Coraline, A Film About Learning To Love Imperfections
When we think of cartoons, we think of children. However, in some cases, cartoons even reach an adult audience. The movie Coraline (2009) is a perfect example.
So maybe the film is not entirely intended for children. Instead, it is aimed at children who are mature enough to appreciate its magic.
The mysterious storyline and beauty make this film a very complex story that is almost too scary. The film was shot frame by frame. This reminds us of some of Tim Burton’s films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. Many people think that Tim Burton also directed this movie. However, he had nothing to do with it.
Coraline, a masterpiece of a frame-by-frame film
The film’s peculiar and gothic beauty features are very similar to Burton’s. However, they were not just designed. It’s no coincidence that we think of other Burton movies when we see this one. The director Henry Selick has worked with Tim Burton for a long time. Actually, he was the director of The Nigthmare Before Christmas and not Burton.
It is true that the idea for the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas came from a poem that Burton had written. However, Selick directed the film. Burton made it. Ultimately, both directors influenced each other. The result was a film in a very special and special frame-by-frame style.
Coraline is a visual gift for our childish fantasies. The story reminds us of The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland. After all, it reminds us of girls who go on bizarre adventures where they are confronted with their greatest fears. This continues until they reach a higher level of maturity and wisdom.
The Other World
Coraline is a girl whose parents are too busy with their work and therefore hardly have time for her. She finds her surroundings very boring. Like Alice, she will discover a new secret world that is only getting darker and darker.
She and her parents have just moved into an old house far from the city. She has no friends. Coraline is bored and alone in her house. She wishes she could be anywhere else.
Although her parents are working on a gardening catalog, they have a very messy yard. After all, they are too busy and hardly even have the time to work on their old house. This ensures that the house is anything but cozy.
mr. Bobinsky, one of their neighbors, is a Russian acrobat who trains mice. Coraline also meets Miss Spink and Miss Weighty, two strange actresses obsessed with dogs. Finally, there is also Wybie, the grandson of the house owner. He is the same age as Coraline. Wybie decides to give her a scary doll that looks just like Coraline.
In addition to these eccentric characters whom Coraline hates so much, there is also a black cat that Wybie cares for. That cat turns out to be much more than just an ordinary cat.
Perfection is not always what it seems
One night, the mice take Coraline to an extraordinary place. It’s a little secret door that leads to something that looks like an improved version of her life.
In this “Other World” Coraline sees an exact copy of her house. However, this house is more colorful and has a beautiful garden. Her parents are also more considerate. From the quality of the food to the neighbors everything seems to be better behind the small door.
In this new reality, everyone has an alter ego. It is an exact copy of themselves but they have buttons instead of eyes. So everyone has an alter ego except Coraline and the cat.
Coraline doesn’t seem to worry about this fact. After all, her life is finally perfect. One of the characters that catches our eye is Wybie or the “Other Wybie.”
Coraline’s “Other Mother” has made him a perfect friend to Coraline as he cannot speak. However, this Wybie is the most revealing character. He seems to be afraid of the “Other Mother.”
In the “Other World” the cat is still the same. So the cat has no buttons instead of eyes. However, once the cat enters the Otherworld, it can talk. He becomes to her a spiritual guide, a fundamental helper who will warn her of possible danger.
Everything in the “Other World” seems perfect, until Coraline discovers that other children’s trapped souls live there. They are children who were alive long ago. With them she finds the sister of Wybie’s grandmother.
The film gets darker by the minute. After all, we discover the evil intentions of the “Other Mother.” The beauty of the “Other World” is nothing more than a trap to catch kids like Coraline.
What does Coraline teach us?
The movie Coraline is full of metaphors. Its purpose is to show that not everything is as it seems.
Coraline’s doll is nothing but a puppet from the “Other Mother.” It’s a tool she uses to spy on Coraline and reveal all her secrets. By replacing the eyes with buttons, the “Other Mother” is able to imprison the souls of all children for eternity.
The black cat helps her see that this “Other World” is not as perfect as it seems.
Wybie’s real name is Wyborne, a reference to “why born.” He lives with his grandmother. We don’t know anything about his parents. So his childhood was probably not easy. At first, Coraline felt contempt for these two characters. However, they become the key to escaping the “Other Mother” and defeating her.
Coraline hates Wybie and the cat for their looks. So are her neighbors who she finds boring and weird. None of these characters are perfect. However, the perfection of the “Other World” is nothing more than a dangerous temptation.
Learning to love imperfections
Coraline discovers that her parents are in danger and that the “Other Mother” is using her. In that moment she learns to just accept people as they are and that she herself is not perfect.
She overcomes her fears and saves her friends and her family. She does this by showing the “Other Mother” that love is more than just appearances.
Coraline is a lesson for all those parents who don’t have enough time for their children. In a world where we hardly have time, we sometimes neglect what is important and forget our fundamental values.
