Over 21 years ago, English author Neil Gaiman invited stop-motion director Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas – The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peachand, yes, Monkey bones) to adapt his latest novella, a horror fable for children entitled Coralline. Seven years later, the film – starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Keith David, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Ian McShane – was released in glorious 3D.

Stop motion animation is all about detail, subtlety and care. Hundreds of hands, thousands of hours, a million moving parts – all working in tandem to create something that appears seamless and complete. And yet, to celebrate perhaps this greatest achievement, I choose ruthless devotion, a critical approach like a bull in a china shop. I am here to convince you that not only Coralline will not always hold up even after all these years, but that with its five by no means exaggerated claims it could well be one of the best films of all time.

Buckle up guys, I’m ready to show off my work.

1. Coralline is the best Neil Gaiman adaptation of all time

Neil Gaiman is one of the most prolific modern fantasy/horror writers since Stephen King, working in everything from television and film to comics and, of course, literature. With its mythological imagery and broad narrative sweep, his work is ripe for adaptation and has been adapted many times. The most well-known of these adaptations have been three streaming series that have emerged in the last half-decade: American Gods, A good omenAnd The SandmanAs far as streaming series go, they fall somewhere between very good and almost completely forgettable. Then there is Gaiman’s script for Beowulf, by the way, another attempt at visual 3D mastery that is as confusing and visually repulsive as Coralline is brilliant. Ultimately, none of these titles provides a convincing argument for even coming close to the creative output of Corallinethat takes a small, self-contained fable and expands it into something unforgettable.

2. Henry Selick is the greatest stop motion director of all time

If you know anything about stop-motion adaptations, you probably know that the medium is incredibly difficult and time-consuming. Although the modern history of stop-motion stretches back to 1933 and King Kong’s ascent to the top of the Empire State Building, there aren’t exactly many directors who have made this their life’s work. Even Selick, who has only made one film outside of the medium, was only able to make four stop-motion films over the course of his 30-plus year career. And he’s not alone. Legends of the genre include artists like Rankin and Bass (Santa Claus is coming to town), Will Vinton (The Californian raisins) and Ray Harryhausen (The Golden Voyage of Sinbad) – none of them could surpass Selick’s output. Even Wes Anderson, whose meticulousness and all-consuming artistry make him perfect for such a medium, has only dipped his toes into the world of stop motion, albeit with one of the genre’s most enduring contributions. The Fantastic Mr. Fox (wasn’t there something called “Island of Dogs” sometime?).

The lengthy process means that you absolutely have to find the movies you Do and this is where Selick really begins to stand out from the crowd. From 1996’s macabre, nightmarish James and the Giant Peach Adaptation of the criminally underrated psycho trip of 2022 Wendell & Wild, Selick has built a unique filmography that aims to explore the darkest sides of the human psyche. Then there are Coraline’s next cousin, Nightmare Before Christmas – The Nightmare Before Christmas. That’s right, Henry Selick directed Nightmare Before Christmas – The Nightmare Before Christmas. Read that again. Did you notice Tim Burton’s name anywhere? Me neither. If you take anything away from this part of my argument, it’s this: Burton has been tailing Selick for too long, enjoying unimagined gains in merchandise sales and an inflated reputation because Spielberg put his producer name above the title of a film that is still as iconic as it was when it was released in 1993.

The only real competitor for Selick’s title is Nick Park, creator of Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheepand crossover hit Chicken race. Park, like Selick, is fully committed to stop-motion filmmaking and the relative insanity of working in that medium. Although his films are undoubtedly charming, imaginative and very British, Park essentially works in one mode, repeating not only the characters from film to film but also the well-rounded, pleasant animation style. Selick’s characters (with the exception of Jack Skellington) may not be as immediately recognizable, but the films themselves – ingenious, baroque and sometimes radical – far surpass the quirky delights of even Park’s best films.

