The Coraline movie premieres on February 6, and what better way to count down the days than to read, or reread, the award-winning children’s book by Neil Gaiman?
When Coraline explores her new home, she steps through a door and into another house just like her own… except that it’s different. It’s a marvelous adventure until Coraline discovers that there’s also another mother and another father in the house. They want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to keep her forever.
Coraline must use all of her wits and every ounce of courage in order to save herself and return home.
Coraline: The Movie Collector’s Edition is a new hardcover edition of the 2002 novel. It retains the original book’s interior illustrations by Dave McKean, but now has a movie art cover and an eight-page insert of full-colour images from the film. A section at the back of the book, entitled “Extra Delights for the Coraline Reader”, features a note from Neil Gaiman about director/screenwriter Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach), a note from Henry Selick about author Neil Gaiman, and an excerpt from Henry Selick’s screenplay for Coraline. Even if you have the first edition of Coraline, the Movie Collector’s Edition is well worth getting for these bonus materials.
Serving as a bridge between the novel and film is Coraline: A Visual Companion by Stephen Jones. This weighty coffee table book, with a foreword by Neil Gaiman, is a comprehensive guide to the making of the Coraline movie, divided in four parts:
- The Book
- The Movie
- The Characters, and
- The Other Coralines, a catch-all category covering Coraline‘s related projects:
- the 2004 short student film of Coraline that combined live-action and cut-out animation.
- the 2006 Neil Gaiman tribute CD, Where’s Neil When You Need Him?, with three songs inspired by Coraline.
- the 2006 touring stage production of Coraline by Irish theatrical puppet troupe Púca Puppets.
- the 2007 touring stage production of Coraline by Swedish children’s and youth theater group Mittiprickteatern.
- the 2008 Coraline graphic novel adaptation by P. Craig Russell.
- the 2009 Coraline: The Game, D3Publisher of America’s game adaptation of the film for PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and Wii.
- the 2009 Coraline musical, a theatrical adaptation with music and lyrics by Stephin Merritt and book by David Greenspan, produced by MCC Theater and True Love Productions off-Broadway at The Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York, set to have its world premiere on May 6.
- movie tie-in marketing campaigns, such as in-store promotions with American fast-food restaurant chains Macy’s and Carl’s Jr., cards and gift-wrap at Hallmark, and toys created by NECA.
Glossy pages trace Coraline‘s path from novel to stop-motion film in lush detail, accompanied by a wealth of behind-the-scenes production photos, preliminary sketches, illustrations, character designs, conceptual art, and completed images from the movie. Interviews with cast members Dakota Fanning (“Coraline”), Teri Hatcher (“Mother/Other Mother”), Ian McShane (“Mr. Bobinski”), Jennifer Saunders (“Miss Forcible”), and Dawn French (“Miss Spink”) — John Hodgman (“Father/Other Father”) curiously absent — and the film’s crew, including Neil Gaiman, add further insight into the film’s creative process. Coraline: A Visual Companion is a peek behind the animated curtain “that will appeal to Gaiman fans, cinema buffs, visual art enthusiasts, and all those who fall in love with the inquisitive young heroine of Henry Selick’s extraordinary film.”
Once you’ve read Coraline, and spent time in its Other World, you’ll never look at buttons the same way again. (Trivia Note: The fear of buttons is known as “koumpounophobia”.)
Order now at Amazon.com:
Coraline: The Movie Collector’s Edition (Canada)
Coraline: The Movie Collector’s Edition (US)
Coraline: A Visual Companion (Canada)
Coraline: A Visual Companion (US)
Coraline: The Movie Collector’s Edition and Coraline: A Visual Companion are distributed by HarperEntertainment and William Morrow, imprints of HarperCollinsCanada and HarperCollins Publishers. For more information on Coraline, visit the Neil Gaiman website and its related website for young readers, Mouse Circus. Neil Gaiman may also be followed on Twitter.