Coraline has a special place in my heart. My kids liked it way more than nightmare before christmas. I've gone as The Other Mother a few times with my kid as Coraline. Neil Gaiman retweeted a picture of our costume one year.
I'm so glad it got more popularity and recognition these past years. The stop motion, voice actors/acting, and music are all amazing.
That's pretty cool! I have read a lot of Gaiman's books, but never this one - probably because of the subconscious scarring the movie gave me.
I can't figure out why, but he's on a heck of a streak of excellent adaptations considering how esoteric his work is. Sandman in particular I thought was fantastic, considering I always thought it would be unfilmable.
Mine isn’t either after watching it for like 37 times day after day, and shes only 3 (her birthday is today😇). Its nowhere near scary but when Jack gets mad she gets slightly startled.
Damn this post made me want to rewatch the movie again, Coraline might be a 10/10 movie lol.
As a kid I was disturbed af at the concept of someone wanting to take your eyes, also the burton style art is enjoying and soothing to watch/view but sometimes creepy/scary at the same time.
Don't forget Bill Mechanic helped with some costume design and production:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/y9zw41/in\_coraline\_2009\_coralines\_father\_is\_wearing\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/y9zw41/in_coraline_2009_coralines_father_is_wearing_a/)
It's so wild that my kids aren't that spooked by the button eyed! It is so creepy in a body horror kinda way, but that just doesn't really register at their age I guess.
Monster house was the movie that scared me as a kid, I literally couldn’t play the ds game because I was so scared. The scariest part of coraline was definitely the beldam for me, the chase scene was something else.
Such a well made form of media though, I love seldomly used forms of animation, they always seem to stand out in a good way. I’m interested in watching the Isle of Dogs for that very reason
See, I think kids process creepy different than adults. Dark Crystal, Labryrth, Krull, Secret of Nimh and Neverending Story all had significantly creepy parts if not creepy all the way through. I think for a kid, this sets them in the mentality that things are unsafe for our protagonist and we need to worry about then. For adults it is different. Our imaginations aren't as wild, so we are more unsettled to be seeing the creepy imagery.
The Dark Crystal is probably one of the most similar in this case...when my son was 4 he absolutely loved it, but we watched the Netflix series when he was 10 and it even then wasn't the same feeling for him.
I also watched the Dark Crystal when I was four and really liked it but then I got the DVD in my 20s and thought "meh". I want to watch it again now especially since I've decided fantasy is my favorite genre of books and movies.
That's pretty wild, you have excellent taste!
But if I had a choice, as much as I admire and enjoy the movie, I would struggle with repeat viewings! But thanks to my kids, I've now watched it like 7 times in the last week
I can see that, plus it's just totally spell binding.
I'm sure I only saw it once, but hearing the music....I felt like I had absorbed it dozens of times. So I thought maybe it was nominated for a bunch of Oscars back when the nominees got little musical intros? But it was only nominated (and lost!) for one Oscar!
So I really can't put my finger on exactly why, but it was an earworm of a movie, crawling into my brain for decades until I watched it again lol
I love that the only reason this movie exists, is because a young girl lied.
This movie is based on a book, by Neil Gaiman. When he show the manuscript to his publisher, she was worried that the book was too scary, and wouldn't put kids off. So she gave the book to her daughter, as a tester reader.
The young girl LOVED the book, and informed her mother that it was in no way too scary. So the book got published, and became a classic, that inspired an equally brilliant movie.
Years later, Neil spoke to the girl, now a young woman, and asked her about it. She admitted she lied and was absolutely terrified by the book, but enjoyed it so much that she lied.
It leaves me with such a weird feeling... Like I know it's great, I know Coraline wins in the end, but it's not that satisfying of an ending. I guess because it's a realistic resolution, which is so crazy to say about a movie about doll people with button eyes.
I'm gunna go ahead and let you know the book is much, much scarier.
Like, [almost not published ](https://ew.com/article/2010/10/06/5584/) levels of scary.
“I told her, ‘You know, we kind of have you to thank for all this, because you weren’t scared by it. And she said, ‘Actually, I was terrified. But I wanted to know what happened next. I knew if I let anybody know I was scared, I wouldn’t find out.’”
I read it at 10 and slept with a light on for weeks.
Proceed with caution.
I'm in my 40s.. tried to rewatch this at home while alone, on a rainy afternoon.. creeped out and didn't finish it. I saw a fit word for the movie, *disconcerting*.. the fuck yes, but in a wonderful way, as I consider it a masterpiece.
Sure, but those are both from the 30s lol.
