Agreed Jerry; if this picture is anything to go by. Hopefully we’re in for a treat.

I like Neil Gaiman less than church and learning, but Henry Selick and Laika will get me in the theater despite that.

For the record, the problem I have with Gaiman is the precious, twee quality that permeates his stories, especially his dialog. Ugh. If you’ve read or seen Stardust you’d know what I mean. Selick is so magnetic to me that I keep forgetting this film is based on THAT book. Hurry down February!

Hope Henry Selick can elevate Neil Gaiman’s script above his previous “Mirror Mask” level of pseudo art box office poison. If anyone can pull that off, it’s Selick.

I’ve been waiting for this one… Lookin forward to it!

Looks fresh and lovely! Congratulations to the team @ Laika.
Hopefully more people will see it than just the ones who left their comments here. Dont you just love all the real texture of the characters and the Coraline world the live in! That should
set another milestone in the world of animated filmaking!!

Selick is a great visual stylist and his animation is incredibly smooth, but his characters always leave me feeling a bit cold.

I heard that this film will also be released in 3D… I mean *real* 3D with the glasses and all. I’m pumped.

Henry Selick’s stuff doesn’t seem cold, when compared with, say, “The Corpse Bride”, which featured a weak story with only one character capable of emotional growth and not even those expensive British clockwork puppet heads could divert attention from it. Tim Burton’s name and amazing design sense weren’t enough to make that thing memorable as a film. Henry did outstanding work on both “Nightmare Before Christmas” and the underrated “James and the Giant Peach”, and he’ll probably pull this one off, too. Laika’s got a lot riding on it and animation in places other than Hollywood needs every boost it can get. Despite the carping that turns up on sites like this, a major animated hit lifts all boats, and the industry could use more and more of them in this economy.

Wow! Those clips look GREAT and the animation is outstanding! I CANNOT WAIT for 2009 :-D

So many films to look forward to..

Princess and the Frog, Pixar’s UP, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie… yahoo :-D

Looks like a good year for animation (especially stop motion as Coraline, Mr. Fox, and Frankenweenie will all be stop motion)!

“Tim Burton’s name and amazing design sense weren’t enough to make that thing memorable as a film.”

I actually like Corpse Bride a lot. It has a weak-ish story for sure but nothing it’s not a biggie with me… I think the brilliant animation makes up for it 100%.

I caught some work from this at SIGGRAPH yesterday. I’m looking forward to it.

I was fortunate enough to work with Henry twice-I did some special effects animation on a Pillsbury Dough Boy spot he directed, for the old Colossal Pictures, back when the PDB was an animated puppet. I was also luckey enough to have animated a rare 2D sequence for his brilliant NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS. We’re all rooting for you, Henry—hope it’s a knockout!

http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/08/trailer-watch-s.html

For me, Henry Selick is all about the eye candy. Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorite films. So is Fantasia. but I’m not going to pretend that either of them has the character depth, the tight story, or the emotional pull of the average Pixar film. It’s okay to create a mind-blowing piece of art and let it go at that.

I don’t have any preconceptions about Coraline, but I’m rooting for its success.