Movie Review: Coraline

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I'm just gonna' go ahead and say it. Do NOT let your children watch this movie but if you're an adult who loves Tim Burton-esque claymation...you might enjoy it. Coraline is a movie about a young girl who moves into an old house in the country with her neglectful parents. She proceeds to find a 'magical door' in her room that takes her to 'her second home' where everything is about her.
She finds out later that this second home comes with a price, and while she is trying to loosen the grip of her "Other Mother's" soul-stealing personality, she has a few friends from her real life help her out. The theme, perhaps stretching, is one that I liked, to be content with the family you've in; though other parts of the movie were just ridiculous.
What I did like about this movie was the genre: I'm always amazed at how creative claymation can be, and how they tailored the "second home" to Coraline's interests (a garden that lit up at night in the shape of her head, etc.) There was too much disturbing material, though, to make my review any more than 3 stars. Dakota Fanning was the main voice as Coraline, who did a good job.
All the other characters were extremely weird or really flawed (for a kids' movie...I'm starting to think it wasn't made for kids...) or both. It was set in a creepy location, with two horrible parents, a neighbor who drinks a lot and talks to mice, and two old cat ladies who show up later in the film in pasties! It was too much for me. It even took me a few days to watch the movie to the end. Sorry Coraline, although you've got a cute theme song, you just didn't do it for me.

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