Annika Cordero
NOVEMBER 3, 2023
Coraline going through the portal.
Promotional picture from the New York Times.
Coraline is one of those movies that lives in people’s memory. Its haunting story still remains well-known even five years after its release, but I believe it deserves more attention than it receives. The animation, writing, and voice acting fit together like pieces of a magnificent jigsaw puzzle, which people still struggle to fully grasp. I share that struggle myself. Using the puzzle pieces I can make sense of, I wanted to give a clearer perspective on this film. I hope my words not only bring more focus to this puzzle masterpiece but also help people see this movie with fresh eyes, preferably not button ones.
The movie “Coraline” is about an adventurous little girl named (as you guessed) Coraline. She and her family moved into an apartment that was once part of an old house called the Pink Palace. As Coraline deals with eccentric neighbors, feels ignored by her parents, and becomes bored out of her mind, she finds herself in a gloomy and lonely state. To put it simply, she is unhappy. So, when a portal opens to another realm filled with exciting things and “Other Parents” who give her all the adventures and attention she craves, she doesn’t hesitate to jump in, even when all the inhabitants have buttons for eyes.
Coraline and the Cat exploring the unmanipulated world.
Photo posted on coraline.fandom.com by user Naburi.
In this new reality, one character seems particularly invested in Coraline, her Other Mother. She presents Coraline with all sorts of fun activities, like a magical garden, a theatre, and a mouse circus, until one day, her Other Parents make an offer. She can stay in this world… but on one condition. The Other Mother must sew buttons onto her eyes. When Coraline refuses, the Other Mother traps her in her realm, where Coraline learns the truth about the Other Mother from the ghosts of her previous victims and a talking cat. The Other Mother had formed this world to impress Coraline and lure her in. The sewed buttons were a necessity to consume Coraline’s soul.
Coraline escapes with the help of one of the Other Mother’s creations, Other Wybie, only to realize that her parents have been taken by the Other Mother. Afterwards, Coraline sets off to rescue her parents and retrieve the eyes of the Ghost Children so they can regain their souls.
I believe the movie intended to convey three key messages to its audience. First, Coraline was very lonely and, in some ways, neglected. She craved attention, as do most children. Yet, her parents, absorbed in their work, couldn’t provide her with what she wanted. That is why it was so easy for her to believe the Other Mother because she was able to get the attention she wanted. I wonder, had Coraline gone on feeling neglected much longer, would she have accepted the offer of button eyes? The movie was sending a message to parents: Maybe your child would not have become the victim of a creature from another realm if you had given them a fraction of your time. Every second counts in shaping a child’s future.
Second, The Other Mother was highly deceptive. I believe the movie aimed to show children that, despite how nice people may appear, it does not mean they are good people. The Other Mother seemed friendly, but she never had Coraline’s best interest in mind. She had her own agenda, which goes to show the lengths others can take just to get what they want.
Lastly, not all the creatures in the Other Mother’s realm were evil. Two characters, the Other Father and the Other Wybie (a copy of a boy who annoyed Coraline from her world), were particularly helpful to her against the Other Mother. They fought as much as they could against the Other Mother’s power, even if it meant their deaths. This shows that not everything is black and white. I believe the movie conveys even more messages than the ones I’ve listed here, but it’s amazing to see just how much children can learn from a movie.
Besides these four standout characters from the movie, Coraline’s animation is also something to admire. I genuinely appreciate that Coraline was not a live-action movie because I believe some elements of storytelling can reach their fullest potential through animation. For instance, the world in which Coraline finds herself looks like handcrafted props for a puppet show, and the characters resemble puppets. Seeing how the Other Mother is a puppeteer, this style complements the story. Coraline is also a stop-motion movie, and this style gives the characters so much personality. It makes them look unreal, as if they stepped out of a storybook, yet the movie maintains a sense of grounding due to the inclusion of realistic elements. Keep in mind that these thoughts on the animation are my personal opinions and observations while watching the film. However, I believe the animation of Coraline has a charm that is bound to leave a positive impression on its viewers.
I would give this movie a solid 10/10, but I wish I could give it a higher rating. Everything about Coraline is so masterfully crafted. Even as numerous secrets are revealed throughout the story, it remains shrouded in a cloud of mystery. Many questions remain unanswered. How did the Other Mother come into existence? Where did she gain her power? How was the Other World created? I suppose it’s this cloud of mystery that initially captivates viewers in the first place. What I’ve written here provides only a glimpse into the enigmatic world of Coraline. Just like our heroine, the only way to discover more is to dive in!