During the month of October, myself and my gorgeous girlfriend Lisa watched a different spooky film each day. A few of the 31 I had seen previously, some I had not, and others I was aware of, but didn’t fully know what they were all about. And that was certainly the case with one of these films in particular.
A film in which I was informed beforehand was a ‘kids film’… Firstly, as you will surely agree with if you have seen it yourself, this is surely NOT a film for children? And if it is, it certainly has some lessons for them. And maybe many us adults could take away from it also… I remember saying during our daily films of Halloween month that I liked some of these films (and some I didn’t) because they went against the mould. Some of these films we watched had so many more layers to them than I could’ve ever expected. But none of them more so, and none of them fascinated me more than the 2009 film that its Wiki page describes as “American gothic stop-motion animated dark fantasy horror film”, Coraline.
‘Be careful what you wish for’ … Isn’t that the truth…
Firstly I must say, if you haven’t already, or haven’t for some time. Maybe you only saw this film as a child, stop what you are doing right now, and seek out this film. If you like films that have easter eggs, films that keep you guessing, and films with A LOT of VERY dark undertones (we will get into some of those later), then this is the one for you. With that in mind, let’s go through what happens… I’ll give you some of my thoughts as I go through it, some more after, and then I will take a look at the MANY different theories and thoughts that have been expressed about it by others. Honestly it’ll blow your mind some of the things that people have noticed and pointed out. I for one grew an even greater level of appreciation for the story AFTER I had seen the film.
The film is based upon the book by Neil Gaiman, and was brought to the big screen by Henry Selick (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and The Giant Peach… yeah this dude is good at bringing books to life). A number of big names were used as voice actors; Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French to name a few. The basic plot is the tale of a young girl called Coraline, who like many is disillusioned by the discipline and lack of freedom and lack of care shown by her parents. And so is left seeking and dreaming of a different world… and then she finds it… and all seems wonderful, until it isn’t and it becomes very clear, very quickly that this alternate reality comes at a dark and twisted price. Upon its release. it grossed over 180 MILLION dollars worldwide, leaving it only behind Chicken Run and Wallace & Gromit’s run in with a WERE-RABBIT for films of the stop-motion variety. It would also be up for Academy and Golden Globe awards, but on top of monetary and critical success, this film has garnered quite the cult following down the years, which is testament to the extraordinary number of tiktoks I have seen regarding the film and all the theories on it. This is truly an all-time great film.
Our story begins with young Coraline Jones, who lives with her Mum Mel, and her Dad Charlie. One day, as Coraline is looking for a nearby well, she encounters a boy called Wybie, as well as a black cat. Wybie is the grandson of her family’s landlady, and she is given a doll that looks rather similar to herself…
A typical story for many young children, as Coraline has to entertain herself, with her parents ‘too busy’… She soon explores the new family home, and finds a door that has a brick wall behind it… but later, she discovers that there is now a strange tunnel in place of the bricks, and so she goes in… and soon finds herself in a complete other world… well, kind of…
The world that Coraline goes into is in fact very much like her own world. She finds herself in ‘her house’, with ‘her parents’, only they are… different… And at first, naturally Coraline is startled by the the fact this version of ‘her parents’ have BUTTONS AS EYES, but it turns out that they differ from the parents she knows in one other key way, they give Coraline attention. And I am sure we can all relate to that in some way, right? As I am sure we all would, Coraline actually quite likes this world, where she is not just lavished with food, but with care and affection too… Sounds quite dreamy doesn’t it? Well the dream indeed does end when she wakes up, and she’s back home in her own world.
The next morning, back in her own world, Coraline meets a few of her new neighbours; April Spink, Miriam Forcible, and Mr Bobinsky. Spink and Bobinsky BOTH warn her about the other world she is so fond of, and this comes with a story from Wybie who explains about how his Grandmother’s twin sister disappeared many years ago, when they were both young children. The dreams and wonders of the ‘other’ world further come into question, when she goes back there that evening, and meets another Wybie, who in this world is totally mute… and that is when she receives her most stark warning, from the black cat she met firstly back home earlier on…
This cat can not only travel between the worlds, just like Coraline can, but in the ‘other’ world, the cat can TALK! He appears and warns Coraline of the dangers of this alternate reality. But still Coraline wants to believe, and so returns to see her ‘other’ parents, who are still offering the love and attention that Coraline desires so badly. At this point in the film, I was certain I knew what was coming, and I was convinced things were about to get dark… A reminder this is apparently a ‘KIDS FILM’…?!
The ‘other’ mother asks Coraline if she would like to stay in their world for good, on one condition… and then she presents her with the box you see above. Coraline now realises that this world isn’t all she hoped it would be, and she tries to fall asleep so to return back to her own reality. But she is still in the other world. And when she tries to take the manual way out, through the the door she first came into… ‘the other mother’ transforms, and she places Coraline into a dark, dark room through a large mirror. For the first time, we witness the evil mite of The Beldam.
In the dark room Coraline encounters three children who appear to be ghosts. One of them Coraline recognises as her landlady’s sister, who went missing many years ago. The children tell Coraline about the other mother and who she truly is. They explained that the evil Beldam uses these ragdolls to spy on children whom are living unhappy lives, and she lures them into the other world with promises of treats, happiness attention, and love. And they, unlike Coraline, fell under her spell and allowed her to sew the buttons over their eyes. As they did so she locked their souls inside this mirror, trapping them forever. Coraline is horrified and promises to help the children by retrieving their eyes, but as she does so the ‘other’ Wybie sends her back to her home.
