Coraline

From The Movie Snob

Coraline (B). This animated movie is rated PG, and the villain is a touch scary for very small children. Most everyone else should probably enjoy this story about Coraline, a smart but headstrong little girl who has been uprooted to Oregon by her distracted parents. They move into a musty old house that's been subdivided into three apartments, with an eccentric Russian acrobat living upstairs and a pair of faded burlesque stars living in the basement. In short order, Coraline discovers a mysterious little door that seems to open into another dimension when night falls. In this alternate universe, everybody seems to be oh-so-much-better/nicer/funner than the people back home--except for the slightly sinister fact that they all have buttons for eyes. Adventure ensues. The heroine is an appealing and spunky little kid, and I'd probably give the film a higher grade if it didn't feel just the tad bit long by the end. Oh, I should mention for parents' benefit that there is one odd scene in which one of the two old burlesque stars--the exceptionally bosomy one--appears virtually naked for quite a while. It comes off comically, but I can imagine some parents not appreciating that.