It's only February, and here we have the first great movie of 2009. I go to the movies for many reasons. Coraline is a movie that holds all of those reasons. It's wonderfully imaginative, smart, beautiful to look at, very funny, suspenseful, and even a little bit frightening at times. (Parents would be advised to leave very young children at home, as some of the darker images in this movie could serve as nightmare fuel for small kids.) My only fear is that the movie is being released so early in the year that the Oscar voters (who can barely seem to remember movies made before September) won't recognize it with a Best Animated Film nomination.

After the disastrous live action-animated fantasy, Monkeybone, from a few years ago, director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) returns to what he does best here. He creates a seemingly living, breathing world out of model figures and sets. The film is done in stop motion animation, one of the most time consuming processes out there. It consists of moving and shooting the model figures one frame at a time to create the illusion of animation. The end result is something that doesn't quite have the perfect polish of CG animation, but is impressive none the less. That's not to say it' isn't fluid or believable, it simply doesn't look like the kind of animated film we're used to. In a way, the somewhat strange and unnatural look of the film is the perfect fit for the dark and somewhat gothic story Coraline tells. The story originated in a children's novel by acclaimed author, Neil Gaiman, and in adapting the story, Selick (who also wrote the screenplay) manages to capture everything that made the tale compelling to adult readers as well. He's made a few changes, the most notable being a young boy whom the title character has a like-hate relationship with has been added, but fans of the novel should be happy with this cinematic take on the story.

As the film opens, 11-year-old Coraline Jones (voice by Dakota Fanning) has just been forced to leave her friends behind, and move to a new home with her parents. They move her to a three storey duplex building called the Pink Palace, and despite the presence of some bizarre and eccentric new neighbors who live in the same building, Coraline quickly becomes bored, since it's raining all the time in their new home and she can't go outside. With her mother (Teri Hatcher) and father (John Hodgman) too busy concentrating on their work to pay her much mind, Coraline decides to explore the house. It's during these searches that she discovers a small door in the wall that is blocked off with a brick wall behind it during the day. But at night, Coraline is awakened by mice scurrying through the house who lead her to the door, only to discover it now leads to a tunnel instead of the wall as before. At the end of the tunnel lies another world, one that looks exactly like the one she knows, but everything is more fun and magical. In this parallel world, she has parents who call themselves her "Other Mother and Father". They look and sound exactly like the ones she knows, only they mysteriously have buttons for eyes, and are much more appreciative and accepting of their daughter.

This new world Coraline discovers seems like a dream come true, as it seems to be designed especially for her. Her Other parents cook all her favorite foods any time of the day, there's a magical garden out back filled with talking birds and living flowers, and the neighbors who live in the building now put on grand and entertaining shows to delight young Coraline. However, as a talking stray black cat (Keith David) tries to warn her, things are not what they seem. Her Other Mother has malicious plans for Coraline, starting with making the girl her permanent daughter by stitching buttons over her own eyes so that she'll look like them. As Coraline tries to escape from this alternate world, she discovers a terrible truth - Her Other Mother is actually a demon that steals the souls of children and eats them. Even worse, her Other Mother has somehow gotten a hold of her real parents, and is holding them captive along with the souls of children who have been her past victims. Coraline will have to be resourceful if she wants to see the real world ever again.

Outside of the wonderful and strange visuals Henry Selick and his team of animators have created, the strongest trait of Coraline is in its storytelling and the characters. The title character is not your usual animated heroine. She's a bit moody, maybe a little selfish, and sometimes rude to others, such as the young neighbor boy Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr) who tries to befriend her in the real world. The fact that Coraline is initially happy that Wybie has been rendered mute in the Other World shows that she's not exactly your typical "sugar and spice" young heroine. It's not until she begins to learn the truth about this alternate world, and how the inhabitants are the unwilling pawns of the cruel Other Mother, that Coraline begins to learn the error of her ways. It's a redemptive story and it works, because the movie makes her into a believable and three dimensional character. The movie teaches a valuable lesson to children of being happy with what you have, and the character of Coraline is one that kids should be able to relate to. The vocal performance by Dakota Fanning only adds to the character's likeability, and continues to cement her status as the top child actor working in the movies today.

What surprised me the most is that the story of Coraline seems to be pitched to adults as much as children. They'll enjoy the horror undertones, as well as the way the filmmakers have approached the story. The screenplay does not read as a "children's movie", but rather as an effective drama. As the illusion of the perfect Other World begins to slip away, and the true nightmare begins to reveal itself, I was impressed that the movie actually managed to come across as being genuinely intense and even a little bit terrifying. It certainly does not try to hide or sugarcoat the danger the character finds herself in. And yet, I think children (of a certain age) will enjoy this aspect as well. Kids are fascinated by the unknown, and this movie will spark their imaginations in a way that few animated films can. It would also be a crime not to mention Teri Hatcher's voice work, as her dual performance as Coraline's mother and Other Mother plays a big part in what makes the film so effective. She tackles her characters with precision, and is especially impressive covering the multiple personalities of the Other Mother. She brings out the sweetness and malice in the character, and makes it truly believable.

Coraline is a spellbinding and fascinating film, one that I'm sure I'll watch many more times and only learn to appreciate more. The movie is being shown in both 2D and 3D in select theaters. Those forced to watch it in 2D should not feel robbed. The movie is wonderful to look at, and though I'm sure the 3D is impressive, the story doesn't really need it to be effective. This is one of the better animated films I've seen in a while, and I can only hope it manages to find the audience it deserves. If not, this movie has cult classic written all over it.

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