Coraline Box #40

The creators of Coraline sent out 50 handmade boxes to some of their favorite bloggers. Each box is unique and includes items from the movie. Box #40 belongs to Ironic Sans and features headless dog bodies:



You can see the rest of the boxes I've found to date here.

*Buy cigar boxes at eBay.

Coraline news roundup

1. Mary Robinette Kowal interviewed Coraline puppeteer Lance Woolen. Among other things, he spoke about perfectionism:

In animation on this scale, if you can see any nick or flaw of any kind, fix it before getting approval for a finished item. I lived in my magnified head goggles up to nine hours a day. More than once, I came home in a fit of depression thoroughly convinced that I was ruining the movie because I was such a ham-fingered clod. In the end, we would poke each other when we caught a flaw, then laugh at the poor sap who missed one little thing that you will never see because it's so small.

Read the whole interview here.

2. The Coraline soundtrack will be available as a digital download from web merchants starting February 3, and will be in stores February 24. You can listen to the tracks, including "Other Father Song" by They Might Be Giants at Amazon.

Coraline video game review

As I warned, the Coraline video game is not a quality product.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Win tickets to the Coraline premiere (and more)

1. KGW (news in Portland) is giving away tickets to the Coraline premiere. All you have to do is write a haiku.

2. BuzzSugar received a button box from Coraline's Other Mother.

3. Gothamist interviewed Henry Selick, who explained why more of the songs They Might Be Giants made didn't make it into the film.

4. Mumble received some Coraline Nike Dunks.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Coraline mystery box swap?

Website My Little Mochi has suggested signing people up to make their own Coraline mystery boxes for swapping. Here's the idea:

1) 50 swappers to create 50 Coraline inspired boxes, but on a much smaller scale.

2) You must fill the box with several Coraline inspired objects. You don't need to see the movie to participate but you must at least familiarize yourself with the movie by viewing the trailer and looking at the movie website.

3) You must line the bottom of your box with red velvet and catalog the items you are sending with paper and pushpins. Refer to the Coraline box link for samples of the original boxes.

4) You must include an envelope with a letter inside the box to the recipient with a short description of its contents.

5) You must include two small black buttons in your box.

6) All the boxes will be numbered and your assigned box number should be attached to the outside of the box.

7) You will need to post pictures of your box on your blog when you receive it.

8) You will send and receive only one box and you will be responsible for all postage costs for the box you send.

9) You will not be receiving a box from the same person you are sending a box to. And you will not know who you will receive a box from.

10) You must have a blog to participate.

If you're interested, contact My Little Mochi. And of course, go here to see photos of the official Coraline boxes.

*Let me emphasize, I'm not hosting the swap, although I'm considering participating.

*Buy cigar boxes at eBay.

Coraline banner ad

This is the terrific Coraline banner ad I mentioned the other day, featuring Bobinsky:



*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

How to make your own Other Mother's Button Box

Donovan Beeson posted step-by step instructions for making your own Other Mother's Button Box.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Another Coraline giveaway

Need coffee is giving away Coraline prize packs.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Coraline news roundup

Photo of detached puppet faces found here.

1. Harry Knowles received one of the 500 Bobinsky-trained circus mice that were made for Coraline. He's posted a photo here.

2. Coraline comes out the same week as Pink Panther 2, the boring, safe choice to take a child to.

If I was responsible for promoting the movie, I'd contact every mommy blogger I could find and tell them:

Sick of movies about princesses looking for their prince? Coraline is from Newbery Award-winning author Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick, the director of The Nightmare Before Christmas. It tells the tale of a young girl who must rely on her own intelligence and courage as she journeys to a magical world and discovers it's far more dangerous than she imagined. She triumphs over adversity and even discovers that her boring old parents aren't so bad after all.

3. Finally, here's a particularly creepy self-portrait inspired by Coraline. (Thanks, Laura.)

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Might want to hold off on ordering the Coraline art book

Cartoon Brew posted a review of Coraline: A Visual Companion. Here's the first few lines:

I’d been forewarned that the art of book for Coraline was not very good, but that didn’t prepare me for the publishing disaster that is Coraline: A Visual Companion. After looking at it in the bookstore recently, I can say with some confidence that this is the single worst ‘art of’ book I’ve ever seen published in conjunction with a major animated release.

