Customer Reviews

Coraline (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo w/ Anaglyph 3D)

5 star:		(211)
4 star:		(86)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(35)

 

 

This movie, yes is a little creepy. It has a moral, which is the point. The grass is always greener on the other side. The moral is the grass is not always greener and things are not always what they seem. I watched this with our 12 year old daughter. She was fine with it. Not sure that a child of 10 or younger would understand it. We love this movie. The person who commented about the 3D effects is wrong. They must have watched that non Blu-Ray 3D, with the paper glasses. This is the version for 3D TV's and Blu-Ray players.

I am only commenting on the 3D aspect of it....not the story itself.
I have several movies in 3d and for me this is bright & colorful. Story is well done but unfortunately nothing really leaps out of the screen at you except for a few instances. I did not think that I was going to like this but watching this in 3D really changed my mind.
I did not really care for Alice in Wonderland or A Christmas Carol. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Despicable Me are pretty good but this I found to be more of a visual treat.
I must say that out of all that I have -Saw 3D and Clash of the Titans-Resident Evil... just do not hold up against CGI movies. IMAX does great stuff but those are not movies.
From start to finish Coraline is a visual feast and I would recommend this for anyone that has a 3D television.

My husband and I rented the dual sided version of the film a couple days ago as well as bought two pairs of the dual color 3D glasses.

The film was absolutely beautiful designed and animated. It was also delightfully balanced between trippy and creepy. I'd definitely say that if parents have young children, they should preview the film prior to showing it and use their personal judgment. The narrative has the same threads of menace that haunts original Brother's Grimm tales. The film at times can be rather disturbing. My husband and I humorously traded off with the line, "That is messed up!" several times through out the film. My only critique with the film is that the resolution falls too swiftly and maybe too neatly into place.

The reason my review is three stars is that I fail to see the reason behind packaging the DVD with a 3D version of the film. Even on a HD plasma with unimpaired vision, the dual colored glasses just did not work for me at all. I knew going in that the home television would lose the incredible effect of what dual projection in a theater could create, so I didn't have high expectations. I was merely curious if the industry had gotten better at implementing it over time.

I went in to watching the 3D version expecting to at least get a sense of scene depth similar to an old school View-Master. Unfortunately, I didn't even get that. None of the 3D effects worked for me. Even with a darkened room, my eyes would water while they constantly fought to refocus and make sense of the dual colors. I had to stop watching after about twenty minutes in, because my eyes were just exhausted. The 3D versions also dulls the color scheme. This really doesn't do the original film justice at all. It was rather shocking to see the vivid color difference switching from 3D to the 2D version.

In Conclusion: Skip the 3D gimmick and enjoy the 2D version.

I was let down when I saw the paper glasses that it comes with. I was expecting clear, transparent 3D glasses but the glasses that it comes with have Pinkish and Greenish lenses.
But after watching the movie with glasses I found that they worked pretty good. I haven't seen Coraline 3D in theatres, but I was blown away with some of the 3D scenes. The glasses do take away the bright vibrant colors (not too much though, Coraline's bright orange coat and Blue hair were still vibrant) but add a completely new feel and mood to the movie that's very appropriate for it.
Some people have said that only a few selected scenes are in 3d. I didn't feel this at all. The entire movie was in 3D. Maybe a couple close up scenes where there wouldn't be too much depth to begin with may be 2D, ( I don't know) But the rest was completely 3D.
I watched the movie on Blu-ray and on an HD TV. That's the only way to get the best picture possible.
There are almost 2 different version of Coraline. The 3D and the regular versions. They both create two completely different experiences. When watching in 3D, you feel like you've been transported into a different world that's gloomy and dark. In 2D Blu ray, you get to observe the same world with rich details that aren't visible in the 3D.
So this is defiantly worth buying. The 3D is not as good as the theatres but still works splendidly.

Nobody can drench a book in creepy, dank atmosphere like Neil Gaiman, infused with humor and more than a little horror.

Fortunately that flavour is kept alive in the movie adaptation of "Coraline," brought to life by the talented Henry Selick. It's a haunting little dark fairy tale full of decayed apartments, dancing rats and eerie soulless doppelgangers, as well as a gutsy heroine who finds herself in this ominous "other" world.

