Henry Selick Makes Surprise Appearance at Variety’s Annecy Panel on Laika, Talks ‘Ancient Magic’ of Stop-Motion and Remastered ‘Coraline’: ‘It’s Gorgeous’

variety.com:

Marta Balaga Animation wizard Henry Selick has seen the remastered “Coraline.” And he loves it. “It’s gorgeous. I saw it about a week and a half ago and it very much represents the original dream of how to use the 3D really well,” Selick said during a surprise appearance at Variety‘s “Laika Celebrates Coraline’s 15th Anniversary” panel at Annecy Animation Festival. “It took the original concept to a greater height.” Moderated by Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge, Selick was joined by Laika’s Brian McLean (director of Rapid Prototype), Ollie Jones (director of Practical Effects) and Jeff Stringer (chief technology officer). “I’ve gotten used to seeing ‘Coraline’ in 2D over the years, but nothing looks better in 3D than stop-motion,” Selick said, looking back at his years at Laika. “I was never more spoiled.

I got support there like nobody’s business. Nobody was saying: ‘No, we don’t need that, we don’t believe in that.’ It was a place that would take crazy risks.

I asked Phil Knight why he was getting into animation and he said, ‘Well, I’ve got a son [Laika’s president and CEO Travis Knight] who’s a genius.’ I said, ‘What do you want out of it?’ He replied, ‘I want to win.’ That’s what I went into and that’s what I found.” “Coraline,” set for worldwide theatrical rerelease later this summer, was originally released in 2009.

It is now regarded as an animation modern classic. “I think that’s primarily because of its pure originality,” Stringer said. “Everything about it is so unique.