  
CoralineMPAA Rating:
 for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor.Reviewed by: Michael Karounos Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Teens, Adults, Not kids
Genre:
Animation, Fantasy, Horror
Length:
1 hr. 40 min.
Year of Release:
2009
USA Release:
February 6, 2009 (wide—2,100 theaters)
 
Relevant Issues
 Oh, come on… click here  Fear
Fear, Anxiety and Worry… What does the Bible say? Answer How can I help my child to trust in God's care when she is afraid at night? Answer Kids
“Be careful what you wish for.” “Coraline” is a film by Henry Selick (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”) based on the award-winning children’s book by Neil Gaiman. The story concerns an 11 year old girl whose mother and father move into a secluded house in the country. In the attic of the house lives an eccentric man who trains mice and in the basement live two eccentric and aged former actresses who have dogs. Coraline is bored, her parents have time only to type on their computers, and so Coraline discovers her own adventure. The film is not only shot in stop-motion animation, like “James and the Giant Peach” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but it is also filmed in 3D, though the use of the technology is not as striking as in the movie “Beowulf” (2007). The texture of the film is interesting, but there are no innovative concepts. The idea of an alternate world behind a door or mirror, we have seen before in Alice in Wonderland and in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In an interview, Henry Selick acknowledges as much, saying: “I call the film and the book sort of a combination of Alice in Wonderland and Hansel and Gretel.” What is unusual about this story, both book and film, is the moral darkness of the universe which Coraline inhabits. The moral of the film can best be summarized as “Be careful of what you wish for” or, as Coraline in the book says, “What kind of fun would it be if I just got whatever I wanted?” (133). Coraline’s boredom leads her into a dangerous parallel world in which there is an Other Mother and an Other Father who are attentive to her, cook great meals, and have a home full of fantastic toys and moving furniture. They also have buttons for eyes. Neither the plot nor the setting are the most important parts of the movie, as concerns Christian parents. Rather, of concern is Neil Gaiman’s conception of an alternate world in which the functioning domesticity of a mother who cooks and a father who works is a kind of hell. In the book, the Other Mother punishes Coraline: “You needed to be taught a lesson, but we temper our justice with mercy here; we love the sinner but hate the sin” (98). The speech is clearly a slam at the kind of home where mothers cook and fathers work and parents speak of “sin” and “sinner” and “mercy” and “justice.” It is the kind of home that atheists imagine Christians live in: a Stepford Family reality of puppet people with no creativity or individuality.  Other Mother The most disturbing thing about the movie is the tone of the relationships. Henry Selick adds a boy character named Wybie, short for Wybourne, whose name Coraline mockingly transforms into “Why-were-you-born?” In every relationship in the movie, the female character abuses the male. The real mother dominates the real father, the Other Mother ultimately destroys the Other Father, the grandmother controls Wybie, and, worst of all, Coraline strikes and abuses Wybie in both the real and the Other World. Wybie is a trodden-down character in both worlds, who slouches, is slavishly deferential to Coraline, and is clearly less of a person than she is. What this accumulation of images constructs is a moral universe in which the family or community are subservient to the demands of a tyrannical individual. The fact that Ramona is one of the characters Coraline reads is not surprising, in the sense that Coraline comes across as a spoiled child to a Christian audience. To a non-Christian audience she is supposed to seem confident, charmingly rebellious, and, above all, equal to the adults. It is an atheistic view of family in which moral authority begins with the child, flows through the mother, and ends at the father: a conscious inversion of a Christian family model. Coraline’s aggression is supposed to be indicative of her assertiveness, but in a social universe where every woman is cruel or cold, Coraline comes across as an extension of the good and bad mothers. What the female characters have in common are an abusive streak that is either slight or extensive, but which is present in all three. Gaiman’s perverse view of relationships may have to do with the fact that he is reacting against the Disney model: “Have you ever had to watch The Disney Channel, and the kind of plots that are deemed acceptable on that channel? Let me give you an example: Somebody thinks that everybody’s forgotten their birthday, but they haven’t, because they were planning a surprise party all along! And everybody loves everybody, and then they hug. It’s almost like pornography [everybody laughs]. It presents this vision of an impossibly hospitable world which children know doesn’t exist.” Any artist who sees happy relationships “like pornography” will certainly see actual pornography in a different light. Gaiman’s book sexualizes the relationship between Miss Pink and Miss Forcible and shows them in relatively modest circus outfits. However, Henry Selick extends that content and portrays a naked Miss Forcible as a strip dancer wearing a sequined thong and stripper's pasties on impossibly huge breasts. The children in the audience cried out their disgust in tones of amusement and surprise, as if to say, “So that’s what they look like without any clothes!” It is a deeply misogynistic image which will elicit disgust in any Christian viewer, regardless of age. 
