Coraline-No!

Arggghhh! No, it isn't International Talk Like a Pirate Day (that's not until September!). I typed up a rather long post on my smart phone, but it disappeared somewhere in Wal-Mart.. (The review, not the phone.) So I shall begin again. Okay...I got that out of my system. Now it's time for a review.

SPOILER ALERT

Coraline was, I believe, the WORST kids movie we've ever seen. And we've seen a lot of kid's movies. My kids (and hubby and I!) have been enjoying the previews for some time. We expected a little bit of dark plot, but my kids (3 and 5) were quite scared in parts. The 11 year old seemed to enjoy it. We did not see the 3 D version, but I don't think my little ones would have made it through. At one point, I did consider taking the kids out, but I felt that if they didn't see the story resolved, it would leave them open to more nightmares.

My complaints:

Themes
They were too intense for a kid's movie (PG). There were kidnapped children, some of whom were held in captivity until they died and are now ghosts trying to find freedom. The parents didn't just ignore their daughter, they told her to leave them alone while they worked. (At one point I turned to my husband and asked if we needed to call child protective services?) There was an insinuation about cannibalism. The cat mentioned "she might eat you". The ghost kids said she would "eat your life".

Boobs.
The downstairs (elderly) neighbors apparently were burlesque dancers. Their were posters on the wall celebrating movies such as "Julius Sees Her" and "King Leer". One of the women had quite large breasts and several jokes (both spoken and sight gags) were made or implied. Again, I turned to my husband and said, "Those boobs are totally inappropriate for a kid's movie." But it got worse! During one of her trips to the other side, Coraline was treated to a theater presentation. One neighbor was dressed like a mermaid (mostly dressed). The other (the large breasted one) came out in a G-string and pasties. She danced around and fought with the other girl. I was quite disturbed by the dance. It seemed totally inappropriate for a kid's movie. Here's a link to a picture of Miss Forcible. And here she is dancing.

As I was writing this review, I Googled the movie and found nothing but praise for it. Maybe something was lost in the 2D version, but this is one animated movie that we won't be buying.