Coraline was kinda insane 

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Fun fact: the book almost wasn't published. His editor said it was going to traumatize kids, so he asked her to read it to her daughter and see if it was too scary. The girl said she was enjoying it every night, and they got through the whole book and she said it wasn't scary so the book was published. Many years later, Neil got to talk to her about the book and she said she was absolutely terrified the whole time but wanted to know what was next, so she lied because she was worried that they'd stop reading the book if she said it was terrifying. The book got published because a kid lied about how scary it was.

It’s quite telling how Wyborn is supposed to be a goofy name when this released, but in 2022 I can imagine a lot of parents naming their child that

The story shows how abusers, manipulators , and predatory people operate in a very impactful way.

After watching the movie quite a few times, I think the message is more about perspective. Coraline sees her life as dull and gray because she’s in an unfamiliar place with neglectful parents. But it is clear a lot has happened to wear them down. Moving, trying to get work done, and even a car accident. It took me forever to realize her mom’s turtle neck was actually a neck brace. And with the state of their fridge, it’s clear they’re really tight on money too. That’s another reason why they were so laser focused on the catalogue. Coraline didn’t really see any of this though. She just saw her parents ignoring her. She was looking at the surface. Just like she did with the Other World. But once she looked closer, she realized it was all fake and twisted. So when she comes back to her real life, she sees what’s beneath the surface. Things are pretty good. Or at least they can be if she approaches everything more positively. Which is what she does. She is friendly to her neighbors and helping her parents with a smile. And the garden they are planting is the same one shaped like her face only not as bright and extravagant. It shows that everything she loved in the fake world could be achieved if she helps to make it happen. If she chooses to see all the good in her life, it can be just as fulfilling and magical as the Other World. Only this time, it’s real.

Coraline advocates stranger danger mindset in kids better than any PSA.

I think the most terrifying scene is when coraline is finally getting back to her regular house, and she is desperately trying to crawl through the bouncing tunnel, and the other mother is banging on the little door behind her, each time she does getting closer and closer, literally warping the fabric of space to get closer to coraline every time she bangs on that little door

i read the book when i was 8 or 9. didn’t really understand it, but it was still pretty scary. reading it back, movie coraline had it EASY. book coraline didn’t have wybie, she was basically facing the other mother alone with nothing but her wits, a semi-helpful cat, and a little rock with a hole in it

Fun fact: My sister went to collage where Coralline took place once her and her boyfriend drove by a big pink apartment complex and they both said ‘isn’t that where coralline lives?’ So yes, the Pink Palace actually does exist but no one lives there (it was based off the apartment complex) but it isn’t called The Pink Palace. It’s a very cool town loved visiting her there! Oh right…the cult there…if you go downtown and see people wearing all white *RUN* .

"All Coraline had to do to solve all of her problems was to wait three days" I think THAT'S the point.

To be fair to Coraline’s parents it’s strongly implied that they usually are fun, loving parents it’s just that their lives are currently going through a rough patch that they need to sort out

I can't believe he didn't show/talk about Bobinski when he just kind of turns to sand and is controlled by mice. That was one of the scariest parts of the movie for me when I first watched it.

I legitimately loved this movie as a kid. I loved the scary and macabre my entire childhood. My mother's always said they should have named me Wednesday. My church hosted a trunk n' treat for Halloween one year and I volunteered to help at one of the games stalls. They asked us not to dress TOO scary since we'd have a lot of very youngins, so I dressed as Coraline, so only children who enjoyed scary things would really get it. I remember hearing this tiny child's voice behind me go.. "Coraline?" And she asked to take a photo with me. Couldn't have been more than 10. It's a fantastic movie. And book. It may not be good for every kid, but I feel like we should be less reserved about showing children non-gory non-sexy things. I wanted to watch a lot of thrillers that just weren't feasible for my parents to show a 10-year-old.

