Coraline alphabet posters, designed by Ignition Print at Internet Movie Poster Awards

A few days ago, I posted about bloggers that got special boxes from the creators of Coraline, an animated stop-motion fantasy film based on a novella by Neil Gaiman (directed by Henry Selick, who also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and The Giant Peach). The Coraline boxes contain items from the highly anticipated movie - dolls, wigs, suitcase, etc. There are only 50 such boxes made and sent to bloggers, and each is a one-of-a-kind handmade box.

The blogosphere is abuzz with these mystery boxes - there's a hunt of sorts to find out which bloggers got them and what they look like. (See, for instance: Evil Buttons and NotCot). In addition to these 50 boxes, there are also Button Box from "The Other Mother" sent to many other bloggers.

Little did I know when I was writing the post that sitting just 5 feet away from my desk was ... Neatorama's very own Coraline Box! (It's good to be a blogger sometimes!)

Our Coraline box (No. 27) is gorgeous: a 7 x 6 X 4 inch wooden cigar box that opens up to reveal nine "Chocolate Beetles From Zanzibar," a key, and a photo from the movie. On the side of the box is a wax-sealed envelope with a letter from LAIKA animation company in Oregon that created the movie.

Here are the pictures:

Coraline Box: "Handmade in Oregon 27/50"

Inside the box are 9 "Chocolate Beetles from Zanzibar"

The Chocolate Beetles - one is "crawling out" and one is um, rather dead. These are wonderful handpainted pieces and each one is unique.

"[The Other Mother] carefully picked out a particularly large and black beetle, pulled off its legs ... and popped the beetle into her mouth ... 'Yum,' she said, and took another. -- CHAPT. VI

Coraline.com is a fantastic website for the movie - go forth and visit this instance!

There's a sealed letter attached on the side of the box. It's similar to the one other bloggers got.

Thank you for the wonderful surprise, "The Other Mother" and Coraline Team! (And thanks to my lovely wife Tiffany who took the neat photos!). Coraline opens in theatres February 6th, 2009.

Previously on Neatorama: Coraline Boxes | Video: Coraline movie footage | Explore the Coraline Site

And yes, sharp-eyed readers may notice that the Chocolate Beetles from Zanzibar is featured in the "Z" poster:

Z is for Zanzibar - where chocolate beetles come from.
Surprisingly tasty, if you can catch one.