Coraline and ParaNorman are available separately as Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Packs from Shout! Factory.
Coraline (2009)
From Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and James And The Giant Peach, comes a visually stunning stop-motion feature!
Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads into a world that’s just like her own … but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her “other” mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home.
The first feature film from LAIKA studios would prove to be one heck of an opening creative statement to the world. Based on the novella from Neil Gaiman (The Sandman), Coraline is a dark fantasy that has the emotional depth and visual artistry to resonate for adults, but is whimsical enough to dazzle maturing younger audiences who are ready to break away from the shiny wholesomeness that has been served up to them in their young lives. The story is simple enough; Coraline is a restless young girl who feels adrift in her new house without the attention of her overworked parents, and in this aimless time she finds a door to another world that transfixes with vibrant wonders meant to lure her in like a fly into a spider’s web. The appeal of the “other” mother and father is obvious, as they give young Coraline everything she wants and needs, but when they request for her eyes to be replaced by buttons, matters get increasingly more creepy. The terrors that are revealed in Coraline are enough to spook even the bravest young souls, but in a way that feels safe and lays the groundwork for the next generation of genuine horror films. This film does not speak down to its audience.
Even over a decade later, everything about the animation sincerely wows as much as the day it was released. As much as we have a soft spot for many early computer animated films, when you return to the earliest ones you can see the limitations of the technology. Stop motion animation is something altogether different. It is timeless and elegant in a way that stimulates your brain in a distinct manner. You are meant to see the textures of the thread and the fibers that make up the individual strands of hair. Entire teams put in countless hours to bring these characters and these worlds to life, and the result is a picture frozen beautifully in time. The vocal performances also add a lot to the enjoyment of this story, as a young Dakota Fanning perfectly captures the restless spirit of Coraline, and the ensemble brings out distinct notes in their vocal performances that complement the memorable visuals. The story offers admirable heroes who have to traverse a narrative with mature themes that kids deserve a chance to consider. The tale is delightfully creepy and so much fun for all ages.
ParaNorman (2012)
From the makers of Coraline comes the story of Norman, a boy who must use his ability to see and speak with the dead to save his town from a centuries-old curse. In addition to spooky zombies, he’ll also have to take on mysterious ghosts, wily witches, and, worst of all, clueless grown-ups. But this young ghoul whisperer will soon find his paranormal abilities pushed to their otherworldly limits.
Featuring the voice talents of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin and John Goodman, it’s a frightfully funny and magically thrilling adventure for the whole family in eye-popping stop-motion.
With their second feature film, LAIKA proves their initial success was not a fluke with their outstanding homage to classic horror films, ParaNorman. While my belief is that children should be taught to appreciate the classics, the truth is that many adults need the same lesson. Every inch of this feature is bursting with the enthusiasm of a team who appreciates what classic horror tales have to offer. The fictional town of Blithe Hollow, Massachusetts is a classic example of a place haunted by the sins of the past. There are vengeful spirits and zombies that crop up during the course of this story, but all of the monstrous material pales in comparison to the story of our focal character, Norman. This young boy has been made to feel like an outsider due to the special abilities he has to communicate with ghosts. The specifics may be paranormal in nature, but the feeling of feeling like an “other” is one that many can unfortunately relate to. This is what makes his journey such a vital viewing for a young audience in need of hearing that their breed of “different” is nothing to hide.
The way in which this story balances the creepy with the humorous is masterful. The team at LAIKA have once again put in a substantial amount of time to create all manner of creatures who go bump in the night, and the attention to detail you can see with each one is something with which you fall in love. It is not just the traditional monsters who you love to see brought to life; human characters such as Mitch (Casey Affleck), the jock brother of Neil, are delightful in their unpredictable peculiarities and steady stream of hilarious asides. The vocal performances have some notable names such as Anna Kendrick and John Goodman amongst them, but there is a clear sense that none of these people were cast for their star power alone. All of the voices work really well together with not a weak aspect in the bunch. The pace that this story adopts is steadily exciting, but not so kinetic as to lose the slower character moments that differentiate this one from other studios. While known for their animation style, LAIKA is also known for putting just as much heart into their productions as a company like Pixar. This film not only delivers a great message about being true to yourself and accepting others for who they are, but it delivers it with a spooky backdrop that makes it one of the most entertaining family-friendly Halloween films around.
