Book vs. Movie

[drpaisley]

We went to see Coraline this afternoon with Rohanna's 10 and 7 year old grandkids. We chose the 3D showing just 'cause, and kept the spiffy new glasses (since they charged us $2 apiece for them). I read the book Friday at work, so I had it fresh in my mind, and was ready to see what changes were made in the transition.

While a number of details were altered, and a new character added, the film was quite faithful to the original story. The animation company, Laika Entertainment, did a fine job of visualizing the world Neil created, and its doppelgänger space on the other side of the door. The voice talent was uniformly excellent, and the casting of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as the retired actresses was just brilliant. The biggest disappointment I had was in the climax of the film, which threw in a totally unnecessary rescue of Coraline by Wybie just to get a bit of "action" in.

Overall, I recommend Coraline very highly to everyone. It's definitely a kid-friendly film. If you have the option, do see it in 3D.

Comments

[sf-reader.livejournal.com]

I didn't know there was a non-3D option, so I wasn't considering seeing the movie at all. 3D makes me ill

[farrandy.livejournal.com]

To their credit, the makers CORALINE opted not to do the usual thing and have things rushing toward you constantly. Occasionally, but not very often. More often, they use it to have things pull away from you, but mostly, it's like, well, watching a puppet show in person. Still, if the effect overall makes you ill, just go see the 2-D version.

The introduction of Wybie bothered me to at first, but then I realized that they probably put him in to avoid having a narrator; Coraine tells a lot of her backstory to him. He's there for the same reason that they put that new agent in the first HELLBOY movie, to have somone to explain things to. Also, since the main character is a girl they might have added him so that more boys might go see the movie (and I personally want the movie to do well). Finally, the things that the Other Mother did to Wybie just made her all the more sinister. As for him saving Coraline, I had a problem or two with the ending in the book, (which I won't go into for fear of spoiling it)--and then I remember, it's a children's book and a fable so it doesn't HAVE to make perfect sense. All in all, It's still a very good adaptation and I recommend it highly.

Also, the fact that the the little snatch of "Coraline's Song" that Other Father did was done by They Might Be Giants was a pleasant surprise (and for those who haven't seen it yet, no, people don't break into song every few minutes, there are only a couple and they're relevant).

[drpaisley.livejournal.com]

SF Reader: There are only 4 theaters showing the 3D versoin; the listings in the paper (and online) note the 3D option.

Farranday: Yes, having the bit of TMBG was nice, especially considering how well John's (or was it John's? I'm never sure) voice fit in with John Hodgman's work as the father/other father.

I was a bit disappointed that none of the related tracks from this (http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Neil-When-You-Need/dp/B000FP2IXM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1234231912&sr=1-1) were used. It's a great album.

[theresamather.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review, we're going tomorrow. The nearest 3-d showing is nearly 200 miles away so we're gonna have to be satisfied with 2-d. :(