Gaiman’s book is not as dark as Selick’s vision, and the illustrations by P. Craig Russell on page eight show images of the movies “Totoro” (1988) and “Babe” (1995), as well as partial covers of Lily’s Ghosts (2005) by Laura Ruby, The Wall and the Wing (2007) by Laura Ruby, Ramona and her Mother (1990) by Beverly Cleary, and Warriors: Into the Wild (2003) by Erin Hunter. These references are left out of the movie, which oddly converts Coraline into a hollow mental and spiritual shell who desires only physical experience. From a story standpoint, the book is a hodge-podge of incidents and images. Gaiman is famous and has the ability to trade on the brand of his name. He can put almost anything on the market, and it will sell. For example, this quotation of how the book came to be published is revealing: “And I had a small, Wednesday Addams sort of daughter who liked stories with strange mothers and cellars and dank places and creepy stuff, and so I started to write her one. And then I realized I hadn’t written anything for 5 years, and I’d better get a contract, otherwise it would never be finished. So I sent it to a publisher, and my editor called me up and said, ‘So what happens next?’ and I said, ‘If you send me a contract, we will both find out.’” In other words, he didn't have a story outline. Incidents just morphed into a kind of tale over a period of five years without any underlying moral or an awareness of absolute good or evil. In a real myth, such as those written by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien or George MacDonald, there is absolute good and evil, and they are represented not only by things and characters, but by living ideas which must be confronted by the mind and heart, as much as by the body. In “Coraline,” the evil is a mother who cooks and cleans and the good is a rejection of that mother. There is no good idea, just a mode of rebellious behavior that arises out of boredom. Such boredom stems from children having a sense of entitlement to be entertained and a self-esteem which is always fed flattery and praise. This comes from having too many things and not too few things to do. In “Coraline” there is no good; there is only evil. Coraline’s malicious behavior toward Wybie is portrayed as independence. In the end of the book and movie, Mr. Bobo says “The mice tell me you are our savior.” But how has Coraline saved anyone? The parents now dig in the garden instead of type on their computers, but Coraline has not undergone any change. It is her parents who must change in order to accommodate her. She has not become a better person toward Wybie, less selfish in her demands, or less self-centered in the way she views the world around her. It is, literally, a world without God, in which the self is its own god and which must be fed experience in order to be fully alive. “Coraline” is a bad movie for children and a disturbing movie for adults. The horror of it comes not from the plot, which is common, but from its nihilistic attitude. This view sees human relations as power struggles which can only be resolved by an exercise of will, and it sees life as an existential wasteland that has no intrinsic meaning, but what we can give to it ourselves. As art, it is a diminished thing without light, while its truest love is of the darkness in all things. Some people may be misled by the bright tone of the voices in its real world to think it is an “uplifting” movie, but underlying that tone is a spiritual emptiness which inhabits the characters, the setting, and, it seems, the movie's creators. Violence: Moderate / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: Heavy See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Comments below:
Positive
Positive - Just saw “Coraline” today at the theater. I remember reading the book when I was in middle school, it freaked me out so much. When I heard they were making a film about it, I had to read it again, still gave me the creeps. I love it. Positive - As a Christian, I find myself extremely sensitive to the liberal, anti-Christian messages with which Hollywood laces such a great deal of its movies--especially those geared toward particularly impressionable audiences like children and young adults. While watching a typical movie putting forth its backward messages about Christianity and believers, I can't help but feel angry at even the slightest and subtlest of Hollywood's foisted perversions of truth or Christian reality. Positive - Upon the request of my husband, we took our children to see Coraline on Sunday evening. He just called to have me read this review. I tend to stay away from “Christian” reviews as they, many times, don't seem to reflect my attitudes at all. This particular review seems to be way way out in right field so I've decided to write a another review of Coraline from a “Christian” perspective. Positive - I'm surprised at how over-the-top this critic's opinion is for “Coraline.” I agree with this critic's opinion that the movie is beautiful and very well made, but I do not agree with the critic's moral opinion. First of all, I found nothing in this