Coraline

This is one of those animated stories that is great for children but can warm the hearts of adults as well.

Coraline is a young girl so typical of kids today. Mom and dad have fallen on hard times, so the family is forced to move into a rundown boarding house which is populated by a cast of unusual characters. Mom and dad don’t seem to have much time for young Coraline and she’s left to her own devices much of the time. So one day she decides to explore her new surroundings. Finding a hidden passageway in the old rooming house, she enters a world where the structure of her reality is much better than the one provided in her real life.

In her new world, Coraline is met by a new mom, one who dotes on her and is willing to give her all the attention she needs. This new world is full of adventure, but not all of it is happy as Coraline meets other children who have entered this otherworldly place. Of course, all good films have a mystery to be solved, and this one is no different as Coraline plays detective to find out what lies behind this wonderful new world.

Children will enjoy this film because it will encourage them to let their imaginations run wild. Far too few children in our world today get the time and attention they need from their busy, “multi-tasking” parents, and this world Coraline enters seems to provide her with everything she needs. But adults, especially parents, will enjoy this film too as it will serve as a gentle reminder that we need to make time to listen to our children and nurture them in this very real, sometimes cruel world that they must live in every day.