Wow. I can’t say much more than that. Friday night, TJ & I saw Coraline, and we were also lucky enough to see it in 3D. I was skeptical about how the 3D effect would work – especially since we both wear glasses – but it took my breath away. Literally.
Everything in this stop-motion film was hand-made, and that was the draw of it for me. At the ArcLight Theater in Hollywood, they displayed of some of the movie’s set pieces. The detail that went into each little piece was unbelievable – especially in my favorite character, Mr. Bobinsky (right). He had the tiniest corkscrew hairs on his chest & arms. And the details like his knee brace and the medal on his chest really sealed the deal on his character for me. Oh, and his love of cheese.
I can’t imagine the patience it must have taken to create such a stunning film. Every second of the film required 24 separate frames – that’s stopping & adjusting the characters & sets 24 different times for each SECOND of film. The crew of almost 400 people worked 50-hour weeks just to produce about 5 minutes of footage per month. All of this adjusting of the characters took its toll on the delicate parts of them. Artists worked nonstop for two years just making replacement hands for Coraline alone. (More info on the making of the film here.)
The characters’ clothes were another draw for me. In my attempt to make the clothes for TJ’s puppets, I learned just how hard it is to work with such tiny garments. And, after watching this video, I learned I didn’t even know the half of it.
You must be logged in to post a comment.