film that insulted a family where the mother is a housewife, while the father works. The Other Mother is looked at as evil because she is forcing everybody to pretend they are all happy while they really are not. This is proven in the film when the Other Mother makes a hand sign to the Other Wybourne to keep smiling even though he is really sad. She later sews his mouth into a smile, which Coraline later undoes for him. Also, in the Other World when Coraline watches the two elderly ladies in their performance, the lady that this critic calls a “stripper” is actually playing Venus (Aphrodite). There is no stripping, none of that at all. She is very busty and wears a jeweled bikini suit, but that is for comedy's sake. There is nothing in the film that says that Coraline is supposed to be looked at as the ideal daughter and so the audience shouldn't see her as one. She acts spoiled, rude, selfish, and smart to different characters because she is supposed to be looked at as just a regular preteen girl that doesn't appreciate what she has…until the end of the movie. The film can be looked at as a little disturbing for little children, but it's not very scary. When I saw it in the theater, there was no crying or screaming or anything from any kids. The other disturbing things (***Spoilers***) are the idea of the Other Mother sewing buttons onto people's eyes to make them stay in the Other World, the Other Mother's insect-like transformation, and the fact that she had killed other children before Coraline. But all of these things are milder than they sound. No character should be looked at as a representation of anything. It's just a story that is entertaining, that's it. Positive - I think the reviewer is way off base saying that all Christians will be offended by this movie. Most of my Christian friends are also Gaiman fans. I loved this book and I love the movie.… Positive - I just have to respond to this reviewer. First, the movie IS for kids and adults alike. The stuff that disturbs an adult often merely fascinates a child. That's why we love to read our children Grimm's fairy tales where children are nearly eaten by wicked witches, so they kill their aggressors by trapping them in furnaces. Or, children's grandmothers are eaten by big bad wolves, etc. I would add that this is why biblical stories often have an element of gore. Brothers kill each other, or strip their youngest sibling to sell into slavery, people are thrown into fiery furnaces, prophets have their heads cut off and delivered on platters at parties… Positive - This is a good, unique movie that is not your normal cartoon. It's even more unique because it's not the typical Disney cartoon. This movie has a more realistic family. Coraline and her parents moved to a new 100+ year old house. Since her parents are overly busy with their careers at home, they don't have much time to give attention to Coraline. So Coraline's bored, frustrated, and explores the house and meets the very eccentric neighbors, an old circus performer that has circus mice and 2 old ladies that were performers as well. She meets a boy called Wybourne who is always being called home by his grandmother. Positive - The reviewer has seems to under appreciate a healthy sense of irony. This movie is excellent on all counts. But, don't bring your younger kids to see it either. Any good parent should know that not all animated movies are actually for kids. This is certainly a movie for mature, critical-thinking adults—that couldn't have been presented nearly as well without animation. It is beautiful, haunting and made me do a lot of thinking about how I perceive the world and those in it. Positive - I absolutely loved “A Nightmare Before Christmas,” and I was expecting the same charm in “Coraline.” While this movie succeeds in being entertaining and quite a sight to see (the 3-D version really isn't as good as it sounds though), it has some content and dragging moments that set it apart from its predecessor. In terms of content, I almost felt it could be PG-13. The two older women (I don't remember their names) show quite a bit of cleavage, and their breasts are hugely exaggerated. I couldn't find their quirkiness funny because of this and other (please forgive the harsh word) “trampy” qualities they possess. They were just creepy. This film is not for children because of that and other moments that are qenuinely frightening. This movie also has problems with its pacing. It tries to be funny, dramatic, suspenseful and emotional. It just doesn't really work. Despite its many downfalls, “Coraline” is still fairly entertaining and is worth a one-time-see for adults and teenagers. Neutral