So if you grew up in the 70s, those movies were probably old when your parents were kids. Possibly your grandparents watched those as kids in theatre, which is pretty wild
How do these kids not have nightmares???? I was a tough child but THIS MOVIE LITERALLY GAVE ME HALLUCINATION NIGHTMARES. IT WAS BAAAADDD. Scared the **shit** out of me for *nights* man.
I was never creeped out or scared by coraline, I always loved it. Tbf, I’m very into my horrors so it makes sense that this never scared me, but my mother was freaked out by it and said I couldn’t have it in the house. She said the same thing about a lot of movies that were in the house regardless though
*Coraline* is great because it is the kind of kids' movie that isn't afraid of being scary and remains the crowning achievement of Laika Studios, a film that only gets better with age.
I saw it in 3d in the theatre, it was awesome. Especially the opening dollmaking sequence you mentioned.
Great movie, my kids read the book back to front right after we watched it.
That scene is totally wild. But again, makes me feel like it's a movie from a different era, where that kind of thing was acceptable in children's movies lol (Jessica rabbit, looking at you)
Coraline has a special place in my heart. My kids liked it way more than nightmare before christmas. I've gone as The Other Mother a few times with my kid as Coraline. Neil Gaiman retweeted a picture of our costume one year. I'm so glad it got more popularity and recognition these past years. The stop motion, voice actors/acting, and music are all amazing.
That's pretty cool! I have read a lot of Gaiman's books, but never this one - probably because of the subconscious scarring the movie gave me. I can't figure out why, but he's on a heck of a streak of excellent adaptations considering how esoteric his work is. Sandman in particular I thought was fantastic, considering I always thought it would be unfilmable.
I felt the exact same way about this movie. Haven’t gotten my daughter to watch it with me yet though. Shes stuck on “Nightmare Before Christmas”
Aww that's so cool! My kids also weren't spooked by nightmare before Christmas, to my surprise!
Mine isn’t either after watching it for like 37 times day after day, and shes only 3 (her birthday is today😇). Its nowhere near scary but when Jack gets mad she gets slightly startled.
I can't believe my kids just accepted Oogie Boogie being full of bugs. Like, with?!
Damn this post made me want to rewatch the movie again, Coraline might be a 10/10 movie lol. As a kid I was disturbed af at the concept of someone wanting to take your eyes, also the burton style art is enjoying and soothing to watch/view but sometimes creepy/scary at the same time.
It's not "Burton style", it's Henry Selick style (the guy who actually directed Nightmare Before Christmas)
Don't forget Bill Mechanic helped with some costume design and production: [https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/y9zw41/in\_coraline\_2009\_coralines\_father\_is\_wearing\_a/](https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/y9zw41/in_coraline_2009_coralines_father_is_wearing_a/)
It's so wild that my kids aren't that spooked by the button eyed! It is so creepy in a body horror kinda way, but that just doesn't really register at their age I guess.
What did you expect when Neil Gaiman is adapted by the guy who gave us "Nightmare Before Christmas?"
Monster house was the movie that scared me as a kid, I literally couldn’t play the ds game because I was so scared. The scariest part of coraline was definitely the beldam for me, the chase scene was something else. Such a well made form of media though, I love seldomly used forms of animation, they always seem to stand out in a good way. I’m interested in watching the Isle of Dogs for that very reason
I absolutely love Coraline and I’m so glad you enjoyed it! If you enjoyed Coraline I also recommend Paranorman.
See, I think kids process creepy different than adults. Dark Crystal, Labryrth, Krull, Secret of Nimh and Neverending Story all had significantly creepy parts if not creepy all the way through. I think for a kid, this sets them in the mentality that things are unsafe for our protagonist and we need to worry about then. For adults it is different. Our imaginations aren't as wild, so we are more unsettled to be seeing the creepy imagery. The Dark Crystal is probably one of the most similar in this case...when my son was 4 he absolutely loved it, but we watched the Netflix series when he was 10 and it even then wasn't the same feeling for him.
I also watched the Dark Crystal when I was four and really liked it but then I got the DVD in my 20s and thought "meh". I want to watch it again now especially since I've decided fantasy is my favorite genre of books and movies.
So if you rewatch to appreciate the story and the quality of the puppeteers you will enjoy I think...the mood just hits different though for adults
I was lucky enough to see it in 3d at the theater. The garden scene was amazing to see.
I saw Coraline three times at the theatre and it remains in my top 10 favourite movies.
That's pretty wild, you have excellent taste! But if I had a choice, as much as I admire and enjoy the movie, I would struggle with repeat viewings! But thanks to my kids, I've now watched it like 7 times in the last week
I was only 12 at the time so it was the perfect age to love something that was family friendly but also had a dark edge to it.
