Taking Coraline into a New Dimension
Henry Selick, director of the big screen, animated Neil Gaiman adaptation Coraline, tells Sci Fi Wire that the reason parts of the film were filmed in 3D was inspired by The Wizard of Oz: "I was always looking for the equivalent of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, going from a black-and-white world to colour. [3-D] would be perfect for Coraline, a girl who in her own life feels confined, there's not room to breathe, it's a little more two-dimensional. When she goes through the magic passageway, she finds a place where she can breathe. It's not a gimmicky thing. It's part of our story." Sci Wire Wire also has details of two scenes from the movie that were previewed for journalists in the States, including two characters, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, performing a three-dimensional opera, shedding their skins to reveal gorgeous waifs beneath. But Coraline ultimately sees the sinister side of her "Other Mother" when her body stretches to nearly twice its original size, contorting into frightening, angular features.