Click through to see why the reviewer found the book to be so disappointing.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Homemade button box (and more)

Donovan Beeson didn't receive a button box from Coraline's Other Mother, so she made one herself. She intends to post a how to at Instructables. In the meantime, here's her Etsy shop.



Macy's is giving away a trip to Cabo San Lucas and $500 worth of "Epic Threads" clothing, which you can see here. (Thanks for the tip, Jory.)



Arevolt.com made a stop motion film of the unboxing of a pair of Coraline Nike Dunks.


And finally, Henry Selick, in an interview with MTV, aptly summarizes the difficulty of promoting Coraline: "Some would say it’s too scary for kids, or it’s not scary enough for adults."

He could also add, "boys won't go because it looks like it's for girls. And girls won't go because there's no dating or princesses." Seriously, if you want Coraline to be a success, you should urge everyone you know to go. This film really needs the fans to promote it.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Another pair of Coraline Nike Dunks put on sale at eBay

Josh Rubin received a pair of Coraline Nike Dunks and promptly put them on sale at eBay.

Coraline Moleskine (and more)

Jen Osborn is filling a Moleskine with Coraline-inspired images. You can see more at Flickr, and here's here Etsy shop.

And a few more links:

1. For those who have asked, Dakota Boles spotted Coraline toys at the Virgin Megastore at Downtown Disney in Orlando.

2. More photos of Coraline Nike Dunks.

3. Laura Hall saw a Coraline screening over the weekend and posted her thoughts at Twitter.

*Buy Moleskines at Amazon.

Coraline news roundup

Another set of pretty photos of the Coraline Nike Dunks.

1. Sci Fi Channel's blog interviewed Henry Selick. Here's the most interesting bit:

How much do you worry about this quirky, 3-D animated feature, which is not being released by Disney, finding an audience and making money?

Selick: I could spend all my time worrying about that. There are a lot of things competing for people's attention, and it's challenging to get anyone to go into a theater. Neil is a well known writer, but he's not Stephen King. My name will sell a couple of tickets. We hope that we can get some folks in. We're worried that we're not going to get enough people to experience it in the best possible way, which is on the big screen. But we hope that being different—being stop-motion, being scary, being in 3-D, the unique look and design of it—is the thing that attracts people.

Nike/LAIKA connection notwithstanding, kind of a curious strategy to get shoe bloggers to mention Coraline in the hopes that readers looking for photos of shoes will care about the movie.

2. And M.Crowley sent me a photo of a Coraline-inspired scarf:



*Buy "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.

Coraline Dunny

Custom Coraline Dunny by me. You can see more custom Dunnys at Toycutter.

*Buy Dunnys at eBay.

Steve Fable received a button box

Steve Fable received a button box from Coraline's Other Mother.

It's stunning that some people accepted the unique Coraline boxes and still haven't posted photos. Shameful.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

A book recommendation

There was really no interesting Coraline news today, although you could go here to see someone applying makeup to Neil Gaiman, or go here for the world's shortest Neil Gaiman interview.

So instead, I'd like to take the opportunity to recommend one of my favorite books of the last year. It's called Un Lun Dun, and it's by an author named China Mieville. I hate book reviews that reveal plot, so all I'll say is that it features a heroine that's quite a bit like Coraline and takes place in a London that's somewhat similar to the one explored in The Golden Compass. I actually learned how to pronounce Coraline's name from an interview with Mieville about Un Lun Dun.

It's available at Amazon.

Coraline wearing her Nikes (and more)

These sites each received Coraline Nike Dunks and posted lots of photos, including an image of Coraline wearing a hoodie and Nikes. There's already a pair on sale at eBay.


1. In other Coraline news, here's a nice video of the mirror ad in Los Angeles in action:



There's several photos of the outdoor ad at Flickr.

2. Finally, here's a portrait of Coraline and a cushion inspired by Coraline.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Nike Coraline Dunks, complete with cotton candy

Freshness received a pair of Nike Coraline Dunks, complete with cotton candy. You can see lots more photos here, including one of the shoes glowing in the dark.

