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Coraline: A Visual Companion (2009)

Stephen Jones
Foreword by Neil Gaiman

(a) William Morrow/HarperCollins, USA • hc • $34.99
ISBN: 978-0-06-170422-2

(b) Titan Books, UK • hc • £24.99
ISBN: 978-1-84-856278-3
Coraline: A Visual Companion (2009)
Cover © 2008 Focus Features LLC

Coraline: A Visual Companion is a stunning, colorful guide to the making of the movie Coraline, based on the award-winning New York Times bestselling novel by Neil Gaiman. Coraline Jones has just moved into a big old Victorian house with her inattentive parents, and like any eleven-year-old with an active imagination, she soon begins exploring her new home. One day, Coraline discovers a tiny door that leads to another house. Waiting for her there are her Other Mother and Other Father, who have big black buttons for eyes. At first this other world is marvelous and magical, but Coraline gradually comes to realize that her new parents want her to become their little girl and stay with them forever. Written and directed by Henry Selick, the celebrated director of The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, the film Coraline was created in stop-motion animation, drawing on the latest cutting-edge computer 3-D technology. It also showcases the remarkable vocal talents of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Ian McShane, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French. Featuring many hundreds of rare and exclusive photographs and illustrations, production designs and concept drawings, and interviews with the cast and crew, Coraline: A Visual Companion takes readers on an in-depth tour behind the scenes of a movie that is destined to be a fantasy classic. From the genesis of the original novel through the entire creative process of turning the book into a movie to the many other incarnations of Coraline around the world, this visual companion is a lavish guide that will appeal to Gaiman fans, cinema buffs, visual arts enthusiasts, and all those who fall in love with the inquisitive young heroine of Henry Selick’s extraordinary film.

FOREWORD Neil Gaiman
THE BOOK  
THE MOVIE  
THE CHARACTERS  
THE OTHER CORALINES  
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS  
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS  

Reviews

  • “People drool with love for your tie-in book, Stephen.”
    —Henry Selick
  • “With a brief introduction to Gaiman himself, writer Stephen Jones reveals the genesis of the novel before guiding us through its transference to the big screen with accounts from not only Selick but also his whole production crew, model makers and animation team . . . Jones captures the delights of both the film and the original novel, adorning his behind-the-scenes dialogues with nuggets of background information and biographical details.
    He makes it a lucid, enjoyable read. Definitely a ‘Companion’ to take by the hand and walk with through the imagination of Movieland.”
    —Paul W. Smith
    DEN OF GEEK!, February 17, 2008
The Beyond
Click on The Beyond logo or on the link to listen to Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones talking about Coraline: A Visual Companion.
The Beyond
Click on the Coraline — A Visual Companion logo or on the link to read an interview with Stephen Jones talking about Coraline: A Visual Companion.