Went to the popcorn to watch Coraline. It was amazing, I don't think I need to say much more than that. If you at all like stop-motion animation, particularly Nightmare Before Christmas (and even if you prefer Aardman's work to Nightmare), you have to see it. If you at all like Neil Gaiman it should already be obvious that you have to see it. It's been a few months since I read the short YA novel, but I thought the adaptation worked well, capturing much of the book's wonders, and I liked the new character.

I do have one big recommendation, which I share with several others it seems: Do yourself the favor, scrounge out the money to hit your nearest multiplex popcorn stadium and watch it in 3D. The movie was stop motion animated specifically for 3D (no over-the-top "flying right at you" kisch, however) and the added depth gives the miniature sets even more wondrous life. (My eyes were watering after the film because I was afraid of blinking and missing some wondrous small detail.) It might make it to DVD/Blu-Ray in an anaglyph (color lense) format, but you really can't currently beat the polarity technology at a theater set up for so-branded REALD or IMAX3D.

Also, you owe it to small, creative studio Laika to go see it this weekend, because they deserve all the box office numbers opening weekend that they can get for over 3 years of brilliant, beautifully-detailed artistry. I'm certainly not being paid to say that, I really was floored by some of the animation.