Coraline

Our story starts with Coraline moving into a new apartment with her loving but preoccupied parents. Bored one afternoon, Coraline starts to explore her new home.

Finding a locked door, Coraline's mother explains that it once led to the next door apartment but was bricked up when the building was made into apartments. Still curious, Coraline takes her mother's key and finds a dark corridor now replaces the brick wall. Following it, Coraline finds herserlf in an alternate reality, inhabited by her "Other Mother" and "Other Father", duplicates of her parents with buttons for eyes. The "Other Mother" traps Coraline in the other world by kidnapping Coraline's real parents so she must live there forever. Coraline also learns an awful secret: the "Other Mother" has captured three other children before her and stolen their souls, turning them into ghosts

Determined to escape and return to her real home, Coraline makes an agreement with the "Other Mother" to find the souls of the other three children and free her trapped parents. Can she succeed and free them all?

First published in 2002, Coraline was written by British author Neil Gaiman. The fantasy tale addresses concerns about identity, family love and belief in one's self while being set in an alternative reality.

The film is being made into a stop-motion animation picture by Laika Entertainment House and is co-directed by Henry Selick and Mike Cachuela. Coraline is the first stop-motion animation to be shot stereoscopically with a dual digital camera rig for digital 3-D exhibition. The soundtrack will be recorded by They Might Be Giants.

Teasers for Coraline appeared at Comic-Con 2007 in San Diego, as well as attached to Beowulf, U2 3D, and Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert. In December 2007, Neil Gaiman posted a clip of the stll-unfinished film on his blog.

Awards for Coraline
2002 -- Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers
2003 -- Hugo Award for Best Novella
2003 -- Nebula Award for Best Novella

The all-star voice cast for Coraline includes:

Dakota Fanning as Coraline

Teri Hatcher as Coraline's mother and the "Other Mother"

John Hodgman as Coraline's father and the "Other Father"

Keith David as The Cat

Ian McShane as Mr. Bobinski

Jennifer Saunders as Miss Forcible

Dawn French as Miss Spink