The Cartoon Art Museum proudly presents original works of art from the feature film CORALINE, produced by LAIKA, the Portland-based animation studio owned by Nike co-founder and Chairman Philip H. Knight, and released by Focus Features on February 6, 2009. The exhibition features drawings, storyboards, puppets, sets, costumes and more from this groundbreaking movie, the first ever stop-motion animated film to be shot in 3D. In stop-motion animation, everything seen on screen actually exists in the real world, as opposed to computer-generated animation. This exhibit includes almost 80 pieces from the extraordinary world of Coraline, created by a team of over 300 artists bringing to life the vision of the world’s foremost stop-motion animation director, Henry Selick.

About CORALINE: Written and directed by Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) and based on the Hugo Award-winning novel by Neil Gaiman, Coraline (www.coraline.com ) is a spine-tingling tale about a curious girl who unlocks a mysterious door in her family’s new home and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality. On the surface, this “Other World” eerily mimics her own life – though it is much more fantastical and ultimately dangerous. Coraline encounters off-kilter neighbors, surreal events, and an Other Mother and Other Father who attempt to keep her forever. Ultimately, Coraline must rely on her resourcefulness, determination and bravery to get back home.

The movie features the voices of Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane, John Hodgman, the comedy duo of Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Keith David and Robert Bailey.

About LAIKA: Fueled by the vision of its owner, Nike co-founder and Chairman Philip H. Knight, LAIKA (www.laika.com ) is an animation studio specializing in feature films, commercials, music videos, broadcast graphics and short films. It is located in Portland, Oregon.

In addition to its entertainment division, LAIKA has a commercial division, LAIKA/house, which produces some of the most ionic animated spots in the advertising industry. The company has a 30-year animation history presenting the artistry of award-winning filmmakers, designers and animators. In addition to numerous international honors, the company has won two Academy Awards, 11 Emmy Awards, 11 Clio Awards, three London International Advertising & Design Awards, five Mobius Advertising Awards and two Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival awards.

About FOCUS FEATURES: Focus Features (www.filminfocus.com ) exists to produce, acquire and distribute original and daring films that challenge the mainstream to embrace and enjoy voices and visions from around the world that deliver global commercial success.

In addition to Coraline, current and upcoming Focus Features releases include Gus Van Sant’s award-winning Milk, starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk; Shane Acker’s animated fantasy epic 9, starring Elijah Wood and Jennifer Connelly; Cary Joji Fukunaga’s immigrant thrillerSin Nombre, which world-premieres at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival; writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s The Limits of Control, starring Isaach De Bankolé; Away We Go, directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes and starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph; Joel and Ethan Coen’s A Serious Man; and Taking Woodstock, the new film from Academy Award-winning director Ang Lee.

Focus Features is part of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.