Newly moved into an aged apartment, Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is bored. Her parents are too busy to do anything with her, and her neighbors are either insane or boring. The one exception is Wybie, a boy who annoys her no end.

It's the sort of relentlessly dull world that any little girl would want to escape from -- until Coraline does. She encounters a plastered-up door and a colourful wormhole, leading to a doppelganger of new home. In fact, it's so similar that she has a button-eyed "other mother" (Teri Hatcher) and matching "other father," (John Hodgman) as well as great food, games, a shimmering magic garden, a chorus of circus rodents and magic toys.

At first Coraline is fascinated by the other world, especially since her other parents are as attentive as her real ones aren't. Then she finds her real parents sealed inside a mirror. With the help of a sarcastic cat, Coraline ventures back into the other world. But with her parents and a trio of dead children held hostage, Coraline's only hope is to gamble with her own freedom -- and she'll be trapped forever if she fails.

Neil Gaiman's book "Coraline" is a brilliant dark fairy-tale vibe -- decayed apartments, dead children, spiderwebs, beetles, disembodied hands, button eyes, and an insectile button-eyed woman who wants to claim Coraline for herself. It's a fairy tale world that turns into a nightmare realm where souls are lost and horrific things scuttle in the shadows.

Most directors would turn the story into a cutsy, unscary affair... but not the director of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach." Instead, Selick gives it a dark, cobwebby atmosphere, brilliant colours and surreal details (the button eclipsing the moon). And it's full of lovely details that could have been silly (the creepy-crawly claw hand) yet work brilliantly.

The story starts off as merely surreal, but grows more ghastly and eerie as the movie unwinds -- and in the last third, the slow-moving story suddenly spins into a thoroughly spooky territory, and a truly terrifying climax where the Other Mother shows her true self. And along the way, there are plenty of wonderfully creepy moments -- the three ghosts in a rotting bedroom/mirror, the offering of buttons and thick black thread, weird circus acts, and much more. The horror is subtle, the delicious creepiness is not.

Coraline -- the Alice in this Notsowonderland -- is a wonderful little heroine: strong, sensible, self-sufficient but still fairly freaked out about what is happening around her. Normally I'm not crazy about Dakota Fanning, but voice-only she's quite good in this role.

The sarcastic cat is a wonderful counterpoint, and the movie's original character Wybie makes a nice companion (albeit an extraneous one). And the other mother is the stuff of nightmares -- she's utterly inhuman and merciless, and by the movie's climax she's become the stuff of nightmares. Oh, and French and Saunders make a pair of fun cameos as the kooky neighbors.

"Coraline" is a brilliantly dark little movie, full of dark magic and eerie creatures -- definitely for fans of Gaiman, dark fantasy and really creepy stuff.

Comment: I was not expecting to like this movie... only wanting to check out the technical aspects such as the "stop motion" and 3D qualities. This movie was so well done, with particular attention to the details that I was blown away (in a good way). After I watched the "extras", again I was blown away with the tremendous amount of work that goes into making one of these stop action movies... it is incredible. The story and the situations became spooky... (button eyes), and may be a little intense for younger children. For "mature" viewers... whether you watch the 3D version or "normal" version, I think you are in for a pleasant surprise.
3D Performance: The 3D was "stellar" on this disc. As good or better than at the theater. Most Blu-ray 3D discs have a problem with "convergence" best explained as "stereo ghosting" to objects in the background. It can be as little as 2% up to about 20%. This movie was absolutely perfect. This is the disc I am now using for my "golden master" of 3D perfection. I am now asking: "If they can do such a perfect job on this movie... why not all 3D movies"?
Disc Performance: This disc performed perfectly. No aberrations of any kind (audio, video, 3D or skipping).

I got the DVD of "Coraline" today and had to look at it. The 3D is based on the Red/Green system - not polarized. The upshot is that although the effect is there it picture is dim/muted by the glasses. I found it hard on the eyes. Also, the effect is less pronounced than in the theater. All in all, the 2D version is better for home viewing.

That said - it is a great movie!

