'Coraline' explores new frontiers in imagination and film

Last year at the Intel Developer Forum, a conference focused on new technologies, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg boldly proclaimed that three-dimensional films were "the new frontier" of movies. Since so few films had been released in the format, it was difficult to judge at the time if this were true or simply the desperate hope of a movie-theater industry losing ground to the internet and DVD. "Beowulf," directed by Robert Zemeckis in 2007, was an early foray into the technology that felt like nothing more than an overstuffed theme park ride. This year brings a far more enticing example of 3-D moviemaking with "Coraline," now playing at the AMC 24 in Hamilton. In this film, the technology now seems a vital tool necessary for creating an immersive on-screen world. The combination of director Henry Selick's haunting stop-motion visuals and novelist Neil Gaiman's rich tale of a girl seduced into a fantasy world makes "Coraline" a film-going experience unlike any other.

Typical of its author, the story is a fascinating twist on traditional narrative archetypes, notably taking elements from "Alice in Wonderland." The title character, Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning), lives a stifling existence with her two detached, workaholic parents, who make their living writing about flowers even though they despise dirt. Her family has just moved into an isolated, foreboding house that has been transformed into an apartment complex. The ironically named "Pink Palace" is filled with eccentric characters like Mr. Bobinsky (voiced by Ian McShane), an acrobat who has supposedly trained an army of mice to play music - but who laments that they can play only light music, which he considers "nice but not amazing." The aloof tenants do nothing but bore the increasingly desperate Coraline.

One day, she discovers a portal to a colorful alternate universe, complete with interesting neighbors and parents who lavish attention on her. What sets these cheerful doppelgangers apart is that they all have buttons sewn in place of their eyes. They promise Coraline an escape from her emotionally distant, dull family life if she undergoes the same cosmetic procedure. Gradually, the horrors of this supposed ideal reality reveal themselves, forcing the child to attempt a desperae escape.

Past Gaiman stories have been underserved in live-action adaptations like "Stardust" and "Mirror Mask" because of their relatively low production values. Director Selick, best known for the classic "The Nightmare Before Christmas," uses the animation medium to bring the author's bizarre imaginings to vivid life. The movements, as well as the expressions of the exaggerated models, are utterly convincing, and many slowly transform from charming to terrifying when the idyllic fantasy breaks down. At the opening of the film, the director uses visual cues to suggest that Coraline's everyday world is somehow more menacing than its over-the-top counterpart. The landscape is filled with dead trees and eerie fogs that engulf the girl as she explores the terrain. Meanwhile, in the alternate universe, even the cannons shoot nothing more harmful than sticks of cotton candy.

Just as the characters inhabiting the fantasy world change over the course of the film, the environment grows subtly more repulsive and terrifying the longer Coraline remains. The more she resists the forces that seek to keep her trapped in this other universe, the more the garish world becomes sapped of all its color. The portal between the film's realities also changes, devolving into a pulsating tube that resembles an intestinal tract. Selick's eye for the wondrous and the macabre allows the stop-motion feature to stand above many of today's uber-colorful CGI films.

What is most shocking about the film is how easily one grows accustomed to the 3-D visuals. The glasses look more like stylish Oakleys than like the red and blue cardboard cutouts of old, and they fit comfortably around a pair of regular spectacles. Yet even if there were some discomfort, it might be worth it to experience the delightfully stunning sequences that make full use of the 3-D effect. When dozens of blue flowers suddenly bloom as a magical tractor passes them, each flower appears tangible, and the viewer can share Coraline's sense of wonder.

These exhilarating moments not only justify the elevated price of admission ($15 as opposed to $10) but also the existence of the technology itself. This 3-D film is an often marvelous intermingling of art and technology that should not be missed by fans of traditional animation. Even more visually compelling than his much-lauded ‘Nightmare,' Selick's adaptation of the Gaiman novel teems with a charming creativity. It's quite unlike anything available in even the most top-of-the-line home theater system and offers a tantalizing glimpse at the future of film.

5 paws

Pros Tantalizingly macabre take on "Alice in Wonderland."

3-D effects combined with stop-motion animation make for a stunning combination.

3-D glasses resemble a pair of Oakleys.

Cons Today is the last day "Coraline" in 3-D plays at the AMC Hamilton 25. (It will be replaced with "Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience." Oh boy!)