Something most people miss, we never hear the Beldam/Other Mother's real voice. Even when it drops the shape of Coraline's mother it continues to talk in her voice. Imagine as a kid this "imaginary world" version of your mother with button eyes turning into this Slender-mom spider-fae-demon thing but your mother's voice continues to come out of it.

Other Father apologizing over and over for hurting Coraline before letting her take the eye will always fuck me up, I tear up a bit every time because the implications that he has no free will, knows he is doing bad, doesn't want to, but has no control over it is chilling. It's honestly such a short scene but it's super impactful and it's stuck with me since I was a kid.

I watched this in the cinema when I was like 8 and when it ended I remember not being able to unclench my jaw or my hands that were clawed to the couch out of sheer terror. I had watched horror movies before, but none of them messed with the most sacred thing to a child: your parents and the safety they give you.

One thing I don’t think people talk about enough is that even when the “other mother” transforms into her real form she stays with Coraline’s moms voice instead of changing to her own. Just think about how horrifying that actually is

Coraline's parents are actually very realistic and not even bad parents. They are super busy and once they meet their deadline, they are more available. This is told through Coraline's perspective, but her parents really do love her and care. I agree with a few other comments, it's a stressful time. Wybie was a character made just for the movie as Coraline in the book is basically alone and that's surprisingly much scarier, so they did try to tone it down a bit..but Neil Gaiman really did write quite a terrifying story

Cinema Therapy does a great job at explaining the difference between her real parents and the other parents. She feels neglected by her real parents, but at least her life is safe. Not to mention, the neglect isn’t really permanent. It’s a stressful time, just moved, having a deadline. How they treat Coraline throughout the movie is just a small reflection on them throughout her entire life. The other mother however uses Coraline being upset about feeling neglected to get her to trust her. The other mother is a pretty good representation of manipulative parents, being so sweet and giving their kids all they can want so when it comes time to the abuse, the kids feel conflicted. Yes they hurt them but, they also do all this awesome stuff for them. They are blinded by the attention they don’t see the danger.

RU-vid PLEASE DONT TAKE THIS DOWN

I love Coraline's parents, they're very real depictions of overworked, stressed-out parents trying to make ends meet. The fact that people even today are debating whether they treated Coraline well or not just goes to show how well-developed they are.

The reason there aren’t more stop motion films is because they take literally years to make. Every second of the movie has to be reset 24 times. Stop motions animators are icons. They put their blood sweat and tears into those movies.

That movie traumatized me when I was 6. 10 years later, I still don't have the guts to re-watch it.

I was borderline terrified of Coraline as a kid

I was 9 and saw this in theatres with my younger cousin and my grandma. I was petrified once things went dark, AND here I am 23 years old and watching old scenes from this movie still gives me physical tension and anxiety. The nightmares I had after that movie I was traumatized for so long :(

Coraline is a brilliant example of how animation is severely underestimated. Animated movies are nearly always written off as being "kids movies" and people don't think twice until they actually bother to watch the film. Especially Stop Motion Animation which almost always gives off an eerie yet beautiful vibe. From Nightmare Before Christmas, to Corpse Bride, to Coraline, stop motion is basically kid-friendly horror films. It's wild.

I think the point about Coraline's parents isn't that they were bad or neglectful. They were just really busy and Coraline was an impatient 11 year old who wanted all their attention right NOW. She didn't understand that things can be hectic after a move and it would get better. Her parents were just frazzled and needed time to finish adult stuff.

Just enjoying this again before youtube “death at the door” memes it.

