Coraline

I've been waiting for MONTHS to see this flick and I finally got to go see it in 3D this past weekend with some girlfriends. (Yeah, this mama doesn't get out much, so even if the movie sucked, I was just glad to be out on the town!) Coraline is a Neil Gaiman book, suitable for about 5th to 6th grade, that is probably one of my favorite things he's written. *If Gaiman's name sounds familiar to you, it's because he just won the Newbery Award for The Graveyard Book that I wrote about a few posts back. It was a decent read, but I think Coraline is WAY better.

On the whole, I loved the screen adaptation. I've always been a huge fan of Tim Burton, and the guy that directed many of Burton's films, Henry Selick, did this movie. It was very Burtonesque. And the 3D effect was incredible - okay, awe inspiring! It was a feeding frenzy for eyes that have been too long stuck at home. Thank you so much oh husband of mine for Oscar sitting and letting me go out with the girls! What a good man I've got.

The only qualm I had with the movie was a Hollywoodation that my friend Teresa actually pointed out. (It's been a while since I read Coraline, so forgive my memory here...) The movie introduced a character named Whyborn (for "why were you born") that became a companion to Coraline. He ends up helping to save Coraline from the "other mother" in the end, which makes Coraline a weaker character than she actually was in the novel itself. In the book, Coraline doesn't need some boy to rescue her. Hollywood, I shake my finger at you. But regardless of this addition, I still really enjoyed the movie and will most likely own it when it comes out.

Here's to future girl's night outs! Thanks Mary and Teresa for going out to play with me! (And if you want to make a scary "other mother" picture of yourself like mine, go here...)