Reivew: 'Coraline' is funhouse ride into other reality

Coraline    PG           

            Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas) directs this amazing blending of stop motion and CGI rendering in a 'real 3  D' format. A young girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is ignored when her family moves to a weird apartment house that was a former mansion. Her mother is too wrapped up in being a busybody and her father is obsessed with his book writing. The girl discovers a weird boy and his cat, and then a crawlspace in the house which leads to a parallel universe where button  eyed versions of the parents and the colorful inhabitants seem good but clearly are more sinister. Since just about ever little kid imagines another world in their crawl space or attic, this story will appeal to a lot of them andf to adults. It might be too intense for small children though. The goofy looking characters make it a modern fun house ride for the senses, which is nearly perfect in animation. A worthy successor to Nightmare. 
Review by Adam Browne