My Coraline magic box

(You can see the rest of the boxes I've found to date here.)

I was lucky enough to receive a magic box in the mail today from the creators of Coraline. Enjoy the photos. I have more to say below.






















I'd known for about two weeks that I'd be getting a box at some point, and a few days ago learned that at least one other person had received one. I allowed myself only the briefest of looks at that other box so I could save a bit of surprise for my own. But I needn't have worried since everything about that box, including the box itself, is different from what I received. There are 50 boxes in all. I can't wait to see what the others contain.

One of the items in my box was a key, and the tag on the key is labeled with a password for the official site for the Coraline movie. Below are the codes I'm aware of. Each one reveals a different short video:

stopmotion [Making of the figures and sets.]
buttoneyes [Introduction to the "cast."]
moustachio [A stop motion short about Bo Henry's dancing mustache]
puppetlove [Henry Selick considers how we look to the puppets.]
armpithair [Suzanne Moulton shows how she gives the puppets armpit hair.]
sweaterxxs [Althea Crome knits tiny sweaters.]

Coraline is the first film by LAIKA and comes out in February 2009. It's based on a novella by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. When I first read the book, I was largely disappointed, possibly because McKean's minimalist illustrations seemed so different from the psychedelic collages I'd expected. But I reread it last week, and it was as if the book had become magical over the intervening years. The story is excellent, similar in many ways (many good ways) to Return to Oz, which terrified me as a child. And I found that I liked the art - - the simplicity perfectly matched Gaiman's crisp prose. I also discovered to my surprise that the cover glowed in the dark.

It seems that the movie can go down one of two paths - - either become a beloved film akin to the Nightmare Before Christmas (which Selick directed), or fail as a company killing bomb a la Final Fantasy The Spirits Within. I had feared Coraline would amount to the latter. The book is far too scary for young children, yet the early shots I'd seen of the puppets looked too childish for adults. After watching the short videos and looking at the photos included in my magic box, I'm more optimistic. It looks as though the artists have chosen to adhere to Gaiman's story, but jettison McKean's cold and frightening interpretation of the characters.

Compare this:



with this:




The result is a film that should be enjoyable by children and adults.

I'm certainly rooting for Coraline's success. The world should reward people who make magic boxes.

Update: After writing this, I looked at Gaiman's site and saw that he thought the same thing about the film's look, but is somewhat concerned about the shift - - "My only concern is that the images that are getting out all look really sweet, and not creepy."

*Previously: Stage performance of Gaiman and McKean's Mr. Punch.

*Preorder "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.