I finally got to see Coraline in 3D last night at a special preview screening at the BFI Southbank, followed by a terrifically entertaining Q&A with author Neil Gaiman and the film's writer and director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and James And The Giant Peach). Wonderfully adapted from Gaiman's children's novel, this is a future classic, a vivid, highly imaginative, exquisitely crafted, frequently scary Gothic horror story for kids that harks back to the best of Disney (Snow White and Bambi and Fantasia), films that were frightening and funny and involving and emotional. There's been some debate in Britain recently about the need for kids to be scared, a notion that seemingly has been beaten out of Hollywood kids' films but which runs through the work of Roald Dahl, the Brothers Grimm et al. The stop motion is stellar and fluid, the production design extraordinary. The 3D, too, is spectacular, used mainly for spatial reasons, although there are several "boo"/pop out of the screen moments.
Thursday 7 May 2009
Coraline
I finally got to see Coraline in 3D last night at a special preview screening at the BFI Southbank, followed by a terrifically entertaining Q&A with author Neil Gaiman and the film's writer and director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and James And The Giant Peach). Wonderfully adapted from Gaiman's children's novel, this is a future classic, a vivid, highly imaginative, exquisitely crafted, frequently scary Gothic horror story for kids that harks back to the best of Disney (Snow White and Bambi and Fantasia), films that were frightening and funny and involving and emotional. There's been some debate in Britain recently about the need for kids to be scared, a notion that seemingly has been beaten out of Hollywood kids' films but which runs through the work of Roald Dahl, the Brothers Grimm et al. The stop motion is stellar and fluid, the production design extraordinary. The 3D, too, is spectacular, used mainly for spatial reasons, although there are several "boo"/pop out of the screen moments.
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5 comments:
Weird - tonight I finally took in the Burton/Selick/Elfman spliced commentary track on the Nightmare bluray...
Also, I'm disgustingly jealous. We don't see it until AUGUST. And as for that debate, kids need to be scared. Period. Rewatching Pinocchio this week for the first time since my pre-teens I realised I'd completely fabricated a surreal Pleasure Island sequence which obviously never existed (and, upon review, would have made no sense narratively and been anachronistic/visionary) because the weirdness of what happens was clearly frightening enough to leave quite a lasting impression.
August? I thought we had to wait long enough in the UK. That's torture.
Haven't seen Pinocchio for years. Need to get that new Blu-ray.
Epic torture. Woeful.
And that's how I saw Pinocchio again - another fine Disney bluray release.
Watching this, I couldn't help imagining what a 6 year old me would have thought. I would have been scared out of my wits, but in a very good way.
The six year old me would have wanted to see it again. Immediately.
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