Gaiman got French, Saunders for 'Coraline'

Coraline author Neil Gailman has revealed that he got Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders their roles in Henry Selick's animated film.

Speaking to DS, Gaiman said that he convinced Selick to cast the Brit comedy duo as the voices of retired stage performers Spink and Forcible.

"I got to be involved on some levels," said Gaiman. "I got to cast French and Saunders, for example. Henry didn't know who they were, but I said 'you will be casting Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as Miss Spink and Miss Forcible'. I seemed very sure about this so Henry went along with it."

Selick said of working with the pair: "The biggest surprise was in the first day of recording, when it was sounding really good but they weren't at the level I'd seen them in their television shows. So I decided to switch their parts, which threw them because they hadn't been able to rehearse or anything. They gave it a try and within five minutes they were on fire!"

Coraline is in cinemas now.

> Click here for our interview with Coraline's Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick