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Today I went to an advance screening for the forthcoming new movie, Coraline. Adapted and directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) from the Neil Gaiman book, Coraline is just simply a fantastic movie for most ages. 3D goodness! 3D goodness! 3D goodness! I will be writing a much longer review here in a few days when it is allowed, but all I can say is I loved it.

To begin with, the visuals in Coraline are more than anyone could ever ask for. From the minut stitching’s on Coraline’s sweater that you literally feel like you can touch to the wide shots of the gardens filled with flowers and lights. This film is definitely a feast for the eyes. The way that Selick chose to use 3-D is artistic as opposed to gimmicky. Instead of using it to scare you or jump out at you (although there are a couple of moments where that happens) he uses it to give the film more depth. It feels as if you are actually on the set, able to touch the the characters walking around. It helps to add a whole new dimension (literally).

They key film this weekend is Coraline, Henry Selick's stop-motion (and 3-D!) adaptation of Neil Gaiman's children's book. Interestingly this one has no involvement from Tim Burton, so when we think of creepy-looking stop-motion we should probably think of it as "Selicky" rather than "Burtonesque." Though its trailers make it look like little more than a 3-D thrill ride (characters constantly reaching into the screen, waving their hands about, etc.) Gaiman's stories adapt well to the screen—we were pleasantly surprised with Stardust when we finally saw it—and NOW's Norm Wilner admits certain moments gave him "the heebie-jeebies," so we're looking forward to seeing it.

Coraline. (2009, 100 minutes, PG, animated fantasy, trailer) Based on a story by Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach), this looks like a winner. It is a stop motion animated feature that tells the story of a bored girl who discovers a doorway to an alternate universe that is quite similar to the real world, only better.