We don’t know how many of our Rome-loving readers have been keeping up with the making of the movie Coraline, an animation-filled horror-fairytale based on the Neil Gaiman book, Coraline. If you’ve not yet been swept up by the Coraline craze, it’s time to join the movement!
What’s it all about? Gaiman’s book tells the dark story of a scrappy 11-year old girl named Coraline. After she and her reclusive parents move into an old house, Coraline asks her mother about a mysterious locked door. Her mother unlocks it to reveal that it leads nowhere: “When they turned the house into flats, they simply bricked it up,” her mother explains. But something about the door attracts the girl, and when she later unlocks it herself, the bricks have disappeared. Through the door, she travels a dark corridor (which smells “like something very old and very slow”) into a world that eerily mimics her own, but with sinister differences. “I’m your other mother,” announces a woman who looks like Coraline’s mother, except “her eyes were big black buttons.” Coraline eventually makes it back to her real home only to find that her parents are missing–they’re trapped in the shadowy other world, of course, and it’s up to their resourceful daughter to save them.
The movie is being made by Laika Studios (founded by Phil Knight, co-founder and Chair of Nike) and is being touted as the first stop-motion animated feature to be shot entirely in 3-D. Scheduled to open in theaters tomorrow, February 6th, the past few months have seen the Coraline team hard at work promoting the film in a most creative way: they’ve been sending out handmade boxes full of artfully crafted goodies to blogs they follow. You can check-out a round-up of these treasure troves here.
Other blogs that the Coraline team favors (and we’re thrilled that eCool is among them!) have been receiving smaller boxes from your “Other Mother.” We got one of those and along with a letter from our “Other Mother” that reads:
Hello There, Dear.
I’m your other mother. Didn’t know you had an other mother? Everyone does. It’s natural, you see, for anyone who has ever wished for a better life to find me. I can be whatever you need. In our other world, I’ll make you a home where everything is right. You’ll eat the best dinners ever. Get service with a smile. Meet neighbors who aim to please. With talented rodents that entertain. And witness gardents that bloom on command.
Trust me. This is a world exactly as you’ve wished for.
Perhaps you’re wondering how to get this dream-come-true. What would it take? Turns out, just a bit of needle and thread, and your eyeballs. So sharp, you won’t feel a thing.
I made this special button box for you by hand. It’s exactly like the box I made for Coraline. She’ll be coming to visit this February. I’ve hand-made her entire world. Every leaf, drawer pull, and roasted turkey. You are welcome to explore my other world, if you’re especially curious. Or have misgivings.
This is not a secret I hope you won’t want to share. I have love to give and plenty of buttons to sew.
Visit me at Coraline.com. You could stay forever if you want to.
Love,
Your Other Mother
We don’t know when the movie will make it to Rome, but we can’t wait. If you want more info, visit www.Coraline.com. You’ll spend hours.
