Metropolis

This past weekend I was awoken at 4 am, shoved into a rather large box, and shipped to College Station Hell. I still have no idea why this happened and for some reason my ass hurts but I’m back and I digress from my point.
Lucky for me in Hell there is a movie theater. And at that movie theater Coraline was playing. I guess Satan was doing research on little girls’ nightmares.

Coraline is based off the same titled children’s book by Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Good Omens, American Gods). Neil Gaiman is a common name in comics because of his Sandman series, a surreal series about the Lord of Dreams, and has strong ties in gothic fiction.
The big talk about this movie is the use of 3D and stop motion animation.

Let’s tackle the 3d effects first.
When I was 5 I saw one of these 3D movies at Disney World. It was a Michael Jackson and Muppets movie. I never fully recovered.
We all remember beings kids and going to see a 3D movie or even the 3D comics that used to come out. Both of these medias required the use of those red and blue glasses. Today that’s not the case. They basically look like sunglasses now, and work 100x better. The projector has also changed and if you sit near it there’s a lot of ambient light that helps draw you into the movie.
However, this new way of 3D is very appealing. There are less of those “oh my god the shark is coming at me!!!” moments and more appropriate choices. The dragonflies zoom around, streamers float gracefully, and the jumping mice on bouncing balls are beyond adorable.
In fact many times I forgot I was watching a 3D movie, which is very much the point. I was able to sit back and watch the movie I wanted to enjoy.
The stop motion animation is also something that only adds to the movie, not subtracting from the experience. I had to keep reminding myself that this was stop motion and not computer animation. Henry Selick (director of Nightmare Before Christmas) is very much a master of his craft and presents a very visually stimulating movie.
Wombat Children will probably eat this movie up because of its whimsical nature and the talking cat. Adults will see this as strong life lessons on whom to trust and how deceptive life can be. However, the main flaw in this story is that the parents don’t change. They’re shown as parents who are much too busy for their young daughter and they never learn to appreciate her. Sure they love her and provide for her but there is never that moment of gratefulness at her existence. Even when they are saved from the “other mother” they don’t remember what has happened and go back to ignoring their daughter.
Maybe I’m just one of those people who see problem characters in a movie and expect them to at least learn something about life, but it seems the only one learning anything is Coraline and her sidekick Wybie.
Overall I recommend this movie to those babysitting small children (who they hate) and anyone who is remotely a fan of Neil Gaiman, you won’t walk away disappointed.
4 / 5    SarahBear Stars