Honestly, this movie is a prime example of why children's horror is so fascinating. Most horror tends to lean on death and gore, some giant monster that wants to eat you or whatever. You can't really do death in a kid's movie, so you have to come up with a workaround, which inevitably leads to a threat that's infinitely more fucked up than just getting stabbed in the woods

ALEX WATCHING AN ANIMATED/STOP MOTION FILM??? But honestly coraline was definitely a cinematic masterpiece! Everyone who worked on it deserve every ounce of appreciation💗

Alex I am so excited you did this movie! I worked on it! Can I share some fun facts? 1. All the knit items were hand knit! The gloves were about the size of a pinky nail! They were made by a woman who specializes in hand knit miniatures, she uses little tiny needles to knit! 2. The movers were designed off of Pixar founders, one of which who passed away, as a tribute to them 3. During one of the scenes where the jumping mouse squeezes under Coraline’s door in the real world, if you freeze frame, you will see a tiny poop squeeze out of the mouse’s butt! The animator snuck that in as a gag! 4. The cherry blossom tree flowers were made of popcorn! 5. Majority of this movie was handmade or rapid prototyped, but vast majority was all handmade, every single little detail!

quickly before it gets sent to the shadow realm

I vividly remember watching Coraline when it came out when I was about 5/6 and it felt like a fever dream honestly

A lot of people were confused why they needed to sew the buttons into Coraline's eyes, couldn't the Beldam just eat her now? Well children, have you heard the phrase "The eyes are the windows to the soul"? With the buttons sewn in, they can act as a doorway so the Other Mother can slowly drain her life force.

The scariest thing to me is.. did Coraline ever really escape? The ending was too happy and simple, the cat disappearing, her parents SUDDENLY becoming less neglectful and more fun/loving? It never felt right to me, even now it still sends chills down my spine thinking she’s still trapped there without even knowing

Enjoy the last time we can watch this masterpiece 😢

5:06 im probably one of the first to appreciate the little squidward painting thing

Fun fact: Coraline was originally going to be live action, but they changed it to claymation because the talking cat they said with too scary. The cat, not the imagery of real humans having buttons for eyes.

12:34 in case you didn't notice, they were neglectful because they were stressed with deadlines. throughout the movie, you can see them working on it. they couldn't unpack and just went straight to work after moving houses, the mom nagged the dad to finish his work during breakfast, you see the dad dropped off to an office for their catalogue before going uniform shopping, and so on. they're clearly stressed over a deadline, hence why they didn't have time for coraline (especially the mother, making her more snappy). once the deadline was settled, they clearly had more time for her, hence why they became nicer. it makes sense that this was their turning point.

i was absolutely obsessed with this movie as a kid. maybe to a weird extent. id watch it over and over and try to memorize every single frame. then i saw like, the behind the scenes DVD where the writers and creators explained how it was all made and i thought i had just struck gold man so i started watching THAT over and over and over. then i excitedly showed it to my cousins and all of them were scared shitless of it and i, as a 6 year old got a stern talking to from my aunt. yep, good times

Watched it before but watching again before RU-vid removes if!

CinemaTherapy covers this pretty well! In short, Coraline is about how escapism can be dangerous in extremes, and how sometimes, the circumstances we want to escape from are temporary and will pass if we wait. Her parents aren’t necessarily neglectful - we’re just seeing things from the eyes of a kid who wants all their attention and thus creates an alternate world in their head where things are perfect in *their* perspective.

Coraline's parents aren't necessarily bad parents who hate their daughter, they're just stressed because of work. They're trying to meet deadlines for their catalogue and they're in the process of moving into a new house. I get that asking your child to leave you alone is harsh, but trying to get work done when they want you to entertain them is just going to distract you and lead to mistakes. Coraline's life definitely seemed bleak when I saw the film as a kid, but now as an adult I recognize that they're all going through temporary stuff and we've just caught them at a bad time that makes them seem like worse people than they are

Commenting my condolences before this gets taken down😭💞

Here before this video gets removed it was a nice ride lads Edit:Nvm lads we back in the clear

I kind of thought the message was obvious, and I love the way this movie does it so that my kids seemed to get it. It's a "don't get in the stranger's van just because they offer you candy" sort of message. The first time we watched it, even in the beginning when she first goes to the alternate world my kids were screaming "don't go back!" because even when every thing seemed good there something feels off about it. This movie is amazing at conveying that message.

The reason the story is so frightening is actually explained in the book's epigraph. I don't have it in front of me so it's not a direct quote, but the gist is: "We do not tell children stories of dragons so that they will know there are dragons; we tell them stories so they know that the dragons can be slain."

RU-vid don’t take this video down!

Alex as a minecraft youtuber would actually be kinda sick

There is absolutely not enough stop motion films out anymore, watching how these movies are made is incredible and such a testament to art and patience and I think that's one of the reasons Coraline will always be such a great film.

There is a theory on it actually. One that I fully get behind. Namely it's that everything was shown from Coraline's prespective. Her parents weren't actually that mean to her, she just saw it that way. They were busy and she, being a child that she is immediately misinterpreted. They were shown bland and one dimensional like "she just hates gardenwork" or "dad is just always listening to whatever mom said" But after she returns from the other world her perspective on her parents change and we see what they are really like. It's a movie about valuing what you have and not taking things for granted. At least that's how I see it

Here before RU-vid shuts this down 😭 Edit: RU-vid STOP PLAYING WITH MY FEELINGS 😡

Rewatch time before it gets taken down and thrown into the void

im jus now realizing how manipulative the other parents were. the whole world seemed to be better and coraline was given everything she wanted n they made her feel like she could trust them and she was “loved”, with manipulators, its almost always a moment where they ask u to do something thats either uncomfortable or something you wouldnt even consider doing, in this case it was the buttons they wanted to sew on coralines eyes. and ofc when this moment happens, you get that gut wrenching feeling where u think “i no longer feel safe” which coraline did get. classic manipulative tactic is: “Ive done all of this for you, and you cant do this one thing for me”. brilliant👌🏽

Cinema Therapy did an amazing review of this movie recently. I think the point it is that Coraline wasn't a neglected kid, her parents were just really busy after moving to a new city, had a tight schedule to write their book and an unexpected expense with their car accident. The point is that kids will think that Coraline is a poor poor thing but when we get older we kind of understand that adults just got some problems that fly over our heads in childhood.

I'll miss this 😞

Came to watch this again, after you posted about RU-vid is gonna take it down because of copyright. WHAT COPYRIGHT!!!

Fun fact: Wyborn was not in the book. He was put in the movie as a sounding board for Coraline where as in the book she had a lot of internal dialogue.

The ending isnt about coralines parents to stop being neglectful but for coraline to appreciate and be grateful for what she has

feels strange being here knowing it’s gonna get taken down

Did yu know this scary coraline theory?: in the beginning the other mother pushes he doll into the air into a sky full of stars and the wybie said that at the bottom of the well you could see, a sky full of stars so at the end of the movie when coraline pushes the key and the hand down the well he gives the key back to the other mother!😢

If you were paying attention to the Other Father's song, you'd realize that it was actually a warning. Making up a song about coraline. She's a peach (something to eat) she's a doll (how the other mother spies on her) she's a pal of mine (he actually cares about her.) She's a cute as a button to everyone who ever laid their eyes on coraline (buttons for eyes) When she comes exploring, mom and I will never ever make it boring (how the other mother plans to lure her into staying) Our eyes will be on coraline (sewing the buttons into her eyes) And then the pause right at the end, before he pulls away, he looks right at the camera like he's saying, "Did you get that?"

In my opinion Coraline is also an excellent example of how child grooming can take place: the bribery, gifts, promises of love, "we only want what's best for you", being told that if you follow this one rule (buttons being sewn into her eyes = the child performing s*xual activities) you'll be rewarded etc etc. Movies like this may be terrifying but they give a great underlying message - like someone has mentioned in the comments below, 'don't get into a stranger's van just for candy'. I first saw this movie 7+ years ago and even now I think that when I grow up and see a house I would potentially want to buy but it had a little door leading to supposedly nowhere, you best bet that i'm noping the f*ck out of that place lmao.

