Coraline

We meant to go see George Plympton's Angels & Idiots, part of PIFF (the Portland International Film Festival) but I got there too late and even though Cynthia actually got a ticket, all the seats left were right down in front.   

Quick confab after her ticket was refunded - wanna go see Coraline?   To be fair, I'd already seen it and thought that Cynthia had as well.  But she hadn't.  I was having mild doubts about seeing it for a second time with someone who hadn't seen it yet - despite her e-mail:  "Wait. WAIT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Coraline is OUT!!!?" (direct quote).  I shouldn't have worried.  Though I do feel a tad bit guilty that trying to get a drink and a snack before the film down the street from the cinema caused us to miss the brilliant opening title sequence and about the first 10 minutes.  Sorry, Cyn!  

The film actually needs a second viewing (and maybe a third & fourth) because it is simply so dense with detail that it is impossible to take everything in with just one.  I think good animation is naturally subject to this phenomena.  Take any Wallace and Gromit short or their Revenge of the Were Rabbit,  and you've got the same situation.  There's always something you didn't see (or didn't remember) 'last time' you saw it.  

For me the second time freed me of the surprise of the (necessary) plot changes from the book let me focus on the sheer complexity of the imagery.  Stop movement animation requires every shot to be set up by humans manipulating tiny clay and wire figurines with removable parts for their faces to make up their every eye twitch, blink, smile, eyebrow lift or mouth movement to speak.  Coraline herself had hundreds of facial options. Not movements, options - reconfigurations of her facial features.  The movements possible with the myriad options were infinite.  Multiply that on at least some degree by every character and critter in the story and you begin to see how amazing it all is.  

That doesn't even begin to address the teensy clothing that Coraline wears. 

 Micro-knit sweaters and stripey gloves; little shoes made from Victorian gloves; the way her hair moves and the cat's tail is poetically just like a real cat's tail but made of fur-covered wire and hand-arranged to express every nuance of his personality.   This is a labor of love that took years to make.

The 3D is simply amazing.  It doesn't seem a nifty 'let's throw everything in and see what we get' add on.  The mouse tails come out and wrap you in.  The contrast between the 3D and the graphic 'pixelation' to blank white at the edges of the Other Mother's world as Coraline begins to conquer it/her are perfect.  This is creepy in a very tangible way and perfectly honors the spirit and core of Gaiman's story while utilizing all the (sorry for the cliche) Magic that is possible when unleashed from the minds of a team of accomplished and creative animators. 

LAIKA's first born is a winner.

See it!  Do stay for all of the end-credits. Kelly and I didn't on the first viewing, but Cynthia and I did.  There's more little animated surprises - and we picked out the names of some folks we know in the credits.