“It is actually this particular dichotomy that makes the movie so interesting. Almost ‘anti-Disney’ in its construction Coraline discusses ‘you’re okay just the way you are’ in a way that most filmmakers generally consider to be too complex for today’s children. Director and screenwriter Henry Selick doesn’t turn away from this idea and never dums it down. Wybie is much less fun when he can’t talk, even though Coraline thinks this is pretty great in the beginning. Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are so over the top when actually performing that Coraline prefers the ‘performance’ that is their life. Mr. B succeeds at his attempts with the mice, but loses his eccentricity and charm. This is the type of discerning eye that we want making our children’s movies. This is the type of discerning eye I remember making the movies of my own childhood so filled with wonder. It is this that makes their memory last for me. This is something that Kung-Fu Panda, while a fun movie, simply can’t achieve on the same level. We need to stop pandering to our children, and not pandering is what this movie does so well.”

http://www.despoiler.org/2008/11/17/my-funny-coraline/

Can’t wait to see the results.

That being said I’ve been lucky enough to see several scenes from the film and I think they’ve got something potentialy special on their hands. And Neil seems pretty pleased with it, which is a good sign.

Still, this is just the trailer and like you said, we probably aren’t seeing the darker, more creepy, parts. We’ll have to wait and see I guess. I’m sure it’ll make big bank at the box office but if I had to guess right now, we’ll see about a 65-70% at rottentomatoes when all is said and done. Which usually means, ho-hum.