As it approaches its 15th anniversary, Coraline remains a literary and cinematic masterpiece. Written by Neil Gaiman and published in 2002, this dark fantasy horror novella follows the main character, Coraline Jones, as she navigates moving from Michigan to Oregon, leaving behind her friends and her former life.
The adventurous and curious 11-year-old quickly becomes bored and dissatisfied until she discovers a hidden door unknowingly leading to her dreams and nightmares. Uncertain of her safety in this new world and her place in the world as a whole, she returns through the door to find that her parents have gone missing. The book explores themes of discontentment, family, courage, and identity. There are some great quotes in this book that introduce different perspectives of life and how it can be lived, for example: “I don’t want whatever I want. Nobody does. Not really. What kind of fun would it be if I just got everything I ever wanted just like that, and it didn’t mean anything? What then?” Among these themes, the concept of “being careful what you wish for” is also a central idea mostly targeted toward the children reading and watching. In 2009 the stop-motion film adaptation was released to the public. Henry Selick, director of the film, notes that “It was originally conceived to be live action, but I never really wanted it to be. I always thought that it would work better as an animated film.”
Additionally, nearly every detail in the film is intentional and has some kind of hidden significance. One example is the hand, how it symbolizes danger, and how frequently it appears throughout the film. The movie begins with this mechanical hand that creates a doll identical to Coraline, and from a new viewer’s perspective, you don’t think much about it. Later, when Coraline visits Miss Spink and Miss Forcible from downstairs, we see the hand reappear as a warning that Coraline is in “terrible danger.” Finally, when Coraline enters the door and meets the Other Mother / The Beldam, we see the hand appear once again in the form of lightning that frightens Coraline. One of my favorite parts of the movie is that there are so many hidden details that the audience can form theories about, which makes the watching experience interesting and different every time. For pre-existing fans or newly interested viewers, Coraline is returning to theaters this August to celebrate its 15th anniversary. For anyone interested in more theories and easter eggs that the movie has to offer, here’s a video containing some of the more popular theories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3Ld-u-VlYY&t=193s
