Hello and Welcome to today's special Anniversary! I love these, don't you? It makes normal day's a bit more special. Today Coraline is 10 years old! That's 10 whole years of spooking young and old alike with a story that inspires and frightens the inner child in all of us. In honor of this children's horror classic we will be doing a synopsis and review, talking about all the ways this movie delight's and terrify's us to this very day.Coraline is a 3D-stop motion animation that tells the story of Coraline, a 2002 novel by Neil Gaiman. The movie stars Dakota Fanning as Coraline, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, and Dawn French (I'm only listing the last two because I'm a huge AbFab fan). It's a dark story about being young and all the complications adolescents brings. Set to a eerie backdrop of a new home and the allure of another world. Not all is what it seems and sometimes, the grass isn't greener on the other side.
Our story begins with Coraline and her family moving into a new home. Her parents are over worked and determined to be successful, leaving Coraline to her entertain herself. The Pink Palace Apartments is where the trio now reside, along with a pluthra of wacky and eccentric neighbors. One day, while her parents are working, Coraline decides to tromp around outside after a rain storm, donning her classic yellow rain jacket and boots. It is while she is getting familiar with her new home that she meets a young boy named Wybie. It is during their introduction that he tells her about his grandmothers twin sister that had gone missing and gifts Coraline a doll he found that resembles her. She accepts the doll and the two go their separate ways for the day.
That night, the Coraline doll leads Coraline to a tiny doorway in the wall that takes her to an alternate universe. Here, she is greeted by button-eyed doppelgangers of every person in her life. They call themselves Other's. Other mother, Other father, and even Other Wybie. In this world her parents don't work so much and she is the center of attention. Her mother cooks, her father sings, and Wybie doesn't speak. It seems like a paradise. Feeling happier than she has in a long time, Coraline falls asleep peacefully in her other bedroom, waking in her real bedroom the next morning.Coraline is over the moon about her 'other' world and tries to tell her parents about it. They brush it off as a dream leaving Coraline to turn to Wybie and her new neighbors. The tenants of the apartment and Wybie tell Coraline to proceed with caution, warning her that not everything is always as it seems. She pays no mind, however, and decides to return to the other world.
Caroline's next visit is just as magical as the first. She visits her other neighbors who are putting on a show filled with circus performing mice and a never ending burlesque performance. There are cotton candy cannons and glowing flowers. Everything is perfect...well, almost perfect. A talking cat keeps following Coraline, warning her to leave before it is too late, but still she ignores the warnings. When she returns home, the other mother tells Coraline that she can stay with her forever under one condition...she must replace her eyes with buttons like all the others. Terrified, Coraline attempts to go home to the real world when the other mother, now more spider like than before, traps Coraline behind a mirror. It is here that she meets the spirits of three other children, one being Wybie's grandmother's twin sister. It is revealed that the other mother uses button-eyed dolls to spy on children. She convinces them that she can make their lives better and their wildest dreams come true, when really her motives are more sinister. The other mother steals their eyes to consume their lives. They need their real eyes to free their souls. Coraline agrees to help and hatches a plan to free the children.
Suddenly, Coraline is rescued from the mirror by the other Wybie who then returns Coraline to the real world. Upon coming home, Coraline realizes that her parents are missing and deduces that they have been kidnapped by the other mother. She knows that there is only one solution: To return to the other world and defeat the other mother in her own game. Before she begins, Coraline visits with her neighbors, two burlesque performers who have an affinity for tiny dogs and skimpy costumes. They gift Coraline with a magic button that will help her in her journey. With that, Coraline returns to the other world and offers to play a game with the other mother and it is agreed that if Coraline can find her parents and the ghost children's eyes, then the other mother must let all of them go. If she cannot, then she will let the other mother sew buttons into her eyes.
The other world is much more terrifying and nightmarish now and disintegrating as Coraline attempts to find the ghost children's eyes. With the magic button, Coraline finds the eyes and returns to the only part of the other world that hasn't disappeared yet. It is here where she finds the other mother in full on spider form. Unaccepting of her victory, the other mother tries to trap Coraline in the other world. Coraline is far too cunning, however. She discovers that her parents were trapped in a snow globe. In a last ditch effort, Coraline throws the talking cat at the other mothers face who then claws out her button eyes. The other mother turns the floor into a spider web trying to trap the two but they manage to find their way out, locking the tiny door behind them. Coraline then smashes the snow globe, freeing her parents who have no memory of what had just happened. She is then visited by the ghost children who are grateful for their freedom but urge Coraline to get rid of the key before somebody else finds it. So, Coraline and Wybie go to a well outside of the apartments and, before she has a chance, Wybie smashes the key with a rock. The pair throw the remains into the well and seal it so that no one will ever find it. The next day Coraline and her family have a big garden party with their neighbors and they all live happily ever after.
This movie holds a special place in my heart as well as the hearts of countless others. It is a beautifully crafted film that mixes fantasy and fear in one amazing, animated package. It truly has a scary and unsettling atmosphere that almost feels like it is't a children's film at all. There is a sense of child like wonderment as we look on at all the fantastical things that are going on around Coraline. The colors pop and the story is mesmerizing. I feel that, as an audience member, I relate to Coraline and I can feel when the magic of the story ends and the terror begins. We all get that sense of despair when the other mother tells Coraline to sew buttons over her eyes so she can stay with her forever. You just want to go home and thank the stars for your real mother, or equivalent. It walks the line of being scary enough to frighten the audience but not so much that you don't want to watch it. I think that for 10 years, the movie holds up very well and I know that in 20 years we will all feel the same.We have finally reached the end of this post. I couldn't decide which direction to go with this post, so I just thought I would write it out and see where it took me. Ultimately, I just wanted to talk about this movie and celebrate it's 10th year just remembering this movie for what it is...a masterpiece. So, let us all just re-watch this one and relive the emotions this movie evokes. If you haven't seen it then I hope that you do. It really is a great movie, especially if you are a fan of the horror genre. It is on Netflix right now, so what are you waiting for? You can also watch it off of Amazon and YouTube, for a small fee. You will also have no trouble finding it on DVD in stores. It is still there, trust me. If you have seen it then tell me how to liked it. Or maybe you don't like it and never want to see it again. Tell me your thoughts, leave me a comment, like, subscribe and follow me on Instagram (@blood.gore.and.so.much.more or @cameronmothershed) and Twitter (@cameronmarie96). I check them all, so don't be a stranger. Stay spooky and stay tuned.
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