Why the movie adaptation of Coraline is so fascinating

The movie Coraline premiered in early 2009. But the movie never really seemed to leave the public eye. 12 years later Coraline is still being talked about. But why is that? 

First, the movie Coraline isn’t a regular animation. It’s stop motion animation and  is made from clay. With this being such a time-consuming and tedious process, Coraline took four years to make. When looking at the footage for the making of this movie, you can see that there needs to be someone moving the dolls for every movement and expression. This doesn’t just apply to the characters but the objects in the background as well. 

Second, this movie has a very riveting plot. This movie revolves around a young girl named Coraline. Coraline is an eleven-year-old girl whose family moves from Michigan to the Pink Palace apartment complex in Oregon. This is an old, run-down apartment with very odd neighbors. 

After their move-in, Coraline is told to explore the house after annoying her parents with questions. During her exploration, she stumbles upon a door. She asks her mother for a key and as she opens the door, she realizes that it’s just brick. Very irritated, Coraline forgets about the door and gets along with her usual adventures where she stumbles upon her neighbor, Wybie. Though they don’t really seem to like each other, he plays a key role later in the movie. 

A fan-favorite scene in this movie is when Coraline wakes up from her sleep one night and sees that the small door is open. Inside the door is a blue, vibrant tunnel. Eager to see what’s on the other side, she crawls through. Only for the other side of the tunnel to be her house. But with quick examination, it’s her house with tiny differences. When Coraline smells food and hears what sounds to be her mother, she follows the scent to the kitchen where she finds her mother. With buttons as eyes. But with Coraline being the curious person she is, she stays all throughout dinner. But when the other parents seem eager for her to stay forever, she goes to sleep. Throughout this movie, Coraline battles the other mother because she has one wish. This wish is something Coraline feels she may not be able to fulfill. This causes conflict and tension; thickening the plot. 

As this movie came out in early 2009, many people watched this while they were young. So, many didn’t realize hidden messages. But as you watch this riveting and chilling film, you are bound to notice different things the more you watch.

Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 90% on the tomato meter, and I would give the film ten out of ten stars.