*Buy glow in the dark items at eBay.

The concept artist for Coraline interviewed (and more)

Animation World News interviewed Tadahiro Uesugi, a Japanese illustrator who spent over a year creating concept images for Coraline. AWN also posted quite a few of Uesugi's images. Above, you can see his depiction of Coraline, her Other Father, and the self-playing piano (which is very different from the version in the film). Most interesting comment:

I haven't had a chance to meet Neil Gaiman himself, but I drew the designing process upon the story of the Coraline book released in Japan. (By the way, illustrations of the Japanese version of Coraline book are done by a Japanese illustrator.)

I believe this is the Japanese version of Coraline:



I couldn't find a copy at America's Amazon or eBay sites. And I also couldn't find any more information on the artist for the Japanese version. According to Google's translation of the Amazon Japan page, the book is written by author "Neal Gay Man." The title of the book is translated as "Witch of the button and KORARAIN."

Anyway, at least when I looked at the AWN site, it was graced with the only banner ad I've ever enjoyed - - featuring real world and Other Bobinksy. It'll be a darn shame if there's never a real world Bobinsky toy made.

If you like Uesugi's art, you should also check out the slide show at Metropolis I previously mentioned. It featured at least one painting not posted at AWN.

Finally, in other Coraline news, here's another pair of Nike Dunks. Apparently a small percentage will feature large buttons. Seems like a bad idea to make a small percentage extra unique - - the people who win the "mundane" pairs will be left with a bitter feeling.

*Buy books featuring Tadahiro Uesugi's art at Amazon.

New Coraline poster and so much more

Coraline movie poster on sale for $9 at AllPosters.com.

1. Josh Spear received a pair of Coraline Nike Dunks, and seems to indicate he's going to give them away.

2. I've heard some bad feedback on Coraline purchases from Entertainment Earth (particularly slow delivery), so you might want to order from eBay and Amazon. (Of course, I've also suggested you might want to buy in person since there's a bit of a problem with paint rub.)

3. Neil Gaiman really likes the latest Coraline trailer:



But I bet many parents will see it and think (perhaps correctly) that Coraline's too scary for kids.

4. Bill McMullen got a pair of Coraline Dunks, but his don't have the mouse/cat heads or tails.

5. And finally, to everyone who has said nice things about this site, thanks very much. Check out my all purpose blog Super Punch and my custom toy site Toycutter. I bet you'll like them, too. I'm giving away a Yo Gabba Gabba toy right now.

A warning about Coraline toys, another Coraline giveaway, and more

1. You might want to consider only buying Coraline toys in person. Apparently, the dolls are packaged badly, allowing the paint on the tip of Coraline's nose to rub off.

2. Quick Stop Entertainment is giving away Coraline prize packs.

3. Bruce Wright created a terrific Harry Potter-themed mystery box.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Coraline shoes, Coraline doll, and more

(Thanks everyone for the tips.)


"Neil Gaiman's Coraline 10-Inch Doll" can be preordered at WizardUniverse for $36. (Reminds me of the doll being fraudulently sold on eBay.)



There are some great photos of the glow-in-the-dark Coraline Nike Dunks and the big top-themed packaging they come in here. My understanding is that the mouse and cat heads are props from the movie, were attached only to special pairs sent out to bloggers, and won't be attached to the Dunks people can win.


And finally, Tasha Robinson has had it with the Coraline ad campaign:

I loved "Coraline," but I'll be so glad when the publicist finally runs out of alphabet-themed posters and stops emailing me one a day.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

More Coraline products and more Coraline giveaways

Here's a nice photo of the Coraline dolls.

Also:

1. Movieweb is giving away Coraline prize packs.

2. Entertainment Earth has listed Coraline lunch boxes, pillows, and messenger bags (no photos yet).

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

Coraline news roundup

Laura Hall offers a beautiful Polaroid-style photo of a Coraline Button Key.

1. Coraline is neither a cartoon, nor a television show, yet Cartoon Network's mobile store has a free wallpaper available for your phone.

2. Borders has a minisite filled with various Coraline videos, including a video in which Neil Gaiman talks about the wonderful button. Relatedly, you can learn about the history of the button here.