Neutral - I regret to say that I haven't read the book that this movie is based on. With that in mind, I felt that the film was well-made and obviously a lot of work went into creating the stop-motion animation. However, I really didn't enjoy this movie that much because I just couldn't get into it. It kept me on the edge of my seat, but it really didn't appeal to me. Neutral - “Coraline” was an interesting move. NOT FOR KIDS, but it was very interesting as a young adult. I disagreed with the author of the review for this film. While I did feel there were certainly anti-Christian moments, such as the g-string moment which severly bothered me, I did not feel that the movie represented a rejection of family. I felt it was the opposite. Yes, Coraline was a little spoiled, but to me it wasn't because she recieved so much praise and attention and toys, as the reviewer said, but more from a lack of attention from her parents who substituted quality time with other things, and used work as a reason to not spend time with their daughter. Negative
Negative - This movie review is right on. Do not take your kids to this movie. I wish I had read this review before. I never would have taken my young children to this film. I sat horrified and extremely embarrassed—with three children all under the age of 11—as the whole “woman in a g-string and pasties” scene played out. I can't believe this movie was rated PG Negative - One thing that kind of jumped out at me was that the movie seemed to be mocking God. The creator of the alternate world was evil, and should not be obeyed. As a Christian, we understand that to have an obedient heart to our creator is the right way. We know that His ways are higher than our ways, and our own perspective is jaded and incomplete, while His is complete. I couldn't help but see the message that the creator was evil, and, of course, the creator in the film was evil. The idea is planted, much like in the garden of Eden, that we can choose our own way. We are wis,e and God doesn't have our best interest in mind. Negative - I walked out of this movie with a deep sense of heaviness and sadness, especially as I watched many, many adults with young children as young as 3 years old, leave the theater. The movie made a mockery of all we, as Christians, hold true and beautiful. I gasped, along with the little children watching this film, as a very robust, older lady was shown with nothing, but sequins covering her giant breasts, along with a g-string at her waist. Up to that point, the movie had a magical, childlike sense of wonder in it. It almost seemed like it was made to capture the attention of a child's mind and then fill it with disgusting images and attitudes. Negative - I just saw this movie today with my mom. And I love these types of movies, and I thought the movie was good, but I was really disturbed about the old lady with huge breast half naked on stage. I couldn't believe it was rated PG; I would never want a young child seeing this. I think its putting bad images in their head. I really don't like movies with nudity; I don't support them, but when it's put in PG-13 or PG, it's even worse to me. Negative - I think people ought to pray for [Coraline's author] Neil Gaiman who is a patron (and founding patron) of Scientology and whose family members are all high-ranking Scientologists. “Coraline” reflects the experience of someone whose childhood was stolen, who reverted into fantasy to save his mind from endless auditing and who has a very limited understanding of human emotions, having been drilled in the Scientology tone scale to mimic emotions and forced to adhere to a bizarre code where grief and shame are downgraded as unnecessary, when, in fact, these emotions make us human and give us compassion. All the themes are there; evil parents who interrogate, spy and turn unsuspecting children into brainwashed zombies, stealing their souls and replacing their eyes with buttons. Most disturbing is the ethical thread of “Coraline;” stay at home in your icky, boring dead world because the outside world is dangerous, “Coraline” is all about fear and hopelessness. Negative - “Coraline” is an unnerving movie to take a child to, not uplifting in the slightest, just a miserable experience. A good story should be wise, should teach something about life or reveal a truth. In a good story, something important transpires, our souls have been nourished or a truth illuminated by the story teller. “Coraline” is not a good story. Instead, Coraline is a wild and pointless descent into a kind of hell, without hope and without a point, just a mindless cornucopia of ugly visions. It is depressing and morally bankrupt, and you walk away wondering what the author was trying to say? Negative - I went into the movie with my college age daughters not knowing much about “Coraline” except that it was a cartoon rated PG. I assumed there would be some kind of positive moral message, as many cartoons have, but there wasn't. From start to finish it was dark, cold, and creepy; all three of us left the theater feeling shocked. Children in the theater cried. I even overheard one father say to his scared child, “It's almost over.” They stayed, but they should have walked out; other people did. This gloomy film left me and my daughters depressed, feeling a sense of despair and hopelessness for the world. Negative - I just watched this movie and I have to say that this movie was quite offensive to anyone that is a Christian and loves the Lord with all their heart. TWICE, that I counted, they used God's name in