coraline escape home, but Coraline finds her parents have disappeared. Coraline tries to tell Wyborn about the Other Mother and Other World, but he calls her crazy and leaves. That same night, the cat wakes her and shows her, via a magical mirror, that her parents have been kidnapped by the Other Mother. With no other choice but to return to the Other World, equipped with a seeing stone given to her by Spink and Forcible, Coraline sets out to free the ghost children and rescue her parents.
On the advice of the cat, Coraline challenges the Other Mother to a game, since she never turns down a good game. If she can find her parents and the eyes of the ghost children, everyone goes free; if she loses, she will stay in the Other World forever and have buttons sewn into her eyes. With the help of her seeing eye stone, the black cat, and the Other Father, Coraline outwits the guardians of the children's eyes. One eye is hidden as a part of a gardening machine in an enchanted garden, there she dodges the Other Father to get it, the second as the Other Spink and Forcible's ring which she fights the Other Spink and Forcible for, and the last as a toy ball in the Other Bobinsky's circus where she endures the wrath of Other Bobinski's rats as she tries to get the last eye. She almost loses the last eye after being thrown from Other Bobinski's collapsing balcony, luckily, the cat retrieves it for her. As she retrieves each eye, part of the Other World slowly disintegrates.
Finally she goes inside to find her parents, and confronts the Other Mother in her sitting room; Coraline presents the ghost eyes to the Other Mother, but refuses to hand them over until she finds her parents. forewarned that the Other Mother will never let her leave regardless of the game’s outcome, Coraline tricks her into opening the door to the real world, telling her that she is certain that her parents are behind it. As the Other Mother goes to open the door, the cat finds Coraline's parents trapped inside a snow globe
Snow globe
A snow globe is a transparent sphere, usually made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is...
on the fireplace mantle. As the Other Mother prepares to sew buttons over Coraline's eyes and keep her forever, Coraline throws the cat at the Other Mother. During the struggle, the cat claws her button eyes off, blinding her. Furious, the Other Mother disassembles the Other Pink Palace completely, revealing it to be a giant spider web; the cat quickly flees, and the Other Mother blindly attempts to stop Coraline from escaping. Coraline barely manages to elude her and, with the help of the ghost children, slams the door to the Other World on the Other Mother's now-mechanical hand, severing it. Coraline runs back through the portal to the real world as the Other Mother cries out, begging her not to leave and banging on the door, causing it to move forward and collide with the door to the real world. Coraline locks the door in the real world and finds that her parents are free and safe with no memory of the experience.
The next night, Coraline is visited by the ghost children one last time. They tell her she is still in danger while she has the door key. To keep the Other Mother from ever kidnapping another child, Coraline decides to drop the key down a well located on the property. The Other Mother's severed hand stalks and attacks Coraline. Wyborn arrives in time to save her and smash the hand. They throw the pieces and the key into the well and cover it.
With their catalog complete, Coraline's parents are finally able to spend time with her and hold a garden party for her and the neighbors, including Wyborne's elderly grandmother (Carolyn Crawford
Carolyn Crawford
Caroline Crawford is an American rhythm and blues and disco singer and actress, who recorded as Carolyn Crawford for Motown Records in the early 1960s, and for other labels later in her career.-Career:...
). Coraline informs the grandmother she has something to tell her about her lost sister.
Cast
- Dakota FanningDakota FanningHannah Dakota Fanning , better known as Dakota Fanning, is an American actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001. As a child actress, she appeared in high-profile films such as Man on Fire, War of the Worlds, and Charlotte's Web...
as Coraline Jones, a brave, clever, curious and self-proclaimed 11-year-old explorer. She is aggravated by crazy adults, not being taken seriously, and people constantly mistaking her name for Caroline. Neil Gaiman describes her as "full of 'vim' and 'spunk' and all those wonderful old-fashioned words."