Video Quality
Both Coraline and ParaNorman come to Blu-Ray from Shout! Factory with a stunning and vibrant 1080p transfer. These discs appear to be derived from the previous masters utilized on the Universal discs, but this time Coraline has been given an AVC encode instead of a VC-1. I only have the previous Coraline disc for comparison, but the encode on the new Shout! Factory disc appears to be the smallest bit better, but nothing night and day. The colors present in these transfers are practically leaping off the screen with the wide range of nuanced hues permeating the frame when these dark stories call for it. The textures, from the character designs to the environments, are extremely impressive and give the films a real sense of depth.
One of the areas where these films really shines is the fluidity of the stop motion animation as they sleek throughout the world with the mastery of the artform LAIKA exudes. The subtle details that are added to each individual puppet help to show the care put into bringing these stories to life. Each environment has a personality that shines through in the best way. Black levels are incredibly strong with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. The only drawback for some might be that there are no 3-D versions included on either disc. These are simply beautiful looking Blu-Ray presentations that bring these films to the screen perfectly.
Audio Quality
Both features come with a forceful DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track presented here with optional English subtitles. These tracks are a lovely sounding experience that bring these movies to life in a really engaging manner. Dialogue comes through crystal clear at all times without being overshadowed by any of the worldly sounds or the whimsical scores. Every sound is precisely placed throughout the room as they envelop the audience with a soundscape as detailed as the animation on screen. Each track employs significant activity in the low end to give substantial weight to the more kinetic moments. There are also subtle, distinct environmental sounds in the surround channels which might just send a shiver up your spine if it catches you at the right moment. These are stellar sounding releases that should more than please fans of these films.
Special Features
Coraline
- Booklet: A multi-page booklet is included featuring an essay from Variety Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge in which he discusses the place of this film in the LAIKA filmography, as well as the emotional themes that keep this one timeless.
- Audio Commentary: Director and Screenwriter Henry Selick And Composer Bruno Coulais deliver a very informative commentary track that is mostly dominated by Selick with some brief insights from Coulais. In this track, Selick discusses the changes from the novel in the film, the voice performances, catering to improvisation, taking elements from his childhood and weaving them into the story, the decision to make this a fully stop motion feature, the character designs and much more that are truly great.
- Inside LAIKA – Discovering The Characters Of Coraline: A new 11-minute featurette which gives you a look into the production process including thoughts behind certain character designs and vocal casting. The glimpse behind the scenes that this provides is truly amazing. Interview subjects include writer/director Henry Selick, animators Brad Schiff, Amy Adamy, Suzanne Twining, and Juliana Cox, supervising animator Anthony Scott, and lead animators Trey Thomas, Phil Dale, and Travis Knight.
- Inside LAIKA – Revisiting The Puppets with LAIKA’s Animation Team: A new series of brief videos in which Phil Dale and Brad Schiff give you a brief overview of the characteristics of these characters, the challenges of each puppet and other design anecdotes interspersed with clips from the films. This helps illuminate how much care was taken with each character.
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- The Beldam (1:16)
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- Mr. Bobinsky (1:40)
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- The Cat (1:12)
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- Coraline Jones (1:15)
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- “Other” Father (1:05)
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- “Other” Mother (1:10)
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- Wybie Lovat (1:02)
- Feature-Length Storyboards: An option to watch the film in storyboard form. It is wild to see how the film evolved from early drawings to what we got in the final product.
- The Making Of Coraline: A pleasing all-encompassing look at various important aspects of the production which gives you a lot of fun and fascinating insights into the creative process.
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- The Evolution Of The Story (2:42)
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- Inspiring Design – Character Design And Art Direction (3:56)
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- Directing The Voice Sessions (3:16)
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- Making Puppets (4:30)
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- Coraline’s Closet (4:50)
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- Setting The Stage – How Does Your Fantastic Garden Grow? (4:12)
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- It’s Alive (3:19)
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- I’ve Seen Fire And I’ve Seen Fog (4:01)
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- The Eyes Have It (3:20)
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- Wrapping Up Coraline (2:03)
- Creepy Coraline: A five-minute featurette looking into the more creepy and unsettling aspects of the story with insights into how the team crafted the rats, bugs, Slugzilla and more that may make your skin crawl.
- Voicing The Characters: An eleven-minute featurette exploring the performances in the film including a closer look at Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Keith David, Robert Bailey Jr., John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders, and Dawn French. Each performer reveals a little bit about the characters they are playing and how they arrived at the voice in the film, along with additional comments from director Henry Selick.
- Deleted Scenes: A nine-minute collection of unused material introduced by Selick including a scene of “Other Dad” making a disgusting casserole, a full-length version of the ghost kid angels and additional moments that are worth seeking out.