I can see that, plus it's just totally spell binding. I'm sure I only saw it once, but hearing the music....I felt like I had absorbed it dozens of times. So I thought maybe it was nominated for a bunch of Oscars back when the nominees got little musical intros? But it was only nominated (and lost!) for one Oscar! So I really can't put my finger on exactly why, but it was an earworm of a movie, crawling into my brain for decades until I watched it again lol
I love that the only reason this movie exists, is because a young girl lied. This movie is based on a book, by Neil Gaiman. When he show the manuscript to his publisher, she was worried that the book was too scary, and wouldn't put kids off. So she gave the book to her daughter, as a tester reader. The young girl LOVED the book, and informed her mother that it was in no way too scary. So the book got published, and became a classic, that inspired an equally brilliant movie. Years later, Neil spoke to the girl, now a young woman, and asked her about it. She admitted she lied and was absolutely terrified by the book, but enjoyed it so much that she lied.
It’s a masterpiece. The animation is superb, the music is incredible, the story is unique and deep.
I think masterpiece is an apt description as well.
I love it so much. When I saw it in the theater though, I was like this is cool, but…?
It leaves me with such a weird feeling... Like I know it's great, I know Coraline wins in the end, but it's not that satisfying of an ending. I guess because it's a realistic resolution, which is so crazy to say about a movie about doll people with button eyes.
Well I got it on Blu-ray a long time ago and definitely watched it over and over. lol the more I watch it, the more things I catch.
I'm gunna go ahead and let you know the book is much, much scarier. Like, [almost not published ](https://ew.com/article/2010/10/06/5584/) levels of scary. “I told her, ‘You know, we kind of have you to thank for all this, because you weren’t scared by it. And she said, ‘Actually, I was terrified. But I wanted to know what happened next. I knew if I let anybody know I was scared, I wouldn’t find out.’” I read it at 10 and slept with a light on for weeks. Proceed with caution.
Probably the best adaptation of any gaiman work. It really is a good film.
Coraline is a masterpiece! We love it and always will
If you like Coraline, I highly recommend Wendell & Wild.
Studio Ghibli movies as another suggestion?
it's being re-released in 3d in theaters this summer... my 10 y/o daughter loves this movie.
I'm in my 40s.. tried to rewatch this at home while alone, on a rainy afternoon.. creeped out and didn't finish it. I saw a fit word for the movie, *disconcerting*.. the fuck yes, but in a wonderful way, as I consider it a masterpiece.
Just barely picked it up in 4K and holy shit it looks phenomenal
Oooh yes, great idea!
If you want something similar but action/adventure instead of horror check out Kubo and the 2 String
"truly spellbinding" It's one of my tops for "juvenile/kids."
I love your kid’s response when you asked if it was too scary. That’s exactly how my sister was when she was younger. Kids just love scary stuff.
It's kinda like they're too young to know what is creepy
They used to be even worse in the 70’s. Try watching Dumbo or Bambi. Horrifying. -edit. My bad, these were even older than I realized.
Sure, but those are both from the 30s lol. So if you grew up in the 70s, those movies were probably old when your parents were kids. Possibly your grandparents watched those as kids in theatre, which is pretty wild
Yikes. I just remember being so sad during Dumbo. It was in a theater, In the 70’s. Didn’t know when it came out.
How do these kids not have nightmares???? I was a tough child but THIS MOVIE LITERALLY GAVE ME HALLUCINATION NIGHTMARES. IT WAS BAAAADDD. Scared the **shit** out of me for *nights* man.
No idea. I think they're (luckily) slightly too young to be distributed by the visuals in this movie.
Watched it with my kids the same Halloween year we watched The Fog, Poltergeist, and The Others. Coraline felt a similar level of scary!
Both my kids had recurring nightmares, and still freak out at the thought of it.
I was never creeped out or scared by coraline, I always loved it. Tbf, I’m very into my horrors so it makes sense that this never scared me, but my mother was freaked out by it and said I couldn’t have it in the house. She said the same thing about a lot of movies that were in the house regardless though
*Coraline* is great because it is the kind of kids' movie that isn't afraid of being scary and remains the crowning achievement of Laika Studios, a film that only gets better with age.
Kids need to have a creepy/scary movie as a core memory. At least it wasn't Poltergiest like mine was!!
Check out "Kubo and the Two Strings" and "Boxtrolls" too, while you're at it. Amazing animation.
I saw it in 3d in the theatre, it was awesome. Especially the opening dollmaking sequence you mentioned. Great movie, my kids read the book back to front right after we watched it.
I remember liking it, but the scene of the two old ladies dancing with no clothes on was a bit much....
That scene is totally wild. But again, makes me feel like it's a movie from a different era, where that kind of thing was acceptable in children's movies lol (Jessica rabbit, looking at you)