3. Rudy Adler is writing multiple choice questions for a Coraline Dunks giveaway?

4. Photo set featuring a Coraline doll in action.

5. I find it fascinating that Coraline has inspired almost no homemade crafts. Craft's blog hasn't mentioned Coraline a single time.

*Buy buttons at eBay.

Metropolis has an article about the making of Coraline

1. Jade Chang has written an article at Metropolis about the making of Coraline. Fun fact: the sweater that Coraline’s Real World mother wears was made out of a baby sock from Baby Gap.

2. Here's the website of Japanese illustrator, Tadahiro Uesugi, who was hired to "establish the visual vocabulary" of Coraline's world.

*Buy "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.

Another Coraline giveaway

IESB is giving away Coraline prize packages.

*Buy Coraline movie posters at eBay.

Coraline toy news, another button box, and more

1. Turns out the Coraline dolls have interchangeable faces. In this photo, you can see the line where the face can be removed from the head:



Head over to Flickr to see a gruesome photo of the doll with its face removed.


2. MTV's movie page features a Coraline background:




3. Joe Bauldoff received a button box from Coraline's Other Mother.

*Buy Coraline toys at eBay and Amazon.

More Coraline contests

Geeks of Doom is giving away prize packs.

And so is Green Cine.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Great photo of Coraline and her alternate faces

Photo of a Coraline puppet with alternate faces found amongst many more photos at Shannon Tindle's site.

*Buy Coraline toys at Amazon.

Coraline Production Artists Panel in Alhambra, California

Coraline Production Artists Panel at Gallery Nucleus in Alahambra, California:

Are you a fan of the Nightmare before Christmas? Then you should be as excited as we are to see the new stop motion film written by Neil Gainman and directed by Henry Selik, "Coraline."

MEET some of the PRODUCTION ARTISTS that worked on the movie as we will host a panel to discuss their involvment, contribution to the film, and the production process. Free refreshments served.

Afterwards they will be available to chat.

Panel Discussion and Q&A($10)
(2:00 - 4:00)

Artists that will be in attendance are:

Chris Appelhans
Jon Klassen
Shane Prigmore
Shannon Tindle

Tickets are $10 each.

*Buy "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.

More Coraline giveaways

Thanks to a commenter, four more Coraline giveaways:

Animate Clay.

Girl's Life.

myjellybean.

iFanboy.

*Buy the Coraline Graphic Novel at Amazon.

There's a Coraline exhibit at Universal Studios Hollywood

There's a Coraline exhibit at Universal Studios Hollywood. You can see some photos of the exhibit here.

*Buy Coraline toys at Amazon.

Win a Coraline goodie bag at Anim8

Anim8 is also giving away Coraline goodie bags.

*Buy "Coraline: A Visual Companion" at Amazon.

Two more Coraline contests

Dread Central and Back Seat Producers both have several Coraline goodie bags to give away.

*Buy Coraline movie posters at eBay.

Win a Coraline goodie bag

A website called Monsters and Critics is giving away some Coraline goodies:

Three (3) Grand Prize Goodie Bag winners will receive a Coraline Video Game (Wii or PS2 formats TBD), Coraline Book, Coraline Button Key, and Coraline Prize Pack (each pack includes A Coraline Movie Tie in Book, Coraline Button set, Coraline Pen, Coraline T-shirt, Coraline Alphabet Collector Cards, Coraline Bookmark)

Three (3) Runner Up Goodie Bag winners will receive a Coraline Movie Tie in Book, Coraline Button set, Coraline Pen, Coraline T-shirt, Coraline Alphabet Collector Cards, Coraline Bookmark.

To win, just go to this post and comment.

*Buy Coraline keys at eBay.

Coraline news roundup

1. Here's information about buying tickets for opening night in Portland.

2. Here's two glowing reviews.

3. Coraline doesn't open in the UK until May.

*Buy Coraline movie posters at eBay.

Faces on Coraline toys very different from promotional image

The promotional image for the Coraline dolls looks like this:



But a Flickr user ordered the figures and here's what she got:



Dramatically different facial expressions. You can order the toys at Amazon.

UPDATE: The faces are swappable and the eyes can be repositioned.