( CNN ) -- There is a lot of excitement around the potential of `` stereoscopic '' movies ( `` 3-D '' to you and me ) . Much of it has been drummed up by director James Cameron 's forthcoming blockbuster `` Avatar '' and Dreamworks boss Jeffery Katzenberg , who is releasing more than a dozen 3-D pictures this year . The title character looks over a note from her `` other parents '' in `` Coraline . '' After seeing `` Beowulf '' and `` Journey to the Center of the Earth , '' two recent entries in the 3-D sweepstakes , it was easy to conclude that this fad would n't last any longer than it did last time around , in the 1950s . But after seeing the captivating `` Coraline , '' the first stereoscopic stop-motion animated feature , I 've changed my mind . Maybe this really is the next phase for motion pictures -- and what 's more , maybe that 's not such a bad thing . In the hands of `` Nightmare Before Christmas '' director Henry Selick , 3-D is n't a gimmick or the ocular equivalent of an obstacle course . It 's an aesthetic enhancement , layering the story and literally bringing depth and texture to the visuals . Adapted by Selick from Neil Gaiman 's novella ( the same Neil Gaiman who co-scripted `` Beowulf , '' incidentally ) , `` Coraline '' is a contemporary fairy tale about a bored , blue-haired 11-year-old kicking around a big old house in rainy , empty Oregon . Her parents are writers . They basically leave her to her own devices , so when Coraline ( voiced by Dakota Fanning ) discovers a diminutive door hidden behind the wallpaper , her mom ( Teri Hatcher ) agrees to fish out the key , revealing ... a brick wall . It 's only at night , when she dreams , that the door magically opens to a tunnel , and Coraline passes through to the house next door : a fabulous mirror image of her own home , right down to an identical mom and dad . Identical , except that these parents give her pancakes , presents and their full attention . That , and the buttons stitched into their skulls where their eyes should be . Any parent will immediately recognize that this `` other mother '' and `` other father '' are too good to be true ( they 're prettier and more talented , and they obviously do n't work for a living ) , but Coraline is entranced by the dazzling , super-saturated night-world , with its garden of snapping dragons , a circus of performing mice and all the treats she can eat . In her dreams , the grass is n't just greener -- it 's emerald . In one of Selick 's embellishments on the novel , there 's a facsimile of the only other child in the valley . He 's an irritating boy named Wybie , who 's very much improved in his all-smiling , mute incarnation , in Coraline 's opinion . At least until he musters up a scowl ... Selick 's movie can be intense and even disturbing ; it could easily freak out impressionable adults , let alone their offspring . But I prefer to think of it as a feel-good movie for overworked parents . There 's also a redoubtable talking cat ( voiced by Keith David ) to ensure that everything will come out all right . Tapping into primal fantasies and fears , the film also echoes classic fantasy stories from the Brothers Grimm , Lewis Carroll and L. Frank Baum . The tunnel suggests the rabbit hole Alice fell down , and the crazy mirror manner in which the `` other '' world reflects back on reality reminds us of the doubling of actors in the film version of Oz . `` Coraline '' is n't perfect . I could have done without either the downstairs neighbors -- two elderly showgirls -- or the acrobatic Russian barker upstairs ( a little carny goes a long way ) . But the whimsy is always offset with comic mischief and the menace of Hatcher 's genuinely creepy Other Mother . The model work is extraordinary in its eccentric , jury-rigged genius . A shower spouts rusty water -- fabricated from plastic , apparently . And if you examine the blooms in Other Father 's garden too closely , you might see they have been fashioned from popcorn . You ca n't taste it -- not yet -- but in its 3-D incarnation ( about half the movie 's release prints will be in traditional 2-D ) , you 'll feel you could reach out and touch . With an dreamily sinister and seductive score by Bruno Coulais , `` Coraline '' never stops taking artistic risks . I hope there 's a brave enough audience out there willing to take the plunge . `` Coraline '' runs 100 minutes and is rated PG . For Entertainment Weekly 's take , click here .
`` Coraline '' makes the most of its 3-D -- and its clever , creative storytelling . Movie is based on Neil Gaiman story about girl who finds new set of parents . `` Coraline '' is intense but also whimsical and wonderful .