- Teri HatcherTeri HatcherTeri Lynn Hatcher is an American actress, writer, and presenter. She is known for her television roles as Susan Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, and Lois Lane on the ABC comedy-drama series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman...
as Mel Jones/Other Mother (The Beldam). Coraline's busy mother. In the movie, Mel has a neck brace around her neck, most likely from the truck crash Coraline mentioned; the Other Mother has a turtleneck jumper instead. Mel is a writer working on a gardening catalog. She loves her daughter, but is very busy and doesn't always give her the attention that Coraline thinks she needs. The Other Mother is the creator of the other world and its inhabitants. Teri Hatcher describes Other Mother as the seemingly "perfect mom, because she's a perfect cook and has the perfect answer to every question, and later on she becomes quite monstrous." Her true form is a spider-like witch, with a bony face and hands fashioned from sewing needles. The three ghost children refer to her as "the beldam", an archaic word meaning "hagHagA hag is a wizened old woman, or a kind of fairy or goddess having the appearance of such a woman, often found in folklore and children's tales such as Hansel and Gretel. Hags are often seen as malevolent, but may also be one of the chosen forms of shapeshifting deities, such as the Morrígan or...
" or "witch".
- John HodgmanJohn HodgmanJohn Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
as Charlie Jones, Coraline's father, and the Other Father. John LinnellJohn LinnellJohn Sidney Linnell is an American musician, is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn, New York alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants...
provides the character's singing voice. John Hodgman described him as "the kind of guy who walks around a banana peel and falls into a manhole." Author Neil Gaiman describes him as a man who "does that thing that parents do when they embarrass their kids and somehow think they're being cool." The other father is a singer-pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, as well as a gardener. He acts like the other mother's slave, showing a scared and traumatized attitude. However, he still seems to retain aspects of Coraline's real father, repeatedly stating that the Other Mother is forcing him to do this and that, and that he does not want to truly hurt Coraline.
- Keith DavidKeith DavidKeith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
as The Cat, a nameless black cat from Coraline's world who appears and disappears at will and has the ability to speak in the Other World. He forms a bond with Coraline and acts as her guide and mentor throughout her journey.
- Robert Bailey, Jr. as Wyborne "Wybie" Lovat, the strange, nervous 11-year-old grandson of Coraline's landlady. Wybie is a character introduced for the film adaptation so that the viewer "wouldn't have a girl walking around, occasionally talking to herself." He wears a metallic skull mask with a three-piece turret lens as well as a handmade motorized bicycle used to patrol the woods. The Other Wybie is very sweet and has been rendered incapable of speech by the Other Mother as she thought Coraline would prefer him that way.
- Jennifer SaundersJennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
and Dawn French as Miss April Spink and Miss Miriam Forcible respectively, a pair of retired burlesqueBurlesqueBurlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
actresses. They own several Scottish TerrierScottish TerrierThe Scottish Terrier , popularly called the Scottie, is a breed of dog. Initially one of the highland breeds of Terrier that were grouped under the name of Skye Terrier, it is one of five breeds of terrier that originated in Scotland, the other four being the modern Skye, Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, and...
s (including the stuffed remains of their dead ones) and talk in theater jargonJargonJargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
. The Other Spink and Forcible are young, beautiful, Shakespeare-quoting acrobats.
- Ian McShaneIan McShaneIan David McShane is an English actor, director, producer, voice artist, and comedian.Despite appearing in numerous films, McShane is best known for his television roles, particularly the BBC's Lovejoy and HBO's Western drama Deadwood...
as Mr. Bobinsky (his full name is Sergey Aleksandr Bobinsky, and friends call him Mr. B.), one of Coraline's neighbors. He is a blue-skinned Russian giant who once trained as a gymnast and lives on a steady diet of beets. While not explained in the film, his blue skin is due to his time as a LiquidatorLiquidator (Chernobyl)Liquidators , or "clean-up workers", is the name given in the former USSR to people who were called upon to work in efforts to deal with consequences of the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl disaster on the site of the event...
, for which he wears a Hero of Chernobyl medal on his "wife beater". Coraline's mother believes him to be a drunk. The Other Bobinsky is the ringmasterRingmaster (circus)The ringmaster is the most visible performer in the modern circus, and among the most important, since he stage-manages the performance, introduces the various acts, and guides the audience through the entertainment experience. In smaller circuses, the ringmaster is often the owner and artistic...
of a circus of ratsRATSRATS may refer to:* RATS , Regression Analysis of Time Series, a statistical package* Rough Auditing Tool for Security, a computer program...
disguised as jumping mice.
