Cloaked Critic Reviews Coraline

!!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!!

"Coraline" is a stop motion 3-D animated movie released back in 2009 based on the Neil Gaiman 2002 novel of the same name. When I first watched "Coraline" a few years back, the movie instantly became one of my all-time favorites, and I watch it every October as part of my spooky month movie marathon. The movie is such a marvelously poetic blend of horror, fantasy, drama, and light-hearted comedy until it reminds me fondly of older stop-motion dark fantasy movies like "The Nightmare Before Christmas"; this of course would make sense as it was directed by Henry Selick who directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas".

Of course it would be wrong to put all the credit on Selick and deny the production company, Laika, their just due, for the Laika production company has also put out other stop-motion fantasy masterpieces like "Paranorman" and "The Boxtrolls" (which I'm rather excited to see). In fact, I would go so far as to say that with both "Coraline" and "Paranorman" the Laika production company has effectively beat Tim Burton at creating imaginative dark fantasy stories which are wondrous, eerie, and emotionally stirring...because let's be honest, Tim Burton's been kind of slippin' as of late. He used to give us good films like "Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands" and "Corpse Bride", but lately it's be lame shit like "Alice in Wonderland" and "Dark Shadows". The last thing Tim Burton made that really felt more like his old work was the 2012 film, "Frankenweenie".

I believe the thing I love most about "Coraline" is how the story progresses from delightful escapist fantasy to hellish nightmare. We are first presented with the initial contrast between the mundane real world that Coraline is unhappy with, and the dreamy "Other World" created by the Beldam to entice Coraline, but gradually as the story unfolds the dreamy wonderland that Coraline was so delighted with at first melts away revealing something dark and terrifying. The mood and tone of the movie is only further enhanced by the hypnotic and stirring music which accompanies the story, and of course the colorful cast of supporting characters both keep the audience amused and help the progression of the plot by aiding Coraline in various subtle ways.

My favorite character from this film is the mysterious black cat who seems to have a slight touch of magic about him. Apart from the most obvious fact that he can talk within the Beldam's world, he also seemingly has the power to appear and disappear at will. In certain respects, he kind of reminds me of the Cheshire Cat (another extraordinary feline I like). The black cat's sly sophisticated wit and enigmatic manner make him an indispensable asset to Coraline's salvation and the allure of this story. Perhaps the most mystifying thing about the cat is that we are left with so many questions unanswered about him, and therefore left to ponder those questions without explanation. Where did he come from? Who's cat was he originally? How does he know so much about the Beldam, and can enter and exit her world without her knowledge and against her wishes? How can he appear and disappear like he does constantly throughout the movie? These questions are never answered, and thus add to the mystique of not only the cat but the overall movie as well, for some of those same questions might be asked about the Beldam herself...and of course Keith David's vocal performance as the black cat is one of his best to date. Keith David is no stranger to voice acting animated characters. Two of his other more famous roles being Goliath from Disney's "Gargoyles" and Dr. Facilier from "The Princess and the Frog", but out of all his animated roles, his performance as the black cat in "Coraline" is my favorite.

Another powerful character in this story is of course the heroine herself. It could indeed be said that the Beldam really picked the wrong girl to fuck with. Coraline's confident, strong-willed, and resourceful character makes her the perfect female protagonist, because even as the wonderful "Other World" begins to turn sour and frightful she does not lose her cool and give into fear. She keeps her wits about her and faces the danger to defeat the Beldam and save the people she loves...with a little help from the talking cat. One actually is left to wonder if the Beldam did not choose Coraline out of desperation as it would appear that it had been nearly a hundred years since she absorbed the lifeforce of Wyborn's grandmother's twin sister, and Coraline might arguably be a little older than the ghost children were when they died.

As a person who not only studies but practices aspects of the Occult, I love how elements of this story act as subtle homages to various aspects of Occult lore. The black cat for example, with all his mystifying characteristics, seems very reminiscent of a witch's familiar and thus leaves me to wonder if he was not a witch's cat at some point prior to the beginning of this story. Even the fact that the Beldam apparently hates cats is reminiscent to aspects of Occult lore which state that certain evil spirits either hate or are fearful of cats; reasons for this vary but two of the big ones I remember are that cats can see through their illusions and that cats are supposedly guardians of the underworld. The Beldam's usage of dolls to spy on the children, kidnap Coraline's parents, and act as enchanted servants derives from voodoo dolls and poppets. Even using enchanted puppets as servants would seem to have subconsciously arose from the stories of golems, and I love how even though she created all these puppets to obey her will she doesn't appear to have complete control over them; as we see in the Other Father's reluctance to harm Coraline and the Other Wybie's outright defiance and sacrifice to help her. The way the Beldam lures and kidnaps children in order to feed off their lifeforce comes from the myths about witches kidnapping and eating children to prolong their youth and longevity (which I wish was completely myth, but there is a small inkling of truth to that). This story takes all these old myths and superstitions and uses them well to create a memserisng tale that I love to come back to for both the thrills and the chills that it provides.