Rated 3.9 out of 5 The director’s second blockbuster The Nightmare Before Christmas returns to theaters for its 15th anniversary.

what are you talking about

Coraline Jones is a cheeky little girl gifted with boundless curiosity. His parents, who have just moved in with him in a strange house, have little time for him. To relieve her boredom, Coraline decides to play the role of researcher. Opening the locked door, she enters an apartment identical to hers… but where everything is different. Everything seems more beautiful, colorful and attractive to him in this other world.

His other mother is fully available, his other father has tried to cook him elaborate meals, and even the cat, who is so arrogant in real life, enjoys talking to him. Coraline is very tempted to settle in this wonderful world that meets all her expectations. But the dream turns into a nightmare very quickly. A prisoner of another mother, Coraline must use her treasures of bravery, imagination, and strength to return home and save her true family…

Coraline darling

The context is not as solemn as expected when it comes time to blow out Coraline’s fifteen candles. Neil Gaiman, the author of the 2009 feature film Horror Story, has been accused of sexual assault by several women, as revealed by Media Turtle last July. Since then, other voices have been raised against the novelist, previously seen as Roald Dahl’s successor in the UK, who still denies the allegations but has walked away from production of Good Omens Season 3, which will be reduced to one long episode.

So it’s against the background of this novel that Coraline returns to theaters to celebrate her birthday, more beautiful and disturbing than ever. If Neil Gaiman wrote the original story, his adaptation remains, first of all, Henry Selick, the director of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, who added another fragment to his filmography and then found a smile on the failure of “Monkeybone”, which mixes live action and animation. Even more so than in James and the Giant Peach.

To bring to life the plight of Coraline, Alice’s cousin, whose Wonderland will have the look of a horror film, the director chooses an animated story from start to finish. Frame by frame, moreover, the trademark of the Laika studio, which made its first feature film there and then shines in The Strange Power of Norman or the extraordinary Kubo and Magic Armor.

Coraline, which hit theaters on June 10, 2009, was their first effort. and master’s degree. A small miracle of balance between animation that too many people still associate with children and more adult themes, with the missing link between Disney and Ghibli, located at the crossroads of Alice in Wonderland and Wonderland. Spirited Away, story time as a metaphor for adolescence, that moment when parents are seen as enemies.

On paper, there’s nothing really new between the influences, the themes, or the use of stop-motion. In reality and on the screen is a different story. Because the outcome is constantly surprising, for adults and children alike, and the bright colors hide more troubling things, in keeping with the duality at the heart of the story. Sixteen years after The Nightmare Before Christmas, Henry Selick follows the same path, only to later deviate from it (with less memorable musical passages, of course), and its $52 million worldwide release clearly proves that Coraline’s love rating is still not . high.

Perhaps because it has a particularly rare asset that deserves to be seen again in theaters, because it is one of the best 3D films. Released a year before Journey to the Center of the Earth, Coraline was even a forerunner of this new wave that Avatar would fully unleash on screens, for better (rarely) and for worse, botched conversions in post-production. Maximum profit when these sessions were still subject to the plugin.

3D enhanced

In June 2009, Coraline couldn’t be accused of being opportunistic about the subject, for two reasons: the 3D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas had come out three years earlier and proved compelling; And this new feature film was created with the concept of terrain in mind. If Stop-Motion is, in fact, more conducive to exploitation in three dimensions, as it is based on figures and settings that are immediately so, the team of this tale went even further.

During a visit to Paris for publicity, Henry Selick revealed that he made sure the otherworldly settings were deeper to create a rush effect and emphasize the heroine’s attraction to this world before the trap closes. on it. Unless you own the 3D version of the Blu-Ray (and the TV that goes with it), this aspect is missing on the small screen. Which in no way spoils the viewing, but that little extra justifies going back to the theaters to celebrate this anniversary.

And make the most of its images, which have been restored while its 3D has been enhanced for better immersion. As well as re-immersing ourselves in the hauntingly haunting original soundtrack by Frenchman Bruno Coulet (Les Choristes) to properly celebrate the re-release of one of the greatest animated films ever. Since the 2000s, but not only.