The Culture of Coraline

written and designed by GAIA SPLENDORE

When thinking about cult classic movies, Coraline is up there. The fan favorite children’s movie has lived long in many people’s hearts, either as a fond childhood memory or as a recent appreciation of it many years after its release.

The stop-motion hit took over 500 people over four years to complete. The production process was incredibly labor-intensive. The team’s hard work paid off in the end, scoring an Oscar nomination and other awards such as “Movie of the Year” and “Best Production Design.” Aside from the awards, Coraline is a beloved movie in many people’s hearts, including my own. Now, I do have to admit that I never watched Coraline as a kid. However, I have an excuse: it was banned from my house. My older sister, Mia Splendore, watched it when she was young, and it shook her to her core and terrified her so much that it was enough for my mom to stop me from watching it. When asked about it, she said that Coraline “scared me so bad as a kid [that] I had to watch a lot of Zack and Cody to feel better.” There is a happy ending, however, when she rewatched it and said, “Yeah, it was not so bad the second time -very enjoyable.” This does not seem to be an isolated incident. When I asked Josie Clark (11) about the stop-motion hit, she said, “I really like Coraline. It brings back good memories and I love the production and world building in it,” but when I asked Clarke if it scared her as a kid she said, “Oh yeah, it totally gave me nightmares, but I love it.” It seems that the movie scarred many kids. However, when their ages grew, so did their appreciation for the movie. The Splendore household has since then moved on from our contraband Coraline phase, and I watched it for the first time with some friends a few months ago. Now, I can definitely see how it can freak little kids out. From lanky, manipulative “other mothers” to a creepy crawly atmosphere, it’s a little spooky. I can see how there needed to be some Zack and Cody therapy, but I can just as easily see how the film could be someone’s favorite. The horror manages to be charming, and viewers can understand how the main character Coraline can be so entranced in this other world. The setting and production of the entire movie is whimsical and magical, especially in the “other world,” an eccentric replica of Coraline’s reality. This added mystical element, along with the fact that the movie uses stop-motion animation, appeals to children’s imaginations. But the production of the movie itself is not the only thing that attracts its younger target audience. The conflict of the movie all stems from Coraline’s neglectful parents. They always seem to have something more important to do and Coraline often gets left behind. While most people would not say that they were outright neglected as children, it is a common feeling for kids to feel unheard and unseen. Even with the most caring parents, it is human to feel overlooked at some point. Children can see themselves in Coraline, even in such an otherworldly setting, and get truly attached to her. Even conflicts that may seem trivial now, like her mother refusing to buy her new gloves, speak to children and the way they view love.

One of the reasons kids get so terrified from the movie is because they understand Coraline and her struggles. They get just as attracted to the other world as Coraline does - I mean, with a mouse circus routine and an entire garden with a myriad of different flowers all arranged in your honor, who wouldn’t fall in love?

“I remember I always wanted to be Coraline,” said Renee Peteron (11), “the other world was so interesting and I really loved the music and characters. I guess I wouldn’t really want to be in danger and imprisoned forever though.” Coraline entrances people and even though it’s a spooky movie, it’s so endearing.

However, the whole point of the movie is that Coraline could not stay in that dream world. This fantasy world was nothing more than an elaborate trap that would leave Coraline to suffer for eternity, so it’s pretty clear she had to escape. At the end, when Coraline returns to her real family and can enjoy a newfound appreciation for what she already has, the conflict is resolved. Her family changes and becomes more attentive and loving and there is a happy ending in which the whole family learns to appreciate each other.

Coraline teaches people to appreciate the mundane world and that joy can be found all around us. We don’t need an elaborate other world to feel satisfied and interested when there is already so much beauty and whimsy in the real world. Even simple pleasures are pleasures and can demonstrate the love that exists around us. The idea that we already have everything around us to feel fulfilled is pretty mature, especially for a children’s movie.

At a first glance, Coraline is a gripping film with mysterious, unsettling cats and narcissistic mothers that would scare just about any child. However, more mature adults and teenagers are able to appreciate the unexpected lesson in such a mythical and magical movie: to enjoy the mundane. Not only can mature people form a distinctinction between fantasy and reality, but they can also learn to appreciate reality by itself. While Coraline’s story of feeling undervalued still strikes a chord with the audience, I would argue that the ability to appreciate what’s all around us and to learn to love mundane life resonates just as strongly.