Coraline

My husband and I took our 2 daughters, ages 5 1/2 and 8 1/2, to see "Coraline" on Saturday. They were not scared by it, but they are not easily scared by things in movies. The movie is VERY creepy, though, and there are some parts which might scare your daughter, even give her nightmares. It is like a Grimm's fairy tale with the lesson being "be careful what you wish for". No one in my family liked the movie. The 3D effects were really good (not the kind that pop out to scare you, but more used to give you the feeling you are there). The backgrounds are really beautiful, but we thought all of the characters were rather ugly. The movie did not make us care about any of the characters, it was rather empty emotionally. One scene my husband and I thought was inappropriate for kids involves a neighbor of Coraline's who is a fat, old very busty lady that is a performer. The neighbor is performing a show and wearing pasties on her very large breasts. If I remember correctly, her bottom half was barely covered as well. It was really rather disturbing! Anyway, "Coraline" was directed by the same man who directed "The Nightmare Before Christmas" which my family all loves. We were hoping it would be like that movie, a little creepy, but also sweet. Coraline was VERY creepy and not at all sweet. There is a great website for parents called Kids in Mind. They review movies and give a very detailed explanation of anything and everything that might be inappropriate for kids. It goes way beyond the usual MPAA ratings. Here is the link: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/ Just click on the "C" at the top of the page to search for "Coraline". Good for you for checking things out before you go see it.

Go to screenit.com (It will ask you to join, but scroll down to the bottom and click on no thanks and it will take you to the free reviews) This website reviews movies for parents. It's extremely detailed and give you enough information to make a decision for your particular child. When I glanced at the review there was quite a lot listed under "frightening scenes", but I didn't read any of the details.

We only saw the previews and my 6 1/2 year old told me that he doesn't want to see it at all.
It really did seem creepy (in a bad way) and not very nice.
Just my two cents,
R.

Its amazing how these movies attrack young children. My 7 and 5 year old kids REALLY wants to see this, but the previews looked creepy so I said NO. I am glad I read more info here about it because they keep asking and I might have said well, maybe its not too bad.

My ten year old and I saw it yesterday and I was pretty disappointed in the movie as was she. It wasn't the creepy factor per sey, though I could see it be a little too much for smaller ones, but as one mom said, the theater scene with the burlesque type dancing was over the line inappropriate, there's not much difference between the "real" thing and what was in the movie, I would not have wanted my son to see that kind of near nudity in a cartoon. I wouldn't waste my $18 on it - we certainly regret it....

My nephew, who is grown just saw it and said there were tons of kids in their who were going to have nightmares

I think it is absolutely inappropriate to have a burlesque scene with a woman with huge boobs wearing pasties, in a movie for children. Only a man could make a decision to put this scene in a movie for children, because men live in a boob-obsessed world. So, its no big deal. It is so wrong to expose children to this. Here in the 21st century, girls can grow up without ever being exposed to burlesque, if they choose. Why expose them to this.

No, I think 6 is too young for this movie. I took my 9 year old and she got scared. Several younger kids started crying and had to be removed from the theater by their parents. I was surprised at the "scariness" of the villain character after she transformed, but I probably should have known given that it is a Tim Burton film.