Someone please screen record this video and reupload it when it goes down! Edit: just screen recorded it. Now I have a copy for when it goes down :D

Watching this again before it’s gone💀

Coraline’s parents aren’t bad, nor do they hate her. Both of her parents were just very stressed. They were dealing with a move, work stress, and a kid they’re struggling to make happy and balance work. The moral of the story is all over the advertising “careful what you wish for” I think it could also be about Coraline’s bravery and adventurous nature saving her parents.

It’s disturbing af but still one of my favourite adventure films to this day. It gets you so immersed in that world it’s crazy.

youtube DONT REMOVE THIS why are you removing it suddenly

Watching this before it gets deleted, F 😔✨

So, Coraline was originally a children's book. And, the funny thing is, the publisher actually thought that the book was too frightening for children and refused to publish it. But, Neil Gaiman, the author, gave the book to the publisher's kid to see if it was actually too scary. The kid denied being scared, and the book was published. Ironically, it turned out later that the kid was scared silly by the book, but just denied it.

This kind of animation will forever have a very dear place in my heart. It carries a magic no live action ever will.

2:26 always gets me 💀

Who else is here before this video gets taken down Edit: Oh nvm it is safe now

The mom was in a car accident (hence the neck brace) and because of how low they were on funds they had to move. It makes sense for them to stress over their deadline to the point of ignoring anything else - getting published means an income and the continued ability to feed their family. It's obviously not fair or good how they interact with Coraline, but understandable nonetheless. Another message of the movie, besides the whole 'caution' thing is actually very valuable, too: Coraline in a way emancipated herself, she learned to appreciate things she didn't before (e. g. her cooky neighbours) and that she's able to bring change to things she doesn't like through her own actions (planting the garden, engaging with the others to feel less lonely).

I always thought the lesson of the movie was to appreciate what you have, even if it isn't the most ideal, cause everything has a cost. Yes, the parents aren't the best throughout the movie but I think their actions are understandable. The writer's rash scene shows that the dad can be fun given the right circumstances, and as for the mom she realizes that she's being hard on Coraline and gets her the gloves she wanted as a kind of sorry. They just moved in so of course they don't have anything good to eat and had to throw something edible together. Sure, they could be better but come on, imagine making a big move, having a really important work report coming up, and having to deal with your kid adjusting to the new environment, that's a lot of stress. In the end, once everything is settled, the parents are able to lighten up and be better to Coraline. Sometimes things aren't ideal at the moment, but if you work through the tougher moments, eventually things will get better.

"Coraline giving Wybe all 13 Reasons, you know what i'm saying" That made my day, I love it so much, it's my new favorite line!

LIGHTNING STRUCK OUTSIDE MY WINDOW LITERALY DURING THIS PART AT THE SAME TIME 2:46

This is the only movie/tv show that genuinely gave me nightmares as a kid

Fun fact! Everything that happens in this movie with Other Mother and that dimension (i think you'd call it the fairy realm) is all because Coraline stepped in the fairy ring, and did pretty much everything wrong lol. Stepped in the fairy ring, preformed magic in said fairy ring (the dowsing rod), once in the fairy realm, she told them her real name, ate their food, drank their drinks, and said thank you (implying that she owed Other Mother a favor). So I like to think that the real lesson of the movie is don't piss off a fairy lmao

I remember reading this book as a child and practically jumping at every shadow. Coraline is one of my favourite books!!😅

Cinema Therapy did a really good video about Coraline not too long ago talking about the message of the movie. The message is basically “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is” paired with the trappings of escapism. A good video and a good channel, highly recommend to anyone who is interested in psychology and learning about movie making.

