Movie #63 Corline

I first saw the 2009 animated film Corline in theaters very early in the 3-D movement.  At the time I remember it being very inspired by the animated films of Tim Burton.  Corline is the story of a young girl who's parents love her, but don't pay a lot of attention to her.  In truth both her parents are kind of jerks to her.  They have just moved to a new house and Corline is bored silly.  So she begins to explore her new digs.  She meets a neighborhood boy and befriends him, or as much as any head strong little girl befriends any strange little boy.  She also finds a small door behind some furniture.  This door is a portal to a world similar to her own with a few exceptions.  Her mom in that world (called her other mother) seems to love her and drowned her in affection.  Another difference is her other mother has buttons for eyes.  In fact everyone in this alternate reality has buttons for eyes.  And as you might expect Corline has to choose which world she wants to inhabit.  And the other world is hiding a sinister secret!

This time I watched Corline with my daughters.  They seemed to like the film, but they like almost anything animated.  I enjoy the films and think it is one of the most imaginative cartoons I have seen in a while.  But it does have some serious flaws.  The story is all over the board.  I found it very difficult to follow even after watching it a second time.  There are "rules" established for the new world and then they are broken as soon as the are set up.  It reminds me now of the new Tron movie (blog to come).  There are dreams and daydreams and reality and pseudo reality and they all blend together too much.  If that was the directors intent it was well done but for me it made it hard to follow.

The basic story was top notch.  It was; sometimes your parents are busy and not nice people, but that doesn't mean that they don't love you.  I found that honesty very refreshing.  The animation was solid.  It did add a few Matrix-like elements that I thought didn't work, but it was way more inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas.  And I mean that in a good way.  I remember the 3-D being weak and not really adding anything to the final product.

It is a mature message for kids.  There isn't anything repulsive about the movie and I didn't hesitate to show it to my tween kids.  I did see this the first time with a friend and I remember him telling me that the scene with the old lady circus performances was not appropriate for kids because one of the women has extremely large breasts.  I didn't find it that offensive or off putting.  That may say more about me than him or the film though.

Over all I give Corline a 3/5 stars.  See for your at the Trailer Park.