- Carolyn CrawfordCarolyn CrawfordCaroline Crawford is an American rhythm and blues and disco singer and actress, who recorded as Carolyn Crawford for Motown Records in the early 1960s, and for other labels later in her career.-Career:...
as Mrs. Lovat, Wybie's presumably protective grandmother and the owner of the Pink Palace Apartments. She originally grew up in the old Victorian mansion with her twin sister who mysteriously vanished because of the Other Mother. Believing that someone 'stole' her sister, Mrs. Lovat moved out of her childhood home and divided it into three apartments, which she rents. Afraid of the Beldam claiming another child, she did not allow any tenants with children to rent the apartments (for some reason she rents to Coraline and her parents, perhaps because it is illegal to discriminate against families with children in the real-world Oregon), nor does she allow Wybie to enter it.
Production
At its peak, the film involved the efforts of 450 people, including from 30 to 35 animators and digital designers in the Digital Design Group (DDG) directed by Dan Casey and more than 250 technicians and designers. One crew member, Althea Crome, was hired specifically to knit miniature sweaters and other clothing for the puppet characters, sometimes using knitting needleKnitting needle
A knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold...
s as thin as human hair. Several students from The Art Institute of Portland were also involved in making the film.
Coraline was staged in a 140,000-square-foot (13,000 m2) warehouse in Hillsboro
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
, Oregon. The stage was divided into 50 lots, which played host to nearly 150 sets. Among the sets were three miniature Victorian mansions
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
, a 42-foot (12.8 m) apple orchard, and a model of Ashland, Oregon
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
including tiny details such as banners for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The festival annually produces eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from February to October...
.
The film's creators used three 3D printing
3D printing
3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable, and easier to use than other additive manufacturing technologies. However, the term 3D printing is...
systems from Objet in the development and production of the film. Thousands of high-quality 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
models, ranging from facial expressions to doorknobs were printed in 3D using the Polyjet matrix systems, which enable the fast transformation of CAD (computer-aided design) drawings into high-quality 3D models. The characters of Coraline could potentially exhibit over 208,000 facial expressions.
The soundtrack for Coraline features songs composed by French composer Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais
Bruno Coulais is a French composer, most widely known for his music on film soundtracks. He recently composed the score for the animated film, The Secret of Kells, released 12 March 2010.- Life and career :...
with one, "Other Father Song," by They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
. The Other Father's singing voice is provided by John Linnell
John Linnell
John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn, New York alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants...
, one of the singers from the band. They wrote ten songs for the film; when a melancholy tone was decided, all but one were cut. Coulais's score was performed by the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra and features choral pieces sung by the Children's Choir of Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
in a nonsense language
Gibberish
Gibberish is a generic term in English for talking that sounds like speech, but carries no actual meaning. This meaning has also been extended to meaningless text or gobbledygook. The common theme in gibberish statements is a lack of literal sense, which can be described as a presence of nonsense...
. Selick mentions that the main soloist, "a young girl you hear singing in several parts of the film" is coincidentally named Coraline. Coraline won Coulais the 2009 Annie Award
Annie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for best score for an animated feature.
Release
Focus FeaturesFocus Features
Focus Features is the art house films division of NBC Universal's Universal Pictures, and acts as both a producer and distributor for its own films and a distributor for foreign films....
distributed the film. Coraline appeared at Comic-Con 2007. A trailer
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
was shown with the films Beowulf
Beowulf (2007 film)
Beowulf is a 2007 American animated fantasy film written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary inspired by the Old English epic poem of the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was created through a motion capture process similar to the technique he used in The Polar Express...
, U2 3D
U2 3D
U2 3D is a 2008 American-produced 3-D concert film featuring rock band U2 performing during the Vertigo Tour in 2006. The film features performances of 14 songs, including tracks from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb , the album supported by the tour. The concert footage includes political and...
, Twilight
Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight is a 2008 American romantic vampire film based on Stephenie Meyer's popular novel of the same name. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, the film stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. It is the first film in The Twilight Saga film series...
, The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas
The Nightmare Before Christmas, often promoted as Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, is a 1993 stop motion musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick and produced/co-written by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington, a being from "Halloween Town" who opens a portal to...
, Inkheart
Inkheart (film)
Inkheart is a 2008 fantasy film directed by Iain Softley and starring Brendan Fraser, Eliza Bennett, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis and Jim Broadbent. It is based on the novel with the same name by Cornelia Funke...
, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, My Bloody Valentine 3D, and The Tale of Despereaux
The Tale of Despereaux (film)
The Tale of Despereaux is a 2008 computer-animated film directed by Sam Fell and Robert Stevenhagen. Loosely based on the 2003 fantasy book of the same name by Kate DiCamillo, the movie is narrated by Sigourney Weaver and stars Matthew Broderick and Emma Watson...
.
Home media
The film was released in the US on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on July 21, 2009. A 3-D
3-D film
A 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
version comes with four sets of 3-D glasses—specifically the green-magenta anaglyph image
Anaglyph image
Anaglyph images are used to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, when viewed with glasses where the two lenses are different colors, such as red and cyan. Images are made up of two color layers, superimposed, but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect...
.
Coraline was released in the United Kingdom on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on October 12, 2009. A 3-D version of the film was also released on a 2-Disc Collector's Edition.
The DVD opened to first week sales of 1,036,845 and over $19 million in revenue. Total sales stand at over 2.6 million units and over $45 million in revenue.
A four disc Blu-ray 3D set which includes a stereoscopic 3D on the first Blu-ray disc and an anaglyph 3D
Anaglyph image
Anaglyph images are used to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, when viewed with glasses where the two lenses are different colors, such as red and cyan. Images are made up of two color layers, superimposed, but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect...
image.
Other media
The website for Coraline involves an interactive exploration game where the player can scroll through Coraline's world. It won the 2009 Webby Award for "Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics," both by the people and the Webby organization. It was also nominated for the Webby "Movie and Film" category.On June 16, 2008, D3 Publisher
D3 Publisher
D3Publisher is a Japanese video game publisher founded on February 5, 1992. Current CEO and president is Yuji Ito, and It is known for its Simple series of low-priced console games. Their games have been released for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2,...
announced the release of a video game based on the film
Coraline (video game)
Coraline, also known as Coraline: The Game and Coraline: An Adventure Too Weird for Words, is a video game based on the film of the same name. It was released on January 27, 2009, in close proximity to the film's theatrical release. It was released on the PlayStation 2, Wii and Nintendo DS...
. It was developed by Papaya Studio
Papaya Studio
Papaya Studio is an independent American video game developer founded by Peter Rosenlund and Roar Flølo and Lin Shen in 1999, and based in Irvine, California. Peter Rosenlund and Roar Flolo, two of the three founders left the company in 2005...
for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
and PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and by Art Co. for Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It was released on January 27, 2009, close to the film's theatrical release.
The soundtrack was released digitally February 3, 2009 by E1 Music, and in stores on February 24, 2009.
Critical response
Coraline was acclaimed by critics. As of May 2009, the film has an 90% "Certified Fresh" rating at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, and a 80 out of 100 at Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, indicating "generally favorable reviews." David Edelstein
David Edelstein
David Edelstein is the chief film critic for New York Magazine, as well as the film critic for NPR's Fresh Air and CBS Sunday Morning. He lives in Brooklyn, New York....
said the film is "a bona fide
Bona Fide
Bona Fide is a studio album from rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first studio album in six years and is the only studio album to feature guitarist Ben Granfelt...
fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
" that needed a "touch less entrancement and a touch more … story":
A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called the film "exquisitely realized" with a "slower pace and a more contemplative tone than the novel. It is certainly exciting, but rather than race through ever noisier set pieces toward a hectic climax in the manner of so much animation aimed at kids, Coraline lingers in an atmosphere that is creepy, wonderfully strange and full of feeling."
Box office
According to Paul Dergarabedian, a movie business analyst with Media by Numbers, for the film to succeed it needed a box office comparable to Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, which grossed $16 million its opening weekend and ended up making more than $192 million worldwide; prior to the film's release, Dergarabedian thought Laika "should be really pleased" if it made close to $10 million on its opening weekend.In its US opening weekend, the film made $16.85 million, ranking third at the box office. It made $15 million on its second weekend, bringing its U.S. total up to $35.6 million, $25.5 million of which coming from 3D presentations. As of November 2009, the film has grossed $75,286,229 in the United States and Canada and $123,106,072 worldwide.