Nobody can drench a book in creepy, dank atmosphere like Neil Gaiman, infused with humor and more than a little horror.

Fortunately that flavour is kept alive in the movie adaptation of "Coraline," brought to life by the talented Henry Selick. It's a haunting little dark fairy tale full of decayed apartments, dancing rats and eerie soulless doppelgangers, as well as a gutsy heroine who finds herself in this ominous "other" world.

Newly moved into an aged apartment, Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is bored. Her parents are too busy to do anything with her, and her neighbors are either insane or boring. The one exception is Wybie, a boy who annoys her no end.

It's the sort of relentlessly dull world that any little girl would want to escape from -- until Coraline does. She encounters a plastered-up door and a colourful wormhole, leading to a doppelganger of new home. In fact, it's so similar that she has a button-eyed "other mother" (Teri Hatcher) and matching "other father," (John Hodgman) as well as great food, games, a shimmering magic garden, a chorus of circus rodents and magic toys.

At first Coraline is fascinated by the other world, especially since her other parents are as attentive as her real ones aren't. Then she finds her real parents sealed inside a mirror. With the help of a sarcastic cat, Coraline ventures back into the other world. But with her parents and a trio of dead children held hostage, Coraline's only hope is to gamble with her own freedom -- and she'll be trapped forever if she fails.

Neil Gaiman's book "Coraline" is a brilliant dark fairy-tale vibe -- decayed apartments, dead children, spiderwebs, beetles, disembodied hands, button eyes, and an insectile button-eyed woman who wants to claim Coraline for herself. It's a fairy tale world that turns into a nightmare realm where souls are lost and horrific things scuttle in the shadows.

Most directors would turn the story into a cutsy, unscary affair... but not the director of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James and the Giant Peach." Instead, Selick gives it a dark, cobwebby atmosphere, brilliant colours and surreal details (the button eclipsing the moon). And it's full of lovely details that could have been silly (the creepy-crawly claw hand) yet work brilliantly.

The story starts off as merely surreal, but grows more ghastly and eerie as the movie unwinds -- and in the last third, the slow-moving story suddenly spins into a thoroughly spooky territory, and a truly terrifying climax where the Other Mother shows her true self. And along the way, there are plenty of wonderfully creepy moments -- the three ghosts in a rotting bedroom/mirror, the offering of buttons and thick black thread, weird circus acts, and much more. The horror is subtle, the delicious creepiness is not.

Coraline -- the Alice in this Notsowonderland -- is a wonderful little heroine: strong, sensible, self-sufficient but still fairly freaked out about what is happening around her. Normally I'm not crazy about Dakota Fanning, but voice-only she's quite good in this role.

The sarcastic cat is a wonderful counterpoint, and the movie's original character Wybie makes a nice companion (albeit an extraneous one). And the other mother is the stuff of nightmares -- she's utterly inhuman and merciless, and by the movie's climax she's become the stuff of nightmares. Oh, and French and Saunders make a pair of fun cameos as the kooky neighbors.

"Coraline" is a brilliantly dark little movie, full of dark magic and eerie creatures. Definitely one of this year's must-sees.

My reviews do not focus around story or plot, but how well done the 3D is. No one with the 3D set up wants to waste their money on a bad 3D movie, and this one is well done. It was very impressive actually, and after watching the making of video I know why. They actually took the time to set the camera shots up so that each shot was taken twice, roughly each eye of a 9 inch figurine. What does that mean? It means that if gives you the view as if you were one of those 9 inch tall character in the movie. Beautiful attention to detail makes this a wonderful movie. When I watched this movie in 2D afterwards it did not feel the same, it took out the element of being in the story. It was the same TV but it did not feel like the movie I watched in 3D. The sharpness of detail was not as apparent.
If you are looking for a well done 3d movie to add to the very small collection of 3d movies available, this one may be right for you. The story was good, and the 3d is very well done. Not too much of the in your face 3d effects, more of an enhancing of the overall experience.

It was everything I wanted and more. Comes with 4 pairs of 3D glasses and two copies of the movie in 2D and 3D along with all the extras. Perfection. A feast for the soul! A love and a must-have! GO BUY NOW! You won't regret it! =)