Sweet Coraline

I would like to be mysterious and dark and say I ADORED this film... but I am not a fan of this type of abstract/stop-motion animation.

I did, however, love the story and I think Dakota Fanning did an awesome job voicing Coraline. I loved all of the characters and definitely loved the moral of the story (what parent wouldn't love the idea of a "be happy with the parents you've got" storyline?) I might even consider seeing it again in 3D because some of the imagery was so innovative.

But both my 8 year old and I were disturbed by the button eyes and the characters expressions being frozen by being sewn. We also jumped at various parts surrounding the ghost children and the dolls that spy on you. I was also a tiny bit put off by the gigantic stop-motion animated breasts on one of the characters, covered only by pasty-style stars.

I've seen 3 of the 5 nominated Animated Feature Films... and definitely feel this one is the front-runner. While it is nice to have a new Princess, "Princess and the Frog" didn't strike me as an award winner. And while I adored "Up," it also seemed simply another adorable offering from Pixar.

But stop-motion photography that breaks boundaries and is originally shot in 3D with a story that has punch and characters that you come to adore... that should win something, especially Best Animated Feature.