Coraline (2009)

 "Giraffes don't just fall from the sky, Miriam."

Let's quickly deal with the elephant in the room: there's the controversy about Neil Gaiman, it's all rather unpleasant and I'll not be going into it here. Libel laws exist, my watching this film in the way I did (perfectly legally, I must emphasise) directed no money to the writer concerned, and a film is the creation of more than a writer alone.

There can be no denying, though, that this film happens to be a wonderful little Halloween treat. Much of it is charming. The use of a parallel world evokes Lewis Carroll as well as a much older faerie tradition. The animation is glorious, clever and creative while still doing its job of narrating an entertaining story. And yet...

What really makes this brilliant is how, despite its inevitable happy ending, it really leans into the darkness of fairy tales. The very concept of a parallel world, with an Other Mother and Other Father, that is much more fun that drab reality with vaguely neglectful, busy parents... but, as ever with faerie, with a terrible price. The very thought of having one's eyes replaced by buttons is... brr!

There's more, of course. Standout performances by (who else?) French and Saunders. The matter-of-fact treatment of a talking cat. The cleverness with which it all unfolds. But this is, above all, a perfect dark little fairytale for Halloween. 

Minions (2015)

"Gentlemen do not steal ladies' crowns!"

This is yet another instalment of Minion fun; by no means one of the greatest comedy films of all time but a thoroughly entertaining romp with a first class '60s rock soundtrack. It's 1968, and the pre-Gru and tragically bossless Minions seek to become the underlings of the splendidly supervillainous Scarlet Underkill (Sandra Bullock in a rare appearance in a film that isn't rubbish).

I love the gentle mockery of us Brits as unflappable and always reaching for a cup of tea in a crisis (I certainly do so, in a crisis and at all other times), however much I somehow doubt the constitutional validity of Bob becoming king by simply drawing a sword from a stone, which is apparently a tourist attraction in central London. It seems the Glorious Revolution never happened. Hmmm. I also loved the inevitable Beatles cameo, and the nice family of bank robbers who kindly pick up hitch hikers.

It ends entertainingly, with Scarlet turning into a massive Dalek and a final intervention from a very young Gru. This is a very silly film and one I much enjoyed.