The dreamworld further unravels when, as back in the real world, Wybie asks Coraline for the doll back, saying it belongs to his grandmother’s missing sister. Caroline thought tries to explain to Wybie explain the horrors that have unfolded, but when he doesn’t believe her he runs away in fear. After Coraline gets an Adder Stone from Spink and Forcible, the mysterious cat reappears to inform her that the Beldam has kidnapped her parents. And now the two of them must set out to rescue them. Coraline decides to try and play the Beldam at her own game, and proses a challenge… she suggests that if she can find her parents and the eyes of ghost children, then the Beldam must set them all free… but if she cannot, she will stay in the world that the Beldam has created AND… she will allow her to sew the buttons on her eyes.
The Beldam tells Coraline that the missing eyes are hidden within three wonders that she has designed for her. If Coraline can find and collect each of the eyes, then she’ll be able to free the spirits of the children. She does this, and overcomes all the challenges and different horrors, as she moves closer to her goal. The other world begins to fade as she continues to succeed, until all three of the children’s eyes are collected and it’s just simply the house that is left standing. The Beldam then further transforms into a hideous beast like monster, as now all Coraline must do is find her parents.
Coraline soon realises that her parents are trapped in a giant snow globe, and that the Beldam will not let them go! Coraline has to throw the cat to distract, before she is able to escape through the door, with the help from the trapped sounds of the ghost children, and even slices The Beldam’s hand as she escapes. And soon enough, Coraline and her parents all appear back in the ‘real’ world… The parents have no recollection of being kidnapped, or anything that has taken place in the ‘other’ world. And with great relief, Coraline embraces her parents, and everything appears to be back to normal.
Later that evening, the ghosts return to try and warn Coraline that the Beldam is still after her cursed Key (to open the door to the ‘other’ world), and so Coraline quickly goes to try and destroy it. But as she does so, the hand of The Beldam that had previously been severed, reappears and tries to pull Coraline back in.
Luckily, Wybie arrives (by now, he has realised Coraline was right about it all along) and he is able to rescue Coraline and destroy the hand of the Beldam. They then throw the hand and the key into the well. And it appears that the evil has finally been defeated.
The next day, it’s party time…
Did you see where the Cat went at the end?
No, me neither…
Also, before we go into the MANY theories on the film, I must mention the soundtrack. Which I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more appropriate soundtrack for a film in my life. It was so odd and creepy, but also sweet and comforting. A perfect accomplice to a movie about the discrepancy between dreams and nightmares.
Lisa has introduced me to the wonders of TikTok in recent months, and in the days after we watched the film, she sent me dozens of different clips… all of other people pointing out their theories and easter eggs that they had spotted. Some I myself noticed, others I certainly did not… and my love and feeling for this incredible film only grew. Just as Coraline herself went into a wonderous tunnel that saw numerous bizarre and many more dark and terrifying details, I found myself DEEP into the rabbit hole… I shall share with you just SOME of the many theories I saw…
Coraline never actually left the ‘other’ world…
That WYBIE’S GRANDMOTHER was the real force behind trapping Coraline…
The ‘other mother’ is able to create illusions to trick Coraline…
Look at the shape of the garden from the aerial view here…
Coraline’s Mum’s nose…
Mum’s eerily good guess of which key to use…
The way the ‘other father’ is with his food…
That Coraline was always DEAD…
The horror that is the life of the ‘other father’…
That eyes really CAN be deceiving…
(and probably my fave video of the lot)… Just a whole bunch more hidden details…
So after all of that, I am sure you, like me, have MANY theories on this weird, fascinating, but mostly horrifying world(s) that Coraline Jones finds herself going between. Although my thoughts on it all have varied over time, right now I am pretty sure on where I stand on the main theory, as I too believe that Coraline is still trapped under the watchful spell of the Beldam.
For me, Coraline thinks she is in the clear as the film ends. But very clearly, to me, she is not. Her feeling relaxed and as if all is fine, is the exact sign that it certainly IS NOT as it should be. I don’t think the Grandmother of Wybie is the mastermind, but I do think she is at least knowledgeable of the Beldam and her plans. Perhaps a deal with the devil was made in the past… maybe she allowed her twin to be taken, in exchange for her to be kept safe, and Wybie eventually too. I think The black cat is a character that should be talked about more, as the one main link between the two worlds. Part of me wonders if this is another of The Beldam’s trick, and the cat works as an insider on the Beldam’s behalf, guiding Coraline not on the right path, but on the path the other mother wants Coraline to take. We know she loves to play games after all…
One thing that does startle me in the film, is the ‘other’ father. I think if you want to see the true evil of the other mother, you just look at the other father. As the weird arms indicate, he is quite literally just a puppet for the Beldam, trapped in this world just as much as Coraline is. Maybe the REAL parents never escaped after all, maybe the other father had to sell his soul and have his eyes replaced with buttons to save Coraline? But it’s clear he is suffering, and there is NOTHING he can do to escape his living nightmare, simply playing out his life as a pawn in the Beldam’s game.
But with all that being said… one thing I am sure of, is that quality and intrigue wise… this is such a wonderful film. It blurs the lines incredibly between what is real and what isn’t, what you think you saw, and what you REALLY saw. This isn’t just a spooky kids film, it’s so much more than that. Coraline is as weird as it is wonderful. A masterpiece, a very dark and evil one… but then again, the best ones often are.
Josh.