History Fridge / Coraline

* On closer examination, The Other Mother becomes thinner each time Coraline visits. She is starving.
* Ever notice how Wybie never stands up straight? He has scoliosis. Curvature of the spine. The Other Wybie doesn't have this, which either meant Coraline was irritated at this or was a bit more worried about him than she led him to believe.
* Pay careful attention to the promises each of the two Mothers make. Coraline's real mother says "I promise, if things go well, I'll make it up to you". The Other Mother "promises" that if Coraline does find the ghost eyes and her real parents, then she will let go of all her captives. [[spoiler: Only one of them keeps their end of the bargain when Coraline keeps her end (being rescued by your daughter does count as "[[ExactWords things go well]]," even if she doesn't remember).]]
* Wonder why [[spoiler: Coraline returns to the real world after falling asleep in the Other World the first two times, but ''not'' [[OhCrap the third time]]? Because the first two times, Coraline only visited the Other World [[AstralProjection in her dreams]]. The third time she goes, she visited the Other World in person, during the day. That's where she goes to bed, and that's where she wakes up.]]

* While driving home from shopping for her school uniform, Coraline's conversation with Mel has her asking her mom why she locked the little door if she doesn't think it leads to a flat of "Jones Imposters". She responds "I found some rat crap and I thought you'd feel... safer." On the surface, it comes across as Mel [[KickTheDog snidely discrediting]] her daughter's claims (by mentioning "[[StealthInsult rat crap]]") and saying she's crazy (by implying ''she'd'' feel safer). This is meant to effectively paint Mel as not only being [[ParentalNeglect negligent]] but also [[{{Jerkass}} mean-spirited]]. [[spoiler: Second time watching it, one realizes it's a RedHerring, meant to hide that perhaps Mel ''did'' find rat feces from the Other Mother's rats, and she locked the door because she was [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold genuinely concerned]] about [[AdultFear her daughter playing with diseased rodents]].]]

* If you pause the movie when Wybie shows Coraline the picture of his Gramma and her sister, you can see that his Grandma's sister [[spoiler:, the CuteGhostGirl,]] is slouching in a curve, and looking at the camera bashfully. Just like ''Wybie'' -- he takes after her!
* When Ms. Forcible is reading Coraline's tea leaves, she sees a hand-like shape, but Ms. Spink turns it upside down and insists it's a giraffe. They're ''both'' right -- not only is a stuffed giraffe one of the toys we see in Coraline's room in the Other Mother's house, but [[spoiler: the shape Ms. Spink sees also resembles the Other Mother's severed, claw-like hand.]]
* Notice how the Other Mother's final form is very long and has 4 legs ''like'' a giraffe...
* Literally everything from the real apartment has an Other World counterpart. Even the VW Beetle, which appears to not be present, is actually there in the form of [[spoiler: the praying mantis the Other Father rides.]]

* [[spoiler: The Other Mother's final form resembles a spider. Several species of spiders are known to eat their offspring.]] And then, of course, there's trap door spiders, which pull their prey through self-built trap doors that blend in with their surroundings...

* For a while, it seemed off that Coraline had a rash from the Poison Oak branch on only one hand, but in the scene where Wybie shakes her hand, he accidentally smeared mud on the unaffected hand.

* The movie changes from Coraline [[spoiler:having to save the souls of the children to having to save their eyes. Seems like a minor change, maybe to keep religion out of the issue, right? Well, consider that some believe that one's eyes are a reflection/gateway to their soul. Also keep in mind, ''the Other Mother replaces eyes with buttons''. And the implication is that agreeing to give up one's eyes for buttons is the equivalent of selling your soul to the Other Mother!]]
* During Other Spink and Other Forcible's presentation for Coraline, their button eyes are white. Remember how the real Spink and Forcible argued about being blind? However, when they strip and become younger, their button eyes are black.
* The Other Mother swears by her right hand that she'll allow Coraline to leave... [[spoiler: and that's exactly what she loses trying to keep Coraline in the Other House.]]
* The Other Mother ended up being [[spoiler: a GiantSpider-like monster woman]]. The holes in the button eyes can be looked at as eyes themselves. 4 holes in each button make 8 eyes, the same as spiders have.
* The Other Mother hates cats. [[spoiler: Take a good look at her face in her final form. Just how do you think she got all those scratches?]]
* A lot of cats like to catch and eat spiders if they find them...
* The [[spoiler: bat forms of Ms. Forcible and Ms. Spink's dogs]] don't make any sense until you realize that their [[spoiler:dead]] real-word counterparts [[spoiler: also have wings]]. This is a reverse example of the film's theme of the Other World creatures' true forms matching the real world, as the bats were in the book, but not the real ladies' dead dogs and their angel costumes.

