Y’know that old yet reliable adage “if it’s too good to be true then it probably is”? Coraline reminds us that the greener grass is sometimes full of fertilizer.

Young little Coraline (Dakota Fanning) and her family move to a new state and a new home. Both of her parents (voiced by Teri Hatcher & John Hodgman) are too preoccupied with their gardening catalog to play with their homesick daughter. Coraline discovers a doorway to a parallel dimension with alternate versions of Mom & Dad.

Save for the button eyes, the loving couple is way cooler than her real folks. “Other Mom” cooks scrumptious banquets and makes gorgeous clothes for Coraline while “Other Dad” takes time out to chat and write songs about his darling princess. Coraline is on top of the world until she finds out there’s a mighty hefty price for hanging out in Fantasyville.

Accalimed fantasy writer, Neil Gaiman, wrote this charming fairy tale and Coraline bears a few striking resemblances to the 2005 Gaiman / Henson film, Mirrormask. Both featured a young and plucky heroine that was frustrated with the parental units. Both girls travel to fantastical dimensions populated with all sorts of kooky creatures. And eventually both would have to participate in a battle of wits with the head villain. Despite the similarities I wouldn’t call Coraline a spitting image of Mirrormask.

The first obvious difference is that Coraline is animated through a combination of CGI and stop-motion photography. Just like The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, Coraline utilizes the film style of those lovable Rankin/Bass specials and enhances the classic tech with modern technology. I saw the 3D version of Coraline and I was amazed with the visuals, overall, but especially the tight shots. The first scene shows a rag doll being made and I just couldn’t tell what was real and what was digital. The fuzz on the yarn and the little weaves in the burlap made my mind go blank. I just could not differentiate between the two visual technologies for the majority of the film. To me, that’s a good thing. We should be at the point where the strings are completely erased and the bluescreen shadows are totally undetectable.

Coraline’s family do not work in a circus. Dad is a writer and Mom is an editor. Both are so focused on their work that it forces Coraline to pull out all the stops just to get one of them to turn his/her head toward her. It’s the sad but tragically familiar case of the workaholic parent that manages to accomplish everything except sparing a couple of minutes to love the baby. Yes, it can be argued that Coraline’s parents are just doing what they can to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. But their selfish acts help to push Coraline away and closer to that magical realm of custom sweaters & all-you-can-eat cotton candy.

Going back to the visuals, I must remark on that wonderful “other” land. While I’m sure the 2D version is stunning you really should make every effort to see the 3D take on things. When the door was opened a billowy blue chute stretched out before my eyes. After passing through to the other side I saw luminescent flowers, acrobatic mice leaping across my nose, and a theater full of Scottish terriers. Yes, that’s what I said. All the seats. Filled. By black Scottish terriers. The most outstanding visual, for me, was Coraline’s first feast with the Other parents. A roast turkey with mashed potatoes, bread rolls and even a gravy train. I’m talking an adorable mini choo-choo running across the table, stopping at Coraline’s plate and pouring the gravy on her potatoes for her. The three dimensional steam emanating from that dinner table was sheer torture. I bet half the audience beelined to Boston Market right after the show.

The voice talent is very impressive starting with Coraline herself. With a vivid blue mop of hair and a spunky attitude the titular heroine is extremely likable. Dakota Fanning injects the enthusiastic image with that personality that teeters between the love of teddy bears and the distaste with being patted on the head like a baby. Based on Coraline’s introductory scene depicting her dowsing for water I knew she would be a memorable and quirky character. Teri Hatcher does triple duty as Mom, Other Mom, and The Beldam. Sorry, I can’t tell you much about Beldam except that’s she’s a very mean witchy lady.

Ian McShane voices the uber-eccentric upstairs neighbor, Mr. Bobinsky. Bobinsky has a marvelous talent for acrobatic feats and gets plenty of opportunities to show it. Legendary comedy duo Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French play the downstairs neighbors Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, respectively. The two roomies are a retired performing act that spends their twilight years caring for their beloved Scottish terriers and advising Coraline through tealeaf readings. Last but never least is the beloved voice of Keith David as a black cat that helps Coraline to see the truth behind her Other parents.

Bruno Coulais composed the music with a contribution from They Might Be Giants. The score is a really neat mix of kid choirs, modern jazz and the usual big screen orchestronics. I especially loved the choir vocals though I must admit that I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Either it was meant to be incomprehensible or French. I could also describe Coraline’s score as a mix of Danny Elfman and Mirrormask’s Iain Ballamy.

While this is essentially a kid or family film there were times when I felt the filmmakers might’ve forgotten the audience they were targeting. There are a few moments when the story would get very dark. I mean, even darker than The Nightmare Before Christmas. Another scene also pushed the envelope on sexual content when Miss Forcible performs on stage as the Botticelli version of Venus. Luckily, the glittery pastees covered all the right spots but with her junk in the trunk and under the hood I wonder if some of the younger members of the audience got a fast track to puberty.

I enjoyed Coraline. Sure the story is familiar but the stage is different and the characters are original enough to keep things fresh. Whether in 2D or 3D Coraline will entertain you. Of course, I recommend the 3D version. I say, if you’re gonna see it then you should see it in style. If the previews are any indication it looks like Coraline is the kickoff to 2009: The Year of Real 3D. www.coraline.com