'Coraline' (PG)(out of four)

"Coraline" is a creepy kid's film that will most likely find its audience in a group of gothic 15-year-olds rather than the tween set. Animation film buffs will do back flips over the amazing stop-motion and 3-D rendering. For the rest of the us, there are some good, solid messages to ponder when you leave the theater.

Reminiscent of Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" -- it was directed by the same man, Henry Selick, who also was behind "James and the Giant Peach" -- there's something eerily intoxicating about "Coraline."

Based on Neil Gaiman's bestselling children's book, which seemed not as scary when it was in book form, the focus is on the hum-drum existence of 11-year-old Coraline (not Caroline, as she so often grumbles).

When her stay-at-home writer parents move her from Michigan to Oregon to the Pink Palace apartments, life couldn't be any duller. Her neglectful parents are overly concerned with meeting their deadline for a garden catalogue Dad is writing and Mom is editing. There's not even a morsel of food in the cold house, and Coraline's room is sparse and dark. There's not much going for Coraline in this neck of the woods.

Her father tells her to keep herself occupied in the rainy Oregon climate by staying inside and counting things like doors, windows and anything else to keep her out of his hair. Meanwhile, her dismissive mother basically just wants Coraline to find anything to keep the girl busy.

There are quirky neighbors to discover, too: a nerdy neighbor boy named Wybie, a talking smart aleck cat, a washed-up Russian circus performer whose too-small clothes that show way too much belly hair is a bit overwhelming, and two eccentric former actresses (or were they showgirls?) who offer taffy that's been preserved since 1924.

And speaking of creepy, the two prep their Schnauzers for taxidermy before the dogs have barked their last bark.

Yes, it's all very strange. When Coraline grows disenchanted with her life, amazingly she discovers that a secret door beyond offers a better life. Climbing through the colorful corridor she happens upon the same interior as her house on the other side, except everything here is cheerful. Instead of pounding away at a typewriter, her new Other Father plays a wild piano using mechanical hands. Her Other Mother is svelter and has a better hairdo, plus she cooks fabulous meals and has time to tell Coraline stories. Coraline's bedroom at the Other House is also bright and cheerful with beautiful birds flying through who actually speak in fairytale voices.

There's only one catch, the Other Mother and Father have buttons for eyes. Clearly, something is just not right here.

"Desperate Housewives" Teri Hatcher is the voice of the Other Mother and plays it to the hilt. When the Other Mother ends up being less than perfect, Hatcher's voice takes on another dimension with a hint of Cruella da Ville. Dakota Fanning as Coraline brings the storybook character to real life. She even employs a bit of a Michigan accent (yes, some folks there do have one, it's a little bit Chicagoan and Canadian mooshed together), making Coraline truly believable.

The film is full of imagination like a storybook should be and it will go down in animation buff history books as the first stop-motion animated film to be created in 3-D. The three dimension gives the spooky effect a funhouse feel and enlivens the experience.

For those unclear about what stop-motion animation actually is, it is a very detailed process. Understanding it will make you appreciate this film at more than a passing glance. Everything is created by hand and animators manipulate objects working on tiny stage. Puppets are placed on sets complete with props, set dressings, the works, then single frame by single frame -- 24 frames per second in a motion picture -- animators manipulate the objects, and then each frame is photographed for the camera.

When it's all put together, it flows into a cohesive piece that by no means reveals that it takes a week of production work to create 74 seconds of footage. Picture this: The "Coraline" shoot actually took 18 months to complete.

Meanwhile, ungrateful girls or anyone else that doesn't think their life is a bed of roses can take away some good advice: Be careful what you wish for, dreams do come true but maybe not the way you expect, and be thankful for what you have because the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the door.