A toned down version of the surprisingly terrifying children's book by Neil Gaiman. Parents will likely find this to be a much more suitable version of the story as the horror is downplayed without sacrificing the magic and splendor inherent in the original written format. It's still got all of the stuff kids will love, they'll just be less likely to have nightmares after watching it. That's not to say there still isn't some intense stuff going on. The twisted final act is filled with images that could freak out the kiddies. The adults are the ones who are going to pick up on the really disturbing stuff though. Such as that symbolic opening credits sequence and the creepy little gestures from Coraline's "other" parents. Everyone will get a fright from the semi-naked old ladies though. There's a little something here for everyone. Henry Sellick has expanded on the book with a new subplot surrounding an original character whose grandma has ties to the weird events at hand and the character of Coraline herself is much more fleshed out with a larger personality. She's an empowering, clever, and quick-witted protagonist who always has something amusingly surly to say. She's immediately lovable. Something that is in no small part due to Dakota Fanning's delivery. The original flourishes to the tale do enough to set it apart from the source material without straying far away from it. As someone who has read Gaiman's Coraline, I found certain originalities gave me compelling new ways to envision things upon revisiting it. The biggest and most appreciated change/addition in this film is that we get to spend more time seeing what Coraline's family life is like. It adds new dimension to the events. The stop-motion animation is gorgeous. Everything is so bright and colorful during the pre-"something's not right here" set pieces. Even when things start to lean on darker, gloomier, and more forbidding environments doused in greys and blacks, there's enough life in the visuals to keep things exciting for your eyes. The character and creature designs are excellent. The gothic fairytale style imagery would make Tim Burton cum in his pants. The soundtrack, like the majority of the movie, will enchant the youngsters while their parents pick up on it's eerie nature. Coraline is an all around delight for any age range. The younger viewers will have a blast with the world, spectacle, and charming title character. Older audiences will too, but with the added benefit on noticing just how freaky everything is. One of my favorite aspects of Coraline the movie is that it manages to be slick enough to hide the fact that it's a horror film from the target audience. Unlike the book which I have a hard time believing wouldn't severely ruin a child's sleep schedule for a while. There's enough humor, action, heart, and adventure to make it a standout in the already pretty impressive array of notable stop-motion family films.