My Coraline Corollary

Don't bother with this movie unless you watch it in a 3D theater. Though I'm sure you might enjoy it the normal way, the 3D in this film is done so well that I was continually blown away. As a recently converted 3D film fan, I can now appreciate the power of the added depth and perception of a 3D film. Forget all the gimmicks from TV shows that ran back in the 90's where one would have to pick up 3D glasses from the local convenient store to participate. These shows were all about shoving large sandwiches, tools, and 2x4s toward the camera for cheap thrills (Thanks Home Improvement).

The way space is implemented into the 3D visuals of Coraline is nothing short but exemplary. While watching, I wanted to call out to the boy down in front who's head was blocking the screen until I realized that the boy was a character in the film. He wasn't blocking my view of the movie; he was the view of the movie. The 3D perception creates a more immersive experience by entering a space that was previously reserved for the audience and objects that actually exist. Not only do the images dance and move about in the space around the theater room, but they lurch into your personal space, and stretch far deep "into the screen" as well.  All of the wonderful film techniques of using different lenses to invoke feelings like aloofness/distacne are now more literal than ever. In one scene Coraline can be scene at a window. With the camera outside and pulled back, the 3D effect pushs Coraline far away from the audience view. In other words, Coraline wasn't set apart from the audience's perspective because she looked that way on a flat screen. She was set apart because she appeared to be at a distance beyond your outstretched hand and then some.

The stop motion of the film is beyond fantastic. Total, Coraline runs about 1 hour and 50 minutes. Toward the end, the film begins to drag story wise. This surprised me. Usually, the expensive and painstaking craft of stop motion results in shorter film productions. The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride are only 76 minutes. And James and the Giant Peach is 79 minutes. It really felt like the animators of Coraline didn't mind doing all the extra work. Fortunately, all of it is the most fantastic stop motion I have ever seen. A true joy to behold.

My only and biggest problem with Coraline is the story/adaptation to the screenplay. Frankly, it's sloppy and careless. Perhaps carefree is a more apt description. In any case, whether creating a film or a video game, the product is best when all of the elements work together to form a cohesive whole. Coraline contains many story elements (characters, scenes, objects, lines, and actions)  that do very little or nothing at all for the main story. Throughout the film I kept saying things like "what was that for?" "that was random" and "well, that didn't come together at all." Because everything felt so poorly put together, a lot of the creepy, creative, and mysterious elements of the film come across as just being plot holes or odd distractions. With all of these issues, I still highly recommend watching Coraline in 3D. In a storytelling medium, one must understand the craft and mechanics of a story. It's a shame that so much top quality art, visual, and animation work was put into a lackluster narrative experience.

***Spoiler Alert***

The final thing I want to say about Coraline is that the story seemed to be an adaptation to a video game that doesn't exist. What I mean by this is that many of the elements and mechanics of Coraline parallel the challenges, characters, visuals, and actions of video games.

• Light World vs. Dark World: Zelda: A Link To The Past. The Other Mother and all of the doppelganger characters in the magical other world in Coraline make up the "dark world."
• The Talking Dead: Phantom Hourglass/Majors Mask. Though it is took late to save the little kids that were eaten by the witch, Coraline quests to recover their real eyes and set them free.
• 3 Items to Collect before the real challenge begins: In the film, the real eyes of the kids are represented by 3 small round objects that Coraline must collect. Zelda games often challenge players to collect 3 items to progress, yet doing so is never the ultimate challenge. OOT = 3 gems. ALTTP = 3 pendants.
• The Moon Timer: Majora's Mask. As Coraline attempts to recover the 3 eyes in time, the moon in the sky indicates how much time is left before the "dark" world comes to an end. 
• The Lens of Truth: Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Majora' Mask. Coraline receives a triangular jade gem that allows her to see any real/true object in the witch's world. She uses it to locate the 3 eyes. 
• The crumbling sky image: Twilight Princess. The way the dark, crack flecks of the sky appear when the witch's world was falling apart looks very similar to the Twilight Princess sky portals. 
• The NPCs: From Miss Spink, Miss Forcible, to Mr. Bobinsky, many of the side characters in this film play minor roles to the central story line of Coraline. While this is nothing out of the ordinary, in this case these character's lines and action seem to intentionally guide Coraline through the conflicts and challenges of the film. Like the hints that many Zelda characters gives to point the player in the right direction, some of the help from these Coraline characters seemed out of the blue and almost forced. A good example is the green gem that Spink and Forcible give to Coraline.  
• Finding the Key: The small door that opens the path into the other world is hidden and locked away at the beginning of the film. Toward the middle, Coraline must find the key somewhere in the house in order to journey back into the other world. The lock and key is a classic video game structure especially for the Zelda series.

Speed Racer: A Few Comments

"The colors Duke! The colors!"

• The world of Speed Racer is a bright and multi-colored one. Everything in the film from the scifi race cars, the purple flying machines, to the cabinet of candy pops with a radiance that seems to scream "the future. " The coloration also easily distinguishes the look of Speed Racer from most other films. The colors paint the whole film in a light hearted tone that matches the content. There's hardly a moment of banality in the whole film. After all, this is the future where cars can dance across suspended tracks and where racing rules all. So why bother showing Speed brushing his teeth or washing his face?

The future is a melting pot.

• It pleases me to see that the Wachowski's version of the future is made up of people of all different races and cultures. The announcers and racer especially are a particularly diverse assortment in the film. Take a look.

A wink. A nod. And a bow.

• In order to adapt the anime series into a film, the Wachowski brothers had to make some changes. Still, despite the time being set in the highly "futuristic" future where cars race on tracks that resemble roller coasters, Speed Racer the film still has many throwbacks to the original material. Though I haven't seen the anime series since I was a kid, I'm pretty sure the milk, ninjas, and the pose that Speed makes after winning in the Casa Cristo race is classic material. More interesting is the tone the Wachowski brothers have toward some of the classic material when it clashes with the realism of the live action film. For example, instead of removing the ninja from the scene in th middle of the Casa Cristo race, the ninja were kept ineffectual and goofy. When Trixie asked if those were ninja, Pops responds: "More like a nonja. Terrible what passes for a ninja these days." After all, if those ninja were "real ninja" there's no way the Speed family would have been unharmed.

Rough Play... play being the operative term.

• It's difficult to write an interesting story if the main character never faces any challenges or setbacks. As the saying goes "you can't win them all." Functionally (storytelling wise) the Wachowski brothers had to find a way to rough up Speed without being too violent. The solution ended up being an automatic safety system that encases the driver in bubbles before their car is completely destroyed (see above). This mechanic allowed for the characters to take out opponents without killing them, thus playing and keeping the races in the realm of a sporting event. This mechanic also allowed for Speed to be taken out at the Fuji race. The Wachowski brothers probably realized that showing someone lose a race by crossing the finish line in any place but first wouldn't be as devastating or impactful as having a car get wrecked and watching the driver fly off the track. Over all, the auto-bubbling mechanic made for a better film.

Monkey see, Monkey over do? Nope.

• I appreciate how the real life monkey was implemented into the film. Instead of using a computer generated model, the actors worked with a live Chimp. The monkey was mostly kept to the background of the film. When a scene did focus on it, its actions were simple and quick. Chimp Chimp couldn't steal or distract from the show with such a small role.

Very clean. Mostly air tight.

• After watching Speed Racer again carefully, I've determined that the film is very clean. By clean I mean that Speed Racer tells its main story without adding unnecessary scenes, dragging any scene out too long, or deviating from communicating anything that doesn't directly involve Speed and this plight. The movie didn't waste any time. From the opening scene, the story races along until the blazing finish. Aside from the "we don't have a car" issue before the final race, I haven't found any plot holes. I'm not sure why Speed couldn't use the car he drove at Casa Cristo or in the previous scene. Maybe Pops meant that they don't have a Grand Prix ready car.

Speed Racer: Storytelling Through Action

Speed Racer is a coming of age story where a young boy figures out what to believe in and what's most important in his life. Speed Racer is also a film where cars of the future zoom around gravity defying tracks racing and battling for victory. Speed Racer is in fact both of these movies at once because it's an action film that tells its story through the action of racing. Not only are all the significant actions of the main character directly tied to racing, but every other character and element in the story is as well. If Speed Racer was a video game, the primary function RACING would be fully harmonized throughout the entire work.

Characters

• Speed Racer. First of all, with a name like that, you must be destined to be a great racer. Racing is in Speed's blood and it's also in his name. From the opening of the movie we learn that Speed isn't the best student. This kid's mind is focused on one thing; Racing. It's what makes sense to him: "But when I'm in a T180, I don't know. Everything just makes sense." Everything that's important in Speeds life is connected to racing. After hearing Royalton's racing "education," Speed felt like the whole foundation of his life was crumbling. Speed felt that this revelation was "crushing everything in [his] life that matter[ed] to [him]" After Fuji, Speed wanted to make a difference in the world of racing. And he sought to do so by racing. After all, that's all Speed knew: "But [racing is] the only thing I know how to do and I gotta do something." After failing to change the world of racing through his efforts at Casa Cristo, Speed lost his drive to race. As if following the words of Racer X, by the end of the film Speed is changed by racing and the love of his family/friends: "It doesn't matter if racing never changes. What matters is if we let racing change us" Racer X.
• Pops, Speed's dad, is the owner of their family business Racer Motors. After losing one son to racing, Pops is careful not to make the same mistakes again. At Casa Cristo, Pops witnesses his son grow up. For the first time, Speed stood up for what he believed in (by racing) and tried to make a difference against all odds: "I saw my son become a man."
• Mom Racer, Speed's mother, admires her son's racing as an art form.
• Rex, Speed's brothers, is a talented racer that developed a strong bond with young Speed on the race track. Rex tried to make a difference in the corrupt world by sacrificing his family, fame, and even his face to become Racer X. Though there are few who know his true motives, most see Racer X as the "harbinger of boom" due to the path of destruction he leaves in his wake. To respect and keep his brother's legacy alive, at the beginning of the film Speed slows down so that he wouldn't break Rex's race record at Thunderhead.
• Trixie, Speed's girlfriend, is a fellow racer who wants Speed to reminder her of his commitment by kissing her after winning a big race. 
• Royalton is a corrupt, devilish business man. All that matters to this character is power and money: "All that matters is power and the unassailable might of money"  As he heads his corporation, his current and future success hinge on his ability to manipulate the outcome of races, particularly the Grand Prix. Royalton's corporation isn't the only one linked to racing. Togokahn business is also linked to the outcomes of these races.

