As the February 2009 release date for "Coraline" gets closer, lead voice actress Dakota Fanning isn't hesitant to give the film sincere praise (and the occasional sneak-peek behind the scenes of the production).
"I have seen a sneak preview of about 20 minutes and its absolutely amazing -- it’s insane!" exclaimed Fanning regarding the film and possible Broadway musical. "It’s 3-D stop-motion animation and it looks real, seriously. The hair is real. The clothes are real. It is like a real movie, just miniature. I went to see the sets and some of them are humongous. The models and animators are just geniuses. They’ve been working on it for three years. I finally finished all the voiceovers. I think we’re all done."
However, when asked what she thought of the source material, Fanning claims to have never read either the original Neil Gaiman-penned novel or the recently released graphic novel adaptation (written by Gaiman and illustrated by longtime cohort, P. Craig Russell). In fact, Fanning said she's only read one graphic novel, and both the book and the reason why she had to read it are equally surprising.
"The only graphic novel I ever read was '300,'" said Fanning, referring to Frank Miller's uber-violent tale-turned-motion picture. "It was actually my summer reading one year -- for my freshman year it was my summer reading. It was the coolest summer reading ever!"
Be sure to stay tuned to Splash Page for more news on "Coraline" in the coming weeks.
Are you excited about "Coraline?" What other comics do you think would benefit from this type of animation? Discuss in the comments.