‘Coraline’ scares up 3D visions

The deliriously dark animated hit “Coraline” comes to Blu-ray and DVD in 3D, along with four of those funny red-and-blue glasses in every pack.

The 3D experience is perfect for family fun, but high definition purists will be plenty impressed with the outstanding visuals offered by the 2D view.

The animated feature “Coraline” tells the tale of a girl who finds an alternate reality via a passageway in her new house, complete with a creepy new mom and dad who are definitely up to something.

The story harkens back to the spooky days of olde fairy tales, when awful things happened to good kids. Younger children may find “Coraline” too upsetting in spots, but everyone above the age of 6 should love this magnificent adventure.

“Coraline” comes from the mind of Neil Gaiman, who will be familiar to teens who follow graphic novels (“The Sandman”). Gaiman, however, maintains a separate career in making curious entertainments for children, most notably the fine movie “MirrorMask.” He wrote “Coraline” as a children’s book.

Word of mouth on “Coraline” was terrific when it hit theaters last winter. Comparisons to Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” were inevitable but Gaiman is 100% his own man. The two fantasy purveyors share a director, the stop-motion master Henry Selick, who did helm “Nightmare.”

The voices are by Dakota Fanning (Coraline), Teri Hatcher (the two Moms) and Keith David (the Cat). Also doing the talking are the longtime British comedy team of French and Saunders.

The Universal Studios home video comes with interactive features via “U-Control” and BD Live, such as the option to watch the voice actors at work as the movie plays. There’s a commentary with the director, a making-of featurette and a visit to the recording sessions for “Coraline.”

The double-disc “Coraline” Blu-ray includes a high definition disc and a standard DVD version. The movie can be enjoyed in 3D or 2D as well. Plus, there’s a digital copy. Lots of choices there.

There are single-disc and double-disc DVD versions of “Coraline.” The single edition has the 2D and 3D versions of the film, while the two-disc version adds a digital copy and extra features.

“Coraline” makes a perfect companion for the Halloween season, but will play well right through the holidays.