- Still Galleries: Sections are provided for Character Art, Concept Art and Behind The Scenes photos.
- Trailer: The two-and-a-half minute trailer is provided here.
ParaNorman
- Booklet: A multi-page booklet is included featuring an essay from Indiewire Crafts & Animation Editor Bill Desowitz in which he discusses how this production fits into the LAIKA filmography.
- Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Chris Butler and Director Sam Fell deliver a marvelous commentary track which keeps things very informative as they reveal secrets about the production of the film and tweaks they had to adjust throughout to get to what we see on screen. These two are very personable and keep things lively.
- Inside LAIKA – Discovering The Characters And Effects Of ParaNorman: A new 13-minute featurette which offers interviews with with co-director Sam Fell, co-director/writer Chris Butler, producer and lead animator Travis Knight, producer Arianne Sutner, production designer Nelson Lowry, visual effects supervisor Brian Van’t Hul, animation rigging supervisor Oliver Jones, and animation supervisor Bred Schiff. In this piece the participants discuss the problematic elements within the story that made it difficult to achieve in stop motion and how they had to enhance the film with digital effects. It really is amazing to hear how all of these elements came together.
- Inside LAIKA – Revisiting Puppets with LAIKA’s Animation Team: A new series of brief videos in which Jason Stalman and Dan Alderson give you a brief overview of the characteristics of these characters and how their design feeds into these traits interspersed with clips from the films. This helps underscore how much care was taken with each character.
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- Courtney Babcock (1:25)
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- Mitch (1:35)
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- Norman Babcock (1:59)
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- Neil (1:22)
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- Mr. Prenderghast (1:43)
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- Zombie Judge (2:09)
- Feature-Length Storyboards: An option to watch the film in storyboard form. Once again, it is fascinating to see how the film evolved from early drawings to what we know and love.
- Peering Through The Veil – Behind The Scenes of ParaNorman: A great overarching look at various key aspects of the production which gives you a lot of fun and fascinating insights into the creative process.
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- That’s ParaNorman (1:01)
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- Creating A World (4:17)
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- Voicing ParaNorman (6:22)
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- Building Characters (5:38)
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- Making Faces (6:58)
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- Rigging The Game (4:01)
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- Bringing The Undead To Life (4:27)
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- Angry Aggie (5:18)
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- Weird And Wonderful (2:35)
- You Don’t Become A Hero By Being Normal: A three-minute featurette which takes a look at the team at LAIKA and how they related to the characters they created for the film. This studio is one of the gems that animation has to offer, and it is great to see them harness their creativity in such special ways.
- A Norman’s Childhood: A two-minute piece focusing on co-director/writer Chris Butler and how he went from being an “outcast” kid to the creative we know today channeling his experiences into this film.
- Playing As A Profession: A two-minute look at co-director Sam Fell and how he uses his kid-at-heart personality to create magic on screen.
- Making Norman: A minute-and-a-half timelapse video showing the Norman puppet being created.
- This Little Light: A minute-long timelapse video taking a closer look at preparing for the library sequence.
- Have You Ever Seen A Ghost?: A two-minute featurette in which LAIKA employees and voice talent humorously relay some of their personal experiences with the paranormal. Subjects include producer assistant Laura Merton, director of photography Tristan Oliver, costume designer Deborah Cook, head of set dressing Robert DeSue, puppet wrangler Alicia Cortes, writer/co-director Chris Butler, animator Jason Stalman, and actors Tempestt Bledsoe, Jeff Garlin, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, and Alex Borstein.
- The Zombies Of ParaNorman: A two-minute look at the creation of the zombies for this feature with stories from the creative team.
- Still Galleries: Sections are provided for Character Art, Concept Art and Behind The Scenes photos.
- Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half trailer is provided here.
Final Thoughts
LAIKA is one of the most creative studios working in animation today, and every film they release is like a little gift to the world. This may seem hyperbolic, but there are too few creative forces that shape practical animation in the magnificent way this company does. Coraline and ParaNorman are not only the perfect blend of creepy and daring perfect for a spooky family-friendly movie night, but they are rich with themes that will enrich your life. The new Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray releases from Shout! Factory have been given stunning A/V presentations and lovely new special features to supplement the legacy features also included from the previously available discs. If you have yet to own these discs in high definition, these are the perfect additions for the Halloween season (or any time of year). Highly Recommended
Coraline and ParaNorman are currently available separately as Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Packs from Shout! Factory.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Shout! Factory have supplied a copy of these discs free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
