Coraline Movie Analysis

Shocking, absurd, cruel and just flat out creepy are only a few words to describe the so-called children’s movie Coraline. Because of its scarily dark look and story the P-G rated film has gained quite a bit of popularity over the years from both adults and children. Henry Selick has an eye for the strange and unusual, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and The Giant Peach, with Coraline being no exception. With a captivating and truly harrowing story of a young girl who moves into a new apartment that's not what it seems to be, Coraline has obtained a strong cult following.

The film opens with strange, metal, claw-like hands that start dismantling a doll to create a new one. After the somewhat unsettling creation of the doll, the audience is then introduced to Coraline, a colorful character (not to mention the only bright character in the film) with an obnoxious, yet adventurous personality. While moving into a new apartment, it becomes clear that Coraline’s parents have little time for her and she is left to her own devises. She decides to explore her new surroundings with her look alike doll that was created at the introduction of the film. Soon after, she meets her neighbors including a chatty boy named Wybie and his stealthy black cat, who later becomes one of Coraline’s saviors.  She discovers a hidden door in her new home that would eventually lead to a swirling tunnel of what would seem to be a utopian life, but all is not what it appears.

On the other side of the tunnel awaits her button eyed Other Mother and Other Father with nothing but time for Coraline and catering to all her wants.  This alternate paradox has transformed her weird, boring neighbors into lively, somewhat bawdy performers and her talkative friend Wybie into a silent people pleaser.  Her Other Mother presents the idea that she can stay in this too good to be true world with just one small price to pay: she must allow them to sew buttons into her eyes.  Even with all the flaws of her real home, Coraline realizes she would much rather be in the real world with her true family.  She tries to make her escape back to her home by going to sleep and waking the next day.  Normally she would be back in her real room but in this instance she is still trapped in this nightmarish paradox  When her Other Mother morphs into a slender foreboding spider woman, Coraline is aided by her talking cat friend to escape to the real world and put and end to this agony that many other children had experienced in the past.  Once all was said and done, the result was indeed a happy ending to the story.  Coraline’s experience taught her to be grateful for what she had and made her realize that she had an exceptional life.  Her parents soon engaged more and she opened her eyes to many experiences with her newfound friends.

It is hard to believe that this film is rated PG. The subject matter let alone is scary, but adding the animated imagery to the storyline makes the film truly horrifying. Subjecting children to the images of a woman’s eyes being torn out, deformed figures chasing a young girl and even the singular thought of sewing buttons into eye sockets definitely leaves some trauma behind. As an adult, though, I was able to appreciate the message that Henry Selick was trying to convey: appreciate what life has to offer because in the blink of an eye it can be taken away. Set forth were people that were familiar to Coraline, but their personalities had been altered to what she wanted. However, just because they seemed nicer and much more attentive, did not mean that they were better people. The lesson alone is a good one for those of all ages. 

The artistry of the film was unsettling to younger viewers, but to those who appreciate claymation and the arts, it was visually pleasing and creative. The way the animators were able to put such detail in every movement, character and setting was incredible. For example, in the start of the film when a Coraline doll is being created the attention to detail from sewing each thread, which has individual fibers, was truly astounding. As the film progresses forward, there continues to be a constant great attention to detail in the claymation. The way the audience was able to know each character almost intrapersonally was a great addition as well. The creators placed so much emphasis on the characters, we were able to know an entire backstory before we were visually introduced to one of them. All of them were so important and an integral part of the film that to take one away would have not sent the same message.

In my personal opinion, I would highly recommend viewers older than the age of thirteen to watch this film for its moral lessons but would discourage showing it to viewers any younger because of its unsettling visuals.  Perhaps it is because of its strong message but dark story that this film has such a strong following and is still popular after twelve years.