Beauty vs Beast: Break On Through To The Other Mother
Monday, February 23, 2015 at 11:31PM 
JA from MNPP here, with our Oscar Hangover edition of "Beauty vs Beast." I actually intended for this week's edition to have nothing to do with the Oscars at all, but I can't help trace its footsteps back to this year's Awards in a sorta roundabout way... our starting point is Dakota Fanning, who is turning 21 years old today. Yes that preternaturally wise moppet can now legally do tequila shots at her local dive, what a world, what a world. Happy birthday, Dakota!
So five years ago Dakota voiced the lead role in Coraline, Laika's very fine adaptation of Neil Gaiman's terrifying book, about a little girl who wanders through a strange little door in her new home only to find a world funhouse-mirroring her own on the other side. And it's there that she meets...
The connection to this year's Academy Awards is of course the beloved production house Laika - Coraline was its first feature (to lose the Best Animated Feature Oscar), ParaNorman its second (to lose the Best Animated Feature Oscar), and The Boxtrolls its third, which yes, lost the Best Animated Feature Oscar last night to the, in my opinion, desperately inferior Big Hero 6. As indifferent to downright-hostile as I was towards many of the wins last night, this one smacks me as one of the most egregious, and one that the test of time will look upon very poorly. It reeks! Of bad cheese! Justice For Laika!
Reader Comments (6)
And here I thought you were going to connect it to Dakota's little sister Elle Fanning doing the voice of Winnie in The Boxtrolls...
I only realized that after I finished the post, RS! But yes also that :)
Well said! Laika studios does such superb work, I am puzzled that they are known to such a niche audience. Along with Aardman studios they produce such perfectly detailed visuals and well acted voice work. I loved Boxtrolls, and it's a shame it lost last night. But they are a bit like Wes Anderson & the Cohen Bros. at this point, critically appreciated but not attracting as wide an audience. In time others will come to appreciate how amazing they are.
I'm also puzzled their films haven't attracted a wider audience. Coraline and ParaNorman were great.
I am not getting the strange love for Coraline here-I mean, I love her, but the Other Mother is everything in this movie. She's constantly changing her look, but ever fabulous.
I'm with you John T - Other Mother's a great villainess! She gets my vote