vain. The word “cr*p” was used once. The scantily clad elderly woman with the big chest… that moved more then she did. Was all that really needed? Negative - I am a mother of 7 grown children and 20 grandchildren. I didn't like the dark, dreary, spooky, scary underworld theme of this movie. As a child or adult, I don't like scary movies and this one I should have left. An evil, foreboding presence through the wall of your home is very frightening. There was no plot and no moral to the story. It was dark and sinister and scary. If given the opportunity to see it again, knowing how negative it is, I would NOT go! There are WAY better ways to spend your time. Find movies that edify and uplift you. This was horrible! Everything about it was poorly done. Negative - As a Christian, who blindly put the movie on for “Family Movie Night,” I was very disappointed with this movie. My kids were scared, my daughter running out of the room not being able to continue watching it. There are no redeeming qualities in this movie. Comments from young people
Neutral - I have mixed opinions about this movie. I went in knowing nothing about it—I didn't want to spoil any plots, so I didn't even watch previews about it. My friend invited me, who was in a similar position as I was—knowing only that it was a very advanced stop motion film. I went in with high expectations. I came out with multiple opinions. I do believe that, for its genre, it has a good message: that you should be thankful with what you have where you are, and strengthen your relationships while you have them. The reviewer was a bit too focused on the film's negatives, I believe, and he didn't give enough insight into Coraline's character progression from the beginning of the movie towards the end. She loves her parents—she shows them more affection and spends more time with them at the end. The movie does show a broken family and relationship lifestyle; who can make straight what God has made crooked? Positive - First of all… I love Henry Selick's work and this was his best movie yet!!! Positive - If you haven’t heard of Henry Selick, you are probably not alone. This is unfortunate, since he is one of the visionaries behind such classics as “James and the Giant Peach” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” both of which are often attributed solely to Tim Burton. “Coraline” is Selick’s first stop motion animation film without Tim Burton’s guiding hand, and it is an impressive debut. Positive - I gotta say I loved this movie. It was entertaining, BEAUTIFUL animation, and creepy. But sadly, it wasn't exactly the best movie choice ever for Christians for these reasons: Positive - You did not understand this movie. It isn't a stab at “good” mothers. The point is that the other mother seems to be perfect, just like she did with the 3 ghost children, but once she gets you she locks you away for dead (again, like the ghost children.) And you say she didn't save anyone, but she did, she saved the ghost children and her real parents. I will agree with you that the nude scenes with the woman from downstairs was unnecessary. Positive - I disagree heartily with this review of “Coraline.” Many of the reviewer's complaints skew the film to seem like something it isn't. Neutral - Okay, I love the weirdness and awkwardness of Tim Burton. I had watched previews over and over to see if this would be a good movie, to see if there was anything wrong spiritually. When watching, I had found lots of things that could have good spiritual meanings. But for me and my friend, the part that bothered us deeply (spiritually) were the ghost children. Mean while, there were parts where it actually made me think about things in depth, but because we were bothered deeply, we will probably not watch it again. Negative - I just saw this movie last night with my mom, my younger siblings were not able to attend the movie so I'm glad they didn't have to see the terrible things my mom and I saw. Coraline was very disrespectful to her real parents and no discipline was done. This was not godly. Then when she made a friend named Wybie, she was extremely rude. I actually thought this movie would get better when she found the secret door, but it just got worse especially when the old woman only had a thong and sequined pasties. It was disgusting. And it was shocking that I heard laughter on that scene. My mom and I shielded our eyes, and Coraline had the mind to laugh and say “She's practically naked!”