Accolades
- Honored with special achievement award (Martin Meunier, Brian McLean [for their Rapid Prototyping (RP) advances])
Awards
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Outcome |
| Academy Awards | Best Animated Feature Academy Award for Best Animated Feature The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles-based professional organization, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences... |
Henry Selick | |
| American Film Institute Awards American Film Institute Awards 2009 The American Film Institute Awards 2009 honored the best 10 Movies and 10 Television Programs of the year.-Movies:*Coraline*The Hangover *The Messenger*Precious... |
Best 10 Movies | ||
| Annie Award Annie Award The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972... s |
|||
| Best Animated Feature Annie Award for Best Animated Feature The Annie Award for Best Animated Feature is an Annie Award, awarded annually to the best animated feature film and introduced in 1992. In 1998 the award was renamed Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature, only to be reverted back to its original title again in 2001... |
|||
| Best Directing in a Feature Production | Henry Selick | ||
| Best Voice Acting in a Feature Production | Dawn French | ||
| Best Music in an Animated Feature Production Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production The Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature Production is an award given annually, except 2002, to the best music in an animated feature film, theatrical or direct-to-video. It began in 1997 as the Annie Award for Best Individual Achievement: Music in a Feature/Home Video Production... |
Bruno Coulais | ||
| Best Character Animation in a Feature Production | Travis Knight | ||
| Best Character Design in a Feature Production | Shane Prigmore; Shannon Tindle | ||
| Best Production Design in a Feature Production | Christopher Appelhans; Tadahiro Uesugi | ||
| Best Storyboarding in a Feature Production | Chris Butler | ||
| Annecy International Animated Film Festival Cristal Award | Best Feature - Tied | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Feature | ||
| BAFTA Awards | Best Animated Film | ||
| BAFTA Children’s Award | Best Feature Film | ||
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Animated Feature | ||
| Cinema Audio Society Awards Cinema Audio Society Awards Cinema Audio Society Awards or The C.A.S. Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing. The awards are presented by the Cinema Audio Society and began in 1994.It hands out awards for three categories:*Feature films... |
|||
| Lifetime Achievement | Henry Selick | ||
| Career Achievement (sound designer/re-recording mixer) | Randy Thom | ||
| EDA [Alliance of Women Film Journalists] Award | |||
| Best Animated Female ([the character of] Coraline) | |||
| Best Animated Film | |||
| Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... s |
Best Animated Feature Film | ||
| Motion Picture Sound Editors Motion Picture Sound Editors Founded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks, and improve the professional relationship of its... Golden Reel Awards |
Best Sound Editing: Sound Effects, Foley, Music, Dialogue and ADR Animation in a Feature Film | ||
| Online Film Critics Society Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society is a professional association for film critics who publish their reviews, interviews, and essays on the Internet.The OFCS was founded in 1997... Awards |
Best Animated Film | ||
| People's Choice Awards People's Choice Awards The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show recognizing the people and the work of popular culture. The show has been held annually since 1975 and is voted on by the general public. The People's Choice Awards air on CBS and are produced by Procter & Gamble and Survivor magnate Mark Burnett... |
Best Animated 3D Movie of 2009 | ||
| Producers Guild of America Award Producers Guild of America Award The Producers Guild of America Award was originally established in 1990 as the Golden Laurel Awards, created by PGA Treasurer Joel Freeman with the support of Guild President Leonard Stern, in order to honor the visionaries who produce and execute motion picture and television product... s |
Producer of the Year in Animated Motion Picture | ||
| San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards are given annually to honor fine achievements in filmmaking by an organization of film reviewers from San Francisco-based publications.... |
Best Animated Feature | ||
| St. Louis Film Critics Awards | Best Animated Film | ||
| Visual Effects Society Visual Effects Society The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of... Awards |
|||
| Outstanding Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | Claire Jennings, Henry Selick | ||
| Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | Coraline - Lead Animators Travis Knight and Trey Thomas | ||
| Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture | John Allan Armstrong, Richard Kent Burton, Craig Dowsett | ||
| Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Feature Motion Picture | Deborah Cook, Matthew DeLeu, Paul Mack, Martin Meunier | ||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association is a group of film critics based out of Washington, D.C., United States that was founded in 2003. WAFCA is composed of 34 DC-based film critics from television, radio, print and the internet... |
Best Animated Film | ||