Very cute, and a bit scary for an animated film. Although it's not Tim Burton, the animation style and feel of the story remind me of Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride.
Even if you don't usually like those films, this is Neil Gaiman (same author as the Stardust book), so it's a bit more whimsical, and the scary parts are just slightly disturbing instead of macabre. The story is fantastical, but is rooted in reality (well, as much real you can get for stop motion animation).
It's about a girl whose parents are absorbed in their work and aren't giving her the attention she wants. She finds a door into a parallel world where her parents give her tons of attention, except they have buttons for eyes. The buttons for eyes become less cute and more creepy as she is absorbed into the other world.
For the artsy part of it, I would say it's worth seeing it on the big screen.
I think this is one I would like to add to my DVD collection.
All kids are different, but I don't think this movie would give a kid nightmares. This would be a good primer for a kid who thinks they want to watch a "scary" movie, although I'm not sure if younger kids would understand it.
My youngest daughter is going to see this next Saturday with her boyfriend. She loves Tim Burton's films, and is really looking forward to seeing this.
Yeah, she's watched some trailers for it and said it reminded her of Nightmare and Corpse Bride. She's a huge fan of the Nightmare movie......plays the video game, has lots of Jack shirts, and even the cologne--which smells like cotton candy. Too sickly sweet for my taste, but she likes it.
