Review of Coraline (2009) by Josephm2022 — 13 Feb 2017

“Coraline” Will Have You Wishing Your Eyes Were Sewed Shut.

In this animated horror movie, a young girl finds an alternate reality to her real life. She learns that everything is not how it seems. It is so creepy that you’ll wish your eyes were sewn shut. Even the opening credits, in which a mechanical hand is sewing a doll, are freaky. In “Coraline”, a movie based on the book by Neil Gaiman, and directed by Henry Selick, Coraline learns a this very useful lesson. This film is a stop-motion animated movie from Laika Entertainment. The main character, a young girl named Coraline is trying to find something fun to do because her parents are strict and ignore her. Coraline’s friend Wybie isn’t allowed into the Pink Palace because his Grandma, the owner, doesn’t want him to go missing like her sister. Wybie gives her a creepy doll that he found in her grandma’s car. This particular doll was made to look just like Coraline. Coraline finds a portal through a small door in her apartment, hidden behind a shelf. Through that portal she shall find an alternate reality. She receives many warnings from Mr. Bobinsky, her neighbor, not to go back. She doesn’t listen to any of the warnings. Coraline finally understands why she shouldn’t have gone back until it was too late.

I liked that it taught kids a good lesson; to appreciate what they have- but they did it by scaring you. It is basically an animated horror movie that is not appropriate for young children. They may get scared by the appearance of the villain. There is also a part in the movie where the two animated elderly ladies’ lack of clothes may make you slightly uncomfortable.

I think middle schoolers would like this movie because they will be able to understand it better and it won’t frighten them. I would not recommend this movie to young children because they won’t be able to understand it and it will scare them. A lot of parents complained that their children were having nightmares for weeks after seeing this movie. The rating is PG, which is not a good rating, obviously.