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I should have returned to this earlier. I ended up seeing Coraline in 3D 3 times (so... in 9D, I guess). I may have erred in listening to the audio book earlier in the week the movie came out. The first time I saw the movie, part of my brain was picking apart the differences between the movie and the original story. This is not the best way to appreciate a movie. So I was glad to have the chance to go see the movie again. The second time I saw the movie, I was able to feel much more of the wonder of things like the garden and the mouse circus without comparison. Henry Selick has done an incredible job of animation, making this film dark and colorful at the same time. The 3D is interesting without being intrusive, generally used for depth of scene and mood rather than "let's make them lean back in their chair" moments. The third time, I was able to come full circle. And it's here where I introduce some spoilers.
A lot of Coraline in the book is in her head. As very few movies can carry with a monlogue of thoughts moving things forward, an introduction of another character was necessary. Enter Wyborn, Coraline's Igor. As most people know, Igor was not present in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. He was added to the stage play adaptations as a) someone for Dr. Frankenstein to explain things to, so it didn't seem like he was talking to himself all the time, and b) to give a job to the light comedian who was part of theater companies at the time. The father hiding in the basement at the end of the book is creepy, but we also have the creepy attic apartment of Mr. Bobo. Creating the garden makes a visual feast for the eyes. I had one friend complain that the boy rides in saves the girl by smashing the other mother's hand with a rock. It is true that Coraline's cleverness wasn't as apparent in the movie as in the book. In the movie, finding her parents before heading through the door was more dumb luck than reasoning. And I do somewhat miss the picnic ending from the book. However, Harry does have Coraline save Wyborn from falling to his death before he crushes the hand, so I think it was more a partnership than a knight saving the helpless princess. I pretty much knew the picnic ending was gone when she first found the well. Gaiman's description had a wall around it allowing the picnic to seem as if it were on a table. With it imbedded in the muddy ground, it seemed it wouldn't work the same way. On refelction it seems apparent to me that Harry didn't want a gap in the action that works fine with a book, but would have slown down the pacing of the movie. Running up the hill in the middle of the night kept things "exciting". All in all, I think that the film kept to the spirit of the book (with the possible exception of Coraline reacting to things instead of using a bit more reason). |
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