Stardust by Neil Gaiman

When Tristan tells his girlfriend, Victoria, that he will bring back a falling star for her, he means it. Stardust tells the fantasy story of how he finds the star and brings it back. Tristan lives in Victorian times in a village that shares a wall with a supernatural world of fairies and witches called Stormhold. When the falling star disappears on the other side of the wall, Tristan must go into that land to find it. His adventure is complicated as others want the star too. He must deal with a witch who wants the star to achieve long life and the king of Stormhold's sons, who want the star in order gain control of the kingdom. The star turns out to be a beautiful girl from space. Tristan finds her and promises to protect her if she will come with him to his village.

The movie does not exactly follow the book, but does a better job of it than other movies based upon books. For example, in the movie, Stormhold is a little scarier of a place than in the book. In the book, Tristan must deal with a few more "bad guys" in order to bring back the star-girl. The movie is beautiful to view, and the cast is amazing. It is one of those movies you have never heard of that end up being among your favorites.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn; Starring Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Charlie Cox

Movie; 13+; Paramount, 2007

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Imagine finding parents who look just like your parents but who are much cooler or more attentive. Would you switch to the new and improved version of your parents? Coraline finds herself in this position when she discovers another world with the same people as in her world, but the people are "better." Coraline and her parents have recently moved into a new apartment in an old house. Coraline's parents are busy professionals who have little time for her, and she is left entertain herself and explore her new home. She discovers a door that at first only leads to a brick wall, but when she checks again, Coraline finds a passage to another apartment just like her own. In the copy apartment, she finds another set of parents just like hers, but they pay more attention to her and the mother likes to cook Coraline's favorite foods. Another difference is that the other parents have black buttons for eyes. There is also a black cat that talks to Coraline. Coraline enjoys the other apartment and the other parents, but soon the other parents want Coraline to stay with them forever. Coraline goes back to her own apartment to find that her parents have disappeared and that the other parents have something to do with their disappearance. Coraline must go back to the other apartment and other parents in order to get her parents back. With the help of the black cat and three other children who have been trapped in a mirror when they were unable to rescue their own parents, Coraline sets about to rescue her family.

This movie, like the book, has a very creepy vibe. It may look like a Disneyish, children's movie, but Coraline is probably better left to teens and adults. It is actually scary. Younger teens ready for something to scare them will love it. If you loved A Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, you will love Coraline too. To get an idea of the creepiness of the movie, visit http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/coraline/ and explore the different pages of the site. I am surprised that this movie has not been given more fanfare and attention. It should be a classic, but, unfortunately, it did not get a lot of advertising and is probably floating under many people's radars.

Directed by Henry Selick; Starring Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, and Keith David

Animated Movie; Laika Entertainment, 2009