This movie has always been a special watch for me, ever since I was a little girl. I’ve found so much comfort in this film because of the weather and the whole creepy vibes. But the reason why I love it so much is because I see myself in Coraline a lot. Her desire to be alone and not feel trapped inside her house all day is a reflection of me. I LOVE being alone and especially going out to explore, it keeps life interesting and always feeling adventurous when doing something new.
“Coraline” is about a neglected only child who moves into an old duplex with her parents and finds a parallel world through a small door in her living room. In this new world, she is excited about her new set of parents and everything that they have to offer her, but she discovers that she is in danger. Her “other mother” wants to eat (Coraline’s) soul just like she did to other kids before her.
Coraline is an only child who is very adventurous and loves exploring new places and new things. Even though she has no siblings, her parents would rather be rotting on their computers writing gardening catalogs instead of interacting with their daughter.
Her drive for exploring and, in a way, “escaping reality” stems from her parents’ uninvolved parenting style. You would expect an only child to actually have permissive parents and a spoiled childhood, but instead, she is shown little interest and rare warmth from her mom and dad. So in a way, she’s adapted to being alone, but she secretly enjoys Wybie’s and her neighbor’s company.
For Coraline, coming into this new parallel world felt like a dream come true because she finally felt seen and loved. I think that the typical person would’ve told a trusted adult or never gone back, but she didn’t want the attention she got from her “other parents” to end.
This new world was a distraction from the real world that she was living in, where she felt invisible to everyone around her, and this other world made her feel loved.
For example, after she found out that the trapdoor world wasn’t just a dream, she still decided to go back in. Only this time, she’s asked by her “other mother” to stay in her world forever and sew buttons into her eyes. But besides the outcome after she was asked, the correlation between Coraline’s development and her decisions in this movie weaves together perfectly.
Her reality was cold and emotionally lifeless, but everyone’s parallel versions were nicer. The poor girl was finally feeling seen, but she thankfully rejected her “other mother’s” request and escaped while saving her parents.
Overall, I don’t think that she was stupid for going back into the world multiple times; she deserves all the love that she never received from her parents. Making her very brave for the decisions she made, and I feel a sense of pride in her perseverance and planning that kept her alive. I definitely recommend this movie if you’re into comforting yet eerie movies that make you question yourself.
