6 Years of Dreaming ...

Well, it's finally here -- Coraline the movie!!! It was six years ago this April when I first discovered this fantastic novel by Neil Gaiman. Although I had heard of him long ago (via my good friend & artist, Dave Laub), this was the first of his novels that I had read. It remains one of my favorites (if not the favorite) of his works, and spoke to me fiercely ... so much so that I raced to my computer the day after I finished Coraline, burning with the need to somehow, someway acquire the rights to make a film of this story that had grabbed a hold of my imagination and wouldn't let go ... only to be crushed mere seconds into my search by the fact that the rights had been gobbled-up before the book had even been printed!!! That the director would be Henry Selick, the wonderfully visionary director behind The Nightmare Before Christmas, and James and the Giant Peach was somewhat consoling, but my "loss" remained a brutal blow.

We took our entire family to see it (all 8 of us!!!), and I was swept away by Henry's wonderful interpretation! I was worried that it might not retain the flat-out scares and terror of the book, but the sense of peril and maleficence was quite tangible -- my little 4-year old didn't enjoy the "Other Mother's" rampage so much. (I kind-of liked that it scared him a little ... I'm not sure what that says about my parental sensibilities ...)

So make sure you go and see it (especially in a 3D-equipped theater if at all possible) ... highly recommended!!!

I also wanted to mention that Mr. Gaiman just won the prestigious Newberry Medal for his latest novel, The Graveyard Book. It is yet another astoundingly entertaining read, but for maximum enjoyment, I recommend listening to him read it himself. (I mean, who could possibly do it any better?) Congratulations, Neil!!!