Coraline

Wow. I mean, wow. What can I say about this movie that has not already been said? Story is AIGHT, but visually, it's the best movie I've seen. All the reviews you read about it are true. If you're the type to appreciate REALLY REALLY good art direction, this is your Holy Grail.

Stop-animation movies are created with absolutely zero special effects. Everything you see has been created by hand. I can tell you that there is a 5 minute dialogue between two characters in the movie and syncing up the voice with their mouths took over 3,500 movements of the puppet. Would you believe that the 5" worth of hair on one character took 5 miles of thread to make?

This is not the first stop-action film- you got Gumby, you got Nightmare Before. The production on this movie is no different than any of those. Except it's in 3D, but that's just camera technology. But this is the first stop-animation flick with the craziest artwork you've ever seen.

Henry Selick directed Coraline. He also directed Nightmare Before and James & the Giant Peach. So he's no stranger. But Caroline was definitely his golden child. Nightmare Before was to Selick as The Cell was to Tarsem: it gave them the start to Hollywood- show success and producers will find a way to cut you a check to do what you really want. Selick did Caroline, Tarsem did The Fall.

San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum is currently having an exhibit featuring original works from the set of Caroline. Ah-mazing. Check out some pictures I took.








Coraline was produced by LAIKA, the Portland-based animation studio owned by Nike co-founder and Chairman Philip H. Knight. That's why you see characters with Apple and Nike products in pre-sketch. It never made it to the final product, but it's still cool to see their ideas.








Remember how I said it takes almost 3,500 movements to create a conversation among the puppets? I wasn't joking. Here's a small sample.








The thing I find most fascinating about artists is the fact that they have this brilliant imagination that they can translate into reality. I can barely write my thoughts clearly on this blog, and yet, look at how these artists imagine the characters and not only draw it but also build it.

Next season is ALL about waffle-cone fabrics, ladies.





This was probably the single most coolest thing I saw. There's a guy on the set who is responsible for directing all the movements of the puppets. He's the true wizard of Oz. I forgot his name and title, but this was his personal notebook. He started planning the movements almost 3 years before production. Amazing stuff, I'm telling you. That notebook was full of stuff I couldn't interpret.

That kid above is my 3YO nephew, Colin. I told a bunch of people he said to me the funniest thing. He asked, "Foo Foo (that's Chinese for "uncle"), can you take me to see a scary movie? It's called 'Caroline'." I died at the cuteness because this 3YO thought this was a "scary" movie. Well, he got the last laugh. This movie was freakin' SCARY. The ghost children, the "other" mom- I'm telling you now. Your kids will be FREAKED out. Not appropriate for kids under 12. Every child in the theater had their eyes closed or looked like they got socked in the gut.

Next week the Cartoon Art Museum will feature original artwork and props from the set of... THE WATCHMEN!!!!! I snuck this photo. Good thing no one reads this blog.