Themes/Motifs

• Racing Religion: Racing isn't just a sport. To Pops and the rest of the Racer family, racing is their lives: "For my family, racing's everything." Racing "is like a religion." Royalton only believes in money and power: "That's my religion."
• Cars are more than machines: You might think cars are just vehicles, but some of the characters in Speed Racer think otherwise: "A car's a living breathing thing. She's alive. You can feel her talking to you telling you what she needs. All you need to do is to listen. Close your eyes and listen" Rex Racer. This idea contributes to the spirituality of racing thus supporting the "racing religion" motif.
• Changing the World: When Speed decided to race a Casa Cristo, he was trying to change the world of racing through racing. Previously, Racer X and Taejo Togokhan tried to do the same. "You think you can drive a car and save the world? It doesn't work like that " Pops in a statement that couldn't be more wrong. At the end of the film, Speed's victory in the Grand Prix helps send Royalton to jail thus changing the world of racing forever: "It's a whole new world baby. A whole new world" Ben Burns the announcer and retired Grand Prix winner.

Plot/Story

It's easy to follow the story centered around Speed by looking at the races and the events that come as a direct result of the various races throughout the film. In chronological order...

1. Speed Racer grows up in a loving family devoted to racing.
2. Speed's brother Rex appears to be killed in a racing accident.
3. Speed wins at Thunderhead and preserves his brother's memory and good name.
4. Speed is introduced to Royalton and his "family."
5. Speed declines Royalton's offer and is presented with a striking truth about "real racing"
6. Speed loses the Fuji race like Royalton predicted and questions his faith in racing: "Maybe Royalton's right."
7. Speed enters and wins the race at Casa Cristo in attempt to fight Royalton's evil corporate power.
8. Speed finds out he had been used and vents on the racing track at Thunderhead.
9. Speed gets an opportunity to race in the Grand Prix and his family/friends pull together to prepare.
10. Speed wins the Grand Prix and changes the world. 

 Speed Racer's 3 major victories (in bold) organize the story nicely according to Speeds developmental state from innocence, doubt, searching, and finally to victory/understanding.

Action

The race car action in Speed Racer was designed in a way to give the cars a way to do battle and race at the same time. Such a design gave the choreographers a broader range/definition to work with in order to keep the scenes interesting throughout the film.

• Unlike racing in real life, the cars in Speed Racer go far beyond convention practices. Taking the Tokyo drifting style to the extreme, cars slide around the track at high speeds. Snaking from left to right is the norm, and spinning down the track not uncommon.
• Cars are personal extensions of the drivers. In a normal race, cars avoid bumping and running into each other. In the world of Speed Racer, the race cars are more like bumper cars. Free to bump, push, slam, and ricochet around the track and each other, the film was able to communicate a very human like aggression between the vehicles.
• Finally, the special moves that the cars are equipped with are like fighting moves in a martial arts film. From buzz saws (attacking), spear hooks (grabbing), jumps, to bullet proof shields (blocking), the cars truly seem alive as they move and fight like humans.

Development and Climax

The development of a good action film is simple. To build a powerful climax you don't want to give away everything at the beginning or the middle. It's best to save the best ideas for the climax including special moves and unique ideas. The more a story links into its climax (motivations, goals, characters) the more impactful the climax will be.

Let's look at how the action develops in Speed Racer.

1. Training with Rex when Speed was a kid to go over some of the basics of racing.
2. A relatively simple race at Thunderhead. Speed had to use a jump maneuver to avoid a major collision. 
3. At Fuji Speed did his best, but was ultimately brought down by the spear hook. Experienced some team work with Racer X.
4. Throughout the race at Casa Cristo the team (Speed, Racer X, and Taejo) used many tricks to counteract all the illegal tools the other racers had smuggled into the competition. 
5. At the Grand Prix all of Speed's fancy gadgets are gone. Armed with only the jump springs Speed out races the defending champ, defeats the spear hook attack, counters all the dirty tricks thrown his way, overcomes a system stall, and out races the rest of the competition twice! Everything that the audience has experience in the movie is brought up again to show how much Speed has grown. And with everything in the film centered around racing (particularly the outcome of this race), this climax carried so much more weight.

Many action films fall flat with their climaxes because they put their most interesting action scene at the beginning or middle of the film. By the time the film makes it to the climax, the finish underwhelms. This is bad enough. But when such movies community the main story, themes, and messages of the film outside of the action, the focus of the movie and the storytelling splits.

By picking one action, linking every character, theme, and motif to this action, and developing that action so that each scene builds and supports the climax, you'll have the core of a great action film like Speed Racer.