* When Other Mother first brings up replacing her eyes with buttons, Other Father chimes in with "So sharp you won't feel a thing!" until the Other Mother shushes him. He delivers the line like it's a good thing, but no child has ever reacted positively to the thought of sharp needles. He was trying to drive home to Coraline how horrific the procedure would be, in case she was wavering.
* After Coraline's second visit she goes to see the door because bits of the mice bait was still on the floor, proving her dreams were real. However, Mel locks the door claiming to have found "rat crap" and wanted Coraline to feel safe. Later on the cat in the other world hunts one of the circus mice [[spoiler: and when he kills it, it turns into a rat]]. Seems Coraline's mother has had some experience with rats enough to know what their feces looks like, even though Coraline [[spoiler: was convinced they were mice]].
* The Other Mother's line "I'll die without you!!" Sounds melodramatic at first, but knowing what she does to the kids that she gets bored of...It has a double meaning since if she doesn't eat the kid she'll starve to death. And with how long has she been without food... no wonder she's desperate.

* Near the end of the movie, the Other Mother calls Coraline a "selfish brat". In the scene where Coraline found the Ghost Children, the spirits told her that they were given love, good food, toys, and never-ending fun by the Other Mother, only to end up wanting more. In real life, children require unconditional love from their parents and tend to heavily rely on them for guidance. The children the Other Mother lured in [[spoiler:to trap and eat them]] might have seen her as their real parent and expected her to act like one. No wonder the Other Mother thinks children are all-take-and-no-give!
* Just a minor observation: [[spoiler:In the opening cutscene, where the Sweet Ghost Girl's doll gets remade into the Coraline doll;]] the stuffing gets pulled out of the doll, it gets turned inside out, and filled with sand. [[spoiler:When Coraline's Other World begins to deteriorate later on, we see that everything appears to actually be made of sand.]] So perhaps, [[spoiler: whatever a person's doll was filled with is the substance their Other World ends up being made of.]]
* On reflection, the film is similar to the legend of {{Theatre/Faust}}. Both main characters are dissatisfied with what they have. The Other Mother is practically an {{expy}} of the devil in the legend in that she gives Coraline her desires. It's only when she offers buttons for her eyes is when Coraline realizes that she made a DealWithTheDevil.
* In the beginning of the film, Wybie said that the cat would visit him a lot. Considering the cat knows about the Other World, it's likely that he does so to protect Wybie from it.
* A blink and you miss it moment -- when Coraline enters the circus tent to retrieve the last ghost eye, the Other Mr. B ([[spoiler:or what's left of him]]) briefly takes on a decidedly ratlike pose.
* A tiny hint that the Other Mother has no intentions of holding up her end of the bargain is that she offers her hand to be shaken, but is interrupted by Coraline asking for a hint, after which she leaves. So the two ''never shake on the deal'', showing that the contract won't play out to its conditions.

* It is clear from the book (and directly stated in the movie) that Coraline wishes her parents would pay more attention to her. Now on the foreground, the Other Mother merely ''pretends'' to pay attention to Coraline in order to [[spoiler: entrap her]]. But some bits of interaction (the [[HatesBeingTouched unwanted hugging]], the "learn to be a loving daughter" and such) give the Other Mother a behaviour typical for AbusiveParents, specifically of MyBelovedSmother -- which often happens if parents pay '''too much''' (unhealthy) attention to kids. Coraline ''really'' got [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor what she desired]] -- and it was horrible for her, ''on top'' of the whole [[spoiler: evil Fairy]] stuff.

* Where was the Other Mother when Mel was shopping for groceries and Coraline went to the Other World? The Other Mother left the invitation to (Other) Spink and Forcible's show and the outfit, but she was missing herself. Presumably, she was [[spoiler:out getting Coraline's parents. Coraline goes back and they're gone...]]
** Caroline's real mother goes to get food. Other Mother goes to get [[spoiler:bait to ''lure back'' her food]].
** This means that [[spoiler:the Other Mother kidnaps the Joneses before she even gives Coraline the option to stay and sew buttons on her eyes. Maybe she was just being CrazyPrepared, but then you remember that the last child she took left behind a twin sister who then spent the next 60 years refusing to rent out the apartment to anyone with a kid, thus depriving the Other Mother of sustenance. She took Coraline's parents both to use as a bargaining chip, and to ensure that no one would raise a big fuss about Coraline's disappearance.]]

* There are theories that Coraline just delivered the hand and the key right back to the Other Mother by dropping it down that well...after all, it's in a fairy ring and you can apparently see stars from inside, like those the doll