I saw Coraline last night at the Metreon in 3-D after reading most of the book, but not all (since it is against my policy to actually *read* a book start to finish, even if under 100 pages). The movie is visually unique and impressive, although, my co-viewer and I agreed that the storyline does not really knock your socks off, but, then again, I have never written a best-selling 'tween book, so I shouldn't be too critical. I most enjoyed the scenes when Coraline is with her other, other mother (her *real* mother) and wished there were more back and forth between the two worlds, instead of such an emphasis on the button-eyed magic garden-turned- spiderweb.
But the reason I really liked Coraline is she is this awesome sprite of a girl who knows what she wants, and knows that she wants to be different. She inpired me. I loved how she fought with her mother about buying striped gloves because it reminded me of how I once hid my catholic school saddle shoes only so that I could wear my brand new bright purple Wildcat sneakers to school. My Mother (not my other mother) actually bought my concocted sob story that my shoes had miraculously lost themselves (I hid them behind the radiator in my bedroom, and they probably are still there right now), and I got to trounce into school like the hippest plaid-jumper wearing girl of the class. Shortly thereafter I went through a phase where I was obsessed with wearing my black ballet leotard under my uniform shirt because I liked the way the black sleeves looked peaking out of the edges of my white shirt. Granted, I probably overheated most days in my second grade classroom, but no one else had black cuffs, so I was assured a spot in the "different" bleachers (it doesn't take much when everyone is in uniform!).
And scrawny Coraline has such a badass outfit in the land of the buttons. She gets to wear these hip blue boots (that I have incidentally been searching for, from Camper, for a couple of years now. I saw then at the Camper store in Soho, NYC and should have bought them when I saw them) and this awesome shirt that is covered with sparkly stars. I mean, the girl already has shocking blue hair, so she's way edgier than I am at heart. But, she reminded me of how much I love it when I have on one of my own "magic" outfits. I know it seems superficial, but when I have enough layers and colors, I feel like this different person that is capable of inventing ideas and collages and multi-layered concepts. As I was walking through the colorful Mission today, I was feeling so hopeful in the sun, like that I might turn the corner, find a secret door, and a labyrinth of new, surprising days and textures. Magic is everywhere, we just sometimes forget to look for it in the back of our own cozy yards or closets!
Thanks little Coraline.
