After enchanting us with The Nightmare Before Christmas, Henry Selick repeats the feat and gifts us a wonderful, mind-blowing gem of animation. His work on Coraline, which he describes as "a Gothic Alice in Wonderland", proves yet again that he perfectly masters the art of stop motion animation, with each puppet image individually animated. Here, instead of a charming white rabbit there is a disturbed and mischievous black cat, who plays the role of guide with great reluctance! Coraline is cleverly plotted and can be understood on various levels. Above all it questions the link between dreams and reality, and the relations between generations. The young heroine, who is searching for her identity and struggles to communicate with her parents, sees her childhood fantasies made real in this other decidedly dreamlike other world. As she is convinced that nothing could be worse that her terribly boring new life, Coraline goes through the door that separates her from the other world and serves as a poetic symbol of her passage to adolescence. Each of the worlds is inhabited by a gallery of colourful and highly unconventional characters, whose appearances are lifted from the collective imagination of children's nightmares. Coraline quickly learns that it is worth thinking twice before seeking to change your life, and the grass is not always greener on the other side! The soundtrack by the talented Bruno Coulais plays a big role in immersing us in the spine-tingling atmosphere of this crazy fairytale. Ideal for starting a family discussions and exploring your first fears so as to take the sting out of them.

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