Coraline 3-D ***1/2

Cast (voices): Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saundes, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey Jr., Ian McShane
Director: Henry Selick
Running Length: 1:40
MPAA Classification: PG

Coraline Jones (Fanning) and her family have just moved to an old mansion in the middle of nowhere. Her mother (Hatcher) and father (Hodgman) are writers with little time for her, so she spends her days exploring. She meets a lot of strange people that living in the area, including the next-door neighbor, Wybie Lovat (Bailey) and his cat; two sisters (Saunders and French); and the "circus man," Mr. Bobinsky (McShane). But, the most interesting thing that she finds is a hidden door that appears to lead nowhere, until one night it leads her through a portal to her “Other Mother” and “Other Father”. They only want to make her happy, but things may be too good to be true.

“Coraline” is the first stop-motion animated film made in 3-D, and it looks spectacular. It looks almost computer animated, but with rich textures that computer animation doesn’t provide. The animation is incredibly smooth, and everything looks amazing. Director Selick is known for his work with stop-motion animation, and has taken things to the next level here. The voice talents all do wonderful jobs bringing their characters to life. The story is for all ages and not predictable. I highly recommend “Coraline” for both children and adults, but be sure to see it in 3-D.

Kung Fu Panda ***
Cast (voices): Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Seth Rogen, Randall Duk Kim
Director: Mark Osborne, John Stevenson
Running Length: 1:30
MPAA Classification: PG

Po the panda (Black) wants to be a martial arts expert. Unfortunately for him, he is working for his father (Hong) making noodle soup. One day, at the nearby temple, Master Oogway (Kim) has a vision that the evil Tia Lung (McShane) will escape from prison and wreak havoc. Now Oogway must determine who will be the Dragon Warrior, and defeat Tia Lung. The five contenders are: Monkey (Chan), Tigress (Jolie), Viper (Liu), Crand (Cross), and Mantis (Rogen), all apprentices of Master Shifu (Hoffman). Somehow, all of them are overlooked and Po is chosen. Now, Po must find it within himself to save the village, as Tia Lung has just escaped.

“Kung Fu Panda” is an entertaining, action packed film. The voice talents are all well chosen, especially Jack Black as the titular panda. The humor works, and adults and children will enjoy this film. The animation, while good, is about what one has come to expect in animated films. The animation bar is high, and “Kung Fu Panda” makes it over, but does not blow it away. “Kung Fu Panda” is a good family movie, and I recommend it.