. In the bible,God says you and your body should stay pure and innocent. This should never ever be showed in a movie, especially a movie that is displayed to be PG. And it was sad that in the row next to us, a child kept telling his mom “This movie is so scary!” but all the mom said was “It's ok, the movie will be over soon.” Children should never be tricked to think “The grass is greener on the other side” because it's not. Happy ending or not, cartoon or not, this movie was not acceptable for any christian viewer. God would not appreciate it if his children displaying the actions of Coraline. Do not take your child to see this movie at all. Negative - This film was an enormous let down. I do not care what anyone else thinks, I absolutely hated this movie. The author of the book, Coraline, said he wrote this book for his daughter, and if the book's illustrations are anything like the movie…I'd be angry with my father. Coraline's parents spend all their time on the computer… none with Coraline. This makes Coraline a rude,bratty,mean, and unappreciative girl. There is a scene where a woman with a large chest is nearly in nudity. I am a young child who is still growing in Christ, and if children know there's something wrong… it's not worth buying. Don't rent, buy, or even borrow this movie from a friend. Don't spend the time or money just to fill your innocent, clean, christian mind with atheist thoughts, if you do… you'll regret it. Don't believe what the commercials say, they don't show the bad parts. Neutral - I don't know why people are over-exaggerating the, I think, one very objectionable thing in this entire film. There is a viewing of a woman in extremely skimpy clothing, but I wouldn't shield the eyes of a 12 year old. I am 12 years old. I loved this movie. I didn't necessarily think this was a completely biblical film, nor did I expect it to be. I didn't think this movie was completely clean, and I definitely wouldn't want anyone under around 10 watching it, unless they were highly mature. But, it's a great movie. I now own it on 2-disc DVD in 3D with the glasses and everything. It is definitely on my Top 10 list. Positive - Listen, I am not trying to be mean here, but parents, never take your kids to see anything that looks dark, scary, creepy, demonic or evil!!!… This movie was for the ages of 12-adult ages. Do not rent this movie for a 6 year old to watch!!!… I love Henry Selick and Tim Burton's work and you should have seen it coming!!!… The commercial showed it was going to be scary, so you should have used better judgement and resented!!!… Yeah, they probably would have whined and cried and threw a firt on the floor, but better that than them being introduced to evilness!!!… So do yoursleves a favor and next time a Henry Selick or Tim Burton movie comes out… Do not take your kids to see it!!!… Comments from non-viewers
I rented this movie for my 6 year old daughter not knowing much about it. She had looked forward to seeing it ever since she saw the first commercial. We did not make it past the theater scene, where Coraline sees a huge chested woman on stage in nothing but pasties and a thong. I was horrified when this came on the TV, and we turned it off immediately! My poor daughter was so disappointed and couldn't understand why, “they had to ruin the movie.” I strongly recommend not renting this film for anyone, but would definitely tell everyone THIS IS NOT A FILM FOR CHILDREN! I will be checking the reviews before we rent again. Thank you! Let me say that I would never take my little brother or sister to see this movie. I have watched many previews for this movie and know that it would probably terrify them, and give them nightmares. I believe the director of this movie is the same as “the nightmare before christmas” and that movie used to give me nightmares. The previews really creeped me out. It seemed very dark and eerie. I don't know what these people are thinking when they make children's movies. DON'T TAKE YOUR KIDS TO SEE THIS!! THEY WILL HAVE NIGHTMARES!! Try “Madagascar.” Or “ice age 3.” “Toy Story 3” is also coming out pretty soon!! Ok, I have not seen the movie, but I am very much familiar with the book. And from what I'm told, the movie does follow the book quite well (it shouldn't be hard to adapt, its a short book). Judging by the review, the author seems to have a really out there overreaching view of the story. No definite good and evil? A slam against traditionalism? Umm, there is a distinct line of good and evil in the story. Coraline is bored and selfish and mad cause she doesn't get what she wants. She ends up in a world where she gets everything she wants and everything is perfect… almost. This is a classic Good vs Evil scenario and being tempted by the dark side into joining with them. She refuses. She begins to recognize this and tries to escape. As things go a long, everything becomes more evil and twisted as this “perfect world” begins to show its true colors. Coraline realizes she should love her parents for the how they are and that they don't spoil her with everything. As for the slam against traditionalism making the woman who stays home and cook and all that evil… I just began rolling my eyes at that part. I have not seen this movie, but by what I have read about it and by the way it looked on the commercial, I don't think i'll ever see it! The movie is supposed to be for children, but If I had a child I wouldn't want it watching that kind of trash. It might scare them! Don't watch this movie! And don't pollute your innocent child's mind! So I haven't seen the movie yet, but I have read the book, and recently. In fact, I read it just weeks before I heard it was coming out in theaters. |
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