3. Coralline is the greatest achievement in ensemble synchronization

There is a longer article to be written about the declining art of voice acting in modern films, but it has become clear that it has become far more important to associate big names with a film than whether those actors are right for the role (please spare me any more voice actor castings for Chris Pratt, I beg you). Perhaps it is fortunate that stop-motion animation prevents such star-hunting. Because films like Coralline Because production takes so long, there is no point in turning to the biggest names of the moment, who will probably be long gone by the time the film finally hits theaters. Dakota Fanning, for example, signed on to play Coraline in 2005 when she was 11, only to have the film released at 15. That’s the difference between her role as a little girl in Wilbur and Charlotte the Pig and played Cherie Currie in The outliers.

This gave Selick and his colleagues the opportunity to cast the roles purely on the basis of fit, resulting in some of the best voice acting this century. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a Teri Hatcher fan, but her portrayal of both Coraline’s overworked, constantly irritated mother and her increasingly clingy and eventually cobwebby “other mother” makes one wonder why her second appearance was on Wisteria Lane rather than in the voice booth. John Hodgeman is equally adept at playing the two sides of Coraline’s father – part harried patriarch, part vaudevillian henchman – giving even moments of levity meaningful undertones.

The voice acting really shines, however, when the story’s supporting characters appear. Ian McShane as potbellied acrobat Sergei Alexander Bobinsky! British comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French as the indelible Spink and Forcible! Keith David, arguably one of the greatest voice actors of our time, delivers his lovely tones as Coraline’s wildest companion, the cat! Aside from this role, each of these performances must change dramatically when moving from the ‘real’ world to the ‘other’ world, a nuance that is deftly handled by all involved.

4. Coralline is the best film of 2009

*cracks knuckles* It is time to construct a truly irrefutable argument that no one can find fault with. Coralline was, is, and will always be the best film of 2009. When Gaiman first handed the film to Selick, the story contained enough material for what he claimed would be a 47-minute film. The framework was there, but Selick and Co. still had to flesh things out. In many ways, the solution was radically simple. So many animated films (and children’s films in general) are so afraid of losing our attention that they never really earn it. The Other World, in all its fantastical glory, is clearly the selling point of Coralline. But rather than plunge headfirst down the rabbit hole, Selick lets the film’s first act unfold slowly, immersing us in the painful boredom of Coraline’s new home. This is a place where a kink in the carpet and a window-counting expedition are considered “fun,” and drab grays contrast sharply with Coraline’s blue hair and bright yellow raincoat.

When the film breaks from obscurity and plunges into a tunnel of lavish indulgences, we are swept along. Even if we recognize the corruption at its core before our hero does, who among us is not charmed by breakfast for dinner and a piano that literally plays its player? Coraline simply wants what we all crave: attention. Of course, this attention comes with a few button-shaped conditions that make for a truly unsettling final act. Like any great fable, Coralline is both simple in structure and endlessly analyzable, a fever dream and a Freudian nightmare from a dozen distorted perspectives. Arguments for other heavyweights of 2009 abound: A Serious Man, Ponyo, Inglourious Basterds, Avatar, The Hurt Locker, or the already mentioned The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Some of these films have made more money, some have won more Oscars, but none have reached the consistent highs of Coralline.

5. Coralline is the best animated film of the century

If my argument for Coralline being the best film of 2009 is about the execution of its story, my argument here focuses on the sheer impossibility of its creation. I’ve already spilled a lot of ink on the harrowing experience of stop-motion animation in general, but this is without a doubt the pinnacle of the medium. You can any number from Featurettes to get an idea of ​​the scale of the undertaking, but really it’s all on screen. Even with the behind the scenes knowledge of how they did it, you can’t really imagine something like the Amazing Garden or the Dancing Mouse Circus and the sheer amount of creative work that goes into the entire film. Hold any picture of Coralline and you have achieved a greater artistic achievement than the entire history of Illumination Studios.

Of course there is tougher competition than the Minions, but it is the way Coralline synthesizes the best that animation can do and sets itself apart from the rest. The artistic grandeur of Through the Spider-Verse, the subtle narrative magic of WALL E, the unique imagination of Don Hertzfeldt and the rodent antics of Ratatouille, Coralline is simply the best. I’m so glad we all agree.