What I love about this movie is how almost everytime you rewatch it, you see a new foreshadowing. - At the start, you can see at the top of the house Mr. Bobinsky doing calistenics. - Coraline sorting the seed packages by the kitchen window of Bleeding heart, Pumpkin and Squash, all kinda relevant later on. - The clouds spiraling eerily when Coraline is chasing the mice to the tiny door the first time. - Other Mother humming the opening Lullaby. - the lightningbolt briefly making a clawed hand. - The Other Garden shaped like Coraline's face having pumpkins for the eyes, something you HOLLOW OUT and discard the empty shell. - Other's Mother's room, which is the house's PARLOR (like the spider and the fly Poem), with bug- shaped furniture and a web-pattern carpet. The first line of the poem is "'Will you walk into my parlour?' said the Spider to the Fly." The story tells of a cunning spider who entraps a fly into its web through the use of seduction and manipulation. Who does that remind me of....

This video is literally the best. Screw RU-vid.

I'm sad that this video's getting taken down, but at least I was able to see it again before it did

The point of the end is to show her parents aren't actually bad, they were just stressed from work and Coraline being a kid saw it as them hating her and wishing for better parents. When you're a kid you dont usually notice how much work your parents have to do and how moving houses can affect them too so to her it felt like neglect. The end of the movie shows how they usually are, or at least how they are when they finish with their work.

I never saw coralline’s parents as being bad, since I was raised in a single-parent household and I know how working so hard for so long can really rob the joy out of life. Her parents obviously care about her, they’ve just gotta pay off a house and a car accident on top of moving across the country. Life’s just kinda like that sometimes :]

Who else is here before it’s taken down

Am I the only person that really loves this movie? I watched it like a thousand times and still don’t get enough ❤❤❤

When I was a kid watching this, I thought of Coraline's parents as really terrible and also considered them the bad guys in a sense. But now watching it again as I am older, you just see that they're exhausted adults getting lost in their work so they can pay the bills, but they DO love Coraline. It's very sweet and real. As a kid though, you need hella attention at every moment, but now as an adult you see how difficult life is and trying to keep it all together as a parter, parent, and person. It's not that deep but I just wanna mention this lol

11:19 therapist: realistically animated alex Meyers isnt real, he cant hurt you realistically animated alex Meyers:

That button eyes scared tf out of me. I cannot get the image out of my mind that when Coraline climbed through that and then mom first became that other mom, she turned around and it freaked me out sm 💀 after that I couldn’t forget that image and I refused to watch it again

My older brother, mum and little sister used to watch this movie SO MUCH when I was growing up and I could never understand how none of them were anywhere near as traumatised as I was, and I was on the other side of the room trying to distract myself from it, they were actually watching it. This movie is responsible for so many childhood nightmares for me.

There's actually a theory about Wyborne's name. People speculate that his grandmother knows about the beldam, which is why he isn't allowed in the pink palace. This could also mean that Wylie's grandmother, named him that as in, 'why were you born? now I have to protect you from the beldam.' Which also means that Wylie's grandmother let Coraline move in as a sacrifice so Wybie wouldn't be killed.

Fun fact: the book was Coraline was based on almost wasn’t published cause the editor thought it was too scary for children, but was later convinced by his daughter that it was fine. Plot twist: the daughter was also very scared by the story, but also wanted to know what happened next.

IT'S ALIVE, Y'ALL

That's such a youtube move to take this down. It's clearly under fair use!

I like how the ending is tho with her parents. It's more realistic, not to mention that they don't mean to be neglectful. They're literally working to try and afford food and they're fustrated with her because Coraline is bored and wants them to do things with her right away which they can't do. So mom has a temper with her and her dad being the gentler one gives her some exploring stuff to do. Short lived but effective

As a kid I watched this and my I was terrified but obsessed with it that I would ask my mom to put it on everyday.

I’ll be taking back that R.I.P, now. I’m happy it’s not getting obliterated!

So the movie is set in the town of Ashland Oregon and this is exactly what it’s like as someone who lives there. From the eccentric ex Shakespeare actor neighbors to the seemingly otherworldly local pets and natural wildlife that seem way to friendly with humans, to the sinister way the fog rolls over the hills this morning, it is EXACTLY like this movie