Coraline

In addition to reading Anansi Boys, I also finally got the chance to watch “Coraline”. I was happy, not only that I finally got to watch this movie I had wanted to see for ages, but because it was quite good as well. I was fascinated by the art which, even though it had the inherent creepiness that all stop-motion animation, I still found absolutely beautiful. Also, I rather liked all the characters, which is always a plus.

“Coraline” addressed a similar theme as Gaiman did in Anansi Boys; a mysterious, magical world existing parallel to the real one, which the main characters discover throughout the story. Like Charlie, Coraline found a magical world completely unlike the one she was familiar with. Unlike Charlie, she embraced the new world and, in fact, almost became a part of it. In fact, Coraline is about as different of a character from Charlie as she could be. Of course, in the way of a true (even modern) fairy tale, they both manage to learn a lesson by the end of their stories. Gaiman, also relied heavily on ancient mythology as a theme for his novel. “Coraline” was a much newer, more modern-feeling film. Obviously, the two stories had very different feels, but at their root they shared a common, basic theme: that of the modern fantasy.

“Coraline” has been sitting near the top of my list of movies I must see for a while now, and I am very satisfied to have finally watched it. And, though I somewhat regret missing out on seeing it earlier, especially in theaters, at the same time I found it interesting to watch within the context of what had been discussed in class about the film earlier that week.