Celebrate “Coraline’s” 15th Anniversary On Laika’s “Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail,” Featuring A Special Cat Sponsored By The Oregon Film Trail!

LAIKA, the Visit Downtown Campaign, Wild in Art, and OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital are all joining forces to bring Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail to the Rose City this August.

Selectively chosen artists hand painted each one of the 30 almost six-foot-tall cat sculptures that will be stationed throughout Downtown Portland. The trail corresponds with the release of LAIKA’s remastered, Oregon made 3D stop-motion feature “Coraline”.

The trail will run for 10 weeks, is free to the public, and will culminate with an exciting auction to find permanent homes for these amazing feline statues with proceeds to benefit OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. The trail installation will include maps, a custom app and website, social media and a customized Spotify playlist. Anticipated to draw 250,000 enthusiasts and their families, Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail is a celebration of community, creativity and compassion.

The Oregon Film Trail is the proud sponsor of a cat and was paired with artist and Oregonian creator, Nina Oberlin. Nina designed and hand painted the Oregon Film Trail “Cat Usher” that will be featured in Portland’s Living Room at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Nina’s background is in animation, puppetry, and film, and she is the owner of Shadow Streak Productions. 

The public is invited to follow along on social media as well as get involved with several public events associated with this Art Trail including:

• Unveiling/Launch: Friday, August 2nd, 2024 @ 11 a.m. at the OHSU South Waterfront (DirectionsPending)
• SOLVE Clean Up along the trail: Thursday, August 1st + September 5th + October 3rd, Starting at Director Park 8a.m.
• Theatrical Re-Release of “Coraline” the Movie (3D) Aug 15th
• Farewell Weekend: Complete Cat culmination – October 11th & 12th at Director Park
• Cat Statue Auction: October 30, 2024 at The Judy

“It is the perfect campaign to highlight our creative and unique Downtown and celebrate LAIKA’s cinematic classic film Coraline,” says Sydney Mead, Director of Downtown Campaigns for Downtown Portland Clean & Safe and the Visit Downtown campaign. “This is a wonderful opportunity to tap into Portland’s creative side, illuminate our artist community, as well as collaborate with local award-winning movie studio LAIKA, and it’s all for a good cause, with proceeds going to OHSU Doernbecher,” Mead continued.

The Oscar-nominated film “Coraline” boasts stunning stop-motion animation, handcrafted puppets, and meticulously designed sets. “Coraline” is a wondrous, thrilling, fun and suspenseful adventure. A young girl walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life – only much better. But when this off-kilter, fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her counterfeit parents try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to save her family and get back home. The Oregon Film Trail features a “Coraline” marker on the trail in Ashland, Oregon.

“We’re excited to collaborate with the Visit Downtown Campaign and Wild in Art to celebrate “Coraline’s” 15th Anniversary in LAIKA’s hometown of Portland, Oregon,” said LAIKA’s Chief Marketing and Operations Officer David Burke. “In the memorable cast of Coraline characters, Cat is a perfect fit for the trail. We believe this experience will bolster Portland’s vibrant creative community and support OHSU Doernbecher’s Children’s Hospital.”

Adapted for the screen and directed by stop-motion auteur Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “Wendell & Wild”), “Coraline’s” voice cast includes Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Ian McShane, Keith David (as Cat), and British comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.

At the completion of the Art Trail, the cat statues will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital on October 30, 2024 at The Judy.

“OHSU Doernbecher is grateful to have been selected as the benefiting charity of the auction and we want to thank everyone at LAIKA, Wild in Art, Travel Portland and the Visit Downtown Campaign who made this possible,” said Dana A. Braner, M.D., physician-in-chief at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Credit Unions for Kids chair, and professor and chair of pediatrics in the OHSU School of Medicine. “With the community’s support of this project, we will continue meeting the needs of our patients and families throughout the region who turn to us for support in their most challenging moments. We are excited to see our families and supporters out on Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail.”

LAIKA was founded in 2005 in Oregon by President & CEO Travis Knight (located in Hillsboro) and the studio has produced five films; “Coraline” (2009), “ParaNorman” (2012), “The Boxtrolls” (2014), “Kubo and the Two Strings” (2016) and “Missing Link” (2019) and have all been nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Animated Feature. “Kubo and the Two Strings” won the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film and received an additional Oscar nomination for Visual Effects. Missing Link was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Animated Film. LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar in 2016 for its innovation in 3D printing. LAIKA is currently in production on its next animated film “Wildwood”. The studio is developing the animated feature films “The Night Gardener”, from an original idea by Bill Dubuque, creator of the hit series Ozark, and Piranesi, based on the NYT bestselling novel by Susanna Clarke. LAIKA has launched a Live Action subsidiary with a range of projects in development including feature films based on the action thriller novel Seventeen by screenwriter John Brownlow and the original script Crumble, written and directed by Brian Duffield with Phil Lord and Chris Miller producing.

We hope you will have a chance to connect with this Art Trail in downtown Portland and see the cats for yourselves.

#CoralineCuriousCatTrail #CCCT #CoralineCatTrail