If you’ve got a whimsically morbid child (or whimsically morbid adult) in your household, Coraline is the movie to catch in the theater this season.  When the blue-haired heroine Coraline moves to the Pink Palace with her family, she quickly finds a secret door that seems to lead away from her rainy, humdrum world to a place that is something like the Stepford Family version of paradise.  If constant attention, entertainment, and cake are what every child desires, the Other Mother is there to provide it in abundance.  Of course, not all is what it seems, and Coraline discovers that the “new and improved” family on the other side of the door has  truly wicked Gothic past.

The plot—based on Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name—is a near-perfect parable about wish fulfillment, and the visual design of the film is absolutely captivating.  While Henry Selick’s work with Tim Burton on The Nightmare Before Christmas is the most obvious touchstone, there are also elements reminiscent of Jhonen Vasquez (particularly the Beldam) and perhaps even a smidgen of Stephen Gammell’s creepy illustrations.

Note to the caretakers of the young: While Coraline was a bit more grotesque than I expected from children’s fare, you should not hesitate to take your charge to see this movie.  Children need to see terrible things and endure cautionary warnings.  It helps them develop character when they grow up.  Everyone here at Liar Society was exposed to childhood trauma in their early years, and look how we all turned out.