Humans are social beings; they crave attention and validation like everyone else. Teenagers often get frustrated when they don’t get their wanted attention.
But what happens when they find a utopia for them in another universe? What is the catch behind their fairytale world? Coraline depicts the story of a teenage girl who gets her cherished world apart from her one with a sinister meaning behind it.
Coraline Jones, the film’s protagonist, is a teenager living with her parents in Oregon. She is one of the typical teenage girls who constantly whines for attention from her parents even though they are working hard for their business.
Frustrated with her parents, she finds a small door in her bedroom, leading to an alternate world where she finds her other ‘mother’ and ‘father’ who fulfils every wish.
But little she knows that she was being tricked by a witch who feasts on children and robs them of their souls.
Soon Coraline finds out that her ‘other mother’ is the witch named Beldam, who tries to persuade her to sew her eyes with buttons to stay in this world.
Beldam goes as far as kidnapping her parents from the actual world to coerce Coraline to give up her soul. There she struck a deal with her - find the souls of Beldam’s victims and free her parents in exchange, or she gives up her soul to the witch.
Coraline is the protagonist every child looks up to. Though she was a needy and always complaining teen at first, when it comes to saving her parents, she shows her strong determination to rescue them from the clutches of Beldam. Wybie, the landlady’s grandson, and a stray black cat accompany her on her rescue mission.
Beldam is one of the most sadistic horror villains one can imagine. She is pretty good at manipulating and disguising to trap her victims.
When the victims don’t do her bidding, the witch devours them and torture their souls until their will break.
Coraline is the most substantial victim she dealt with, defying her sinister tactics and managing to save her parents even when she is betraying their deal.
This 2009 film was based on Neil Gaiman’s 2002 novel by the same name. Henry Selick’s direction and stop-motion animation of the whole movie made it enjoyable to watch.
The crew consists of famous actresses like Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. Nominated for Academy Awards, Coraline won BAFTA Children’s Award as the best feature film.
Although the movie had certain horror elements, it attracted a vast child audience and was successful at the box office.
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