Feed A Local Animator...Go See Coraline.

Once upon a time, there was a man named Will Vinton. He liked to make cartoons out of clay and became modestly successful at it.

Exhibit A.




Across town there was another man named Phil Knight. He liked to run. In shoes. In really really expensive shoes. Especially because he made the shoes and became overly successful at it.




Exhibit B.


Phil had a son who liked what Will did and wanted to do it too. In an overly simplified and not at all objective version of an otherwise long and more complicated version of the story - Phil got his son secured in a position under Will as an animator...and then performed what was known in the olden times as a "hostile takeover".

Ouch.

Thus dieth Will Vinton Studios and thereafter riseth Laika from its ashes. Or something.

What was to come after was a series of M&M commercials and some whisperings about a movie directed by the man who made Nightmare Before Christmas from the only Neil Gaiman book I ever read...Coraline.

It was too much to hope for, really - the coolness of stop-motion animation combined with the spookiness of Neil Gaiman's writing was more than I could even hope for. I was sure it would have to disappoint.

Then years passed and I forgot all about it.

Suddenly Terry Hatcher is in my city. And I'm all..."get out". What that means is, the movie is made. And it's been released. And so have all the artists who MOVED to this city to work for Laika in making it. Most of them were laid off until Knight could determine whether or not there was a market for this type of filmmaking. Despite the fact that it took us three tries of being turned away at the window before finally seeing the movie...this is apparently still up for debate.

But I don't agree. I'd say the fact that we got assaulted with an Ice Age 3 preview, is a pointed way of reminding us that there's a market for any and all things animated. But that stop-motion is more valuable, as it's a crossover.

Pixar, no matter what Brendan says, is NOT a crossover. Or if it is, it's a selective crossover. Case in point:

Credits end. I take my Gryffendor slipper socks off and replace them with my slip on shoes. Brendan gathers our contraband (non-regulation candies and pop cans):

Me: That was awesome. I'd take that kind of animation and story over Wall-E any day. It's much more visually intruiging.
Brendan: There's no comparison. I think there were several slow moments in this.
Me: See, and I think Wall-E was one really long slow moment.
Brendan: What?! Wall-E was much more.......
~Argument continues all the way to the parking lot~

Anyway, my chickadees...you be the judge. Go see Coraline and tell me if you don't get wrapped up in the magic of what clay can do more than the standard of Pixar's computer animated routine. Even if you don't fall in love with it, you'll have the satisfaction and moral self righteousness of knowing that you helped feed a starving artist.

But whatever you do...stay the hell out of crawlspaces. I don't know how many times I have to warn people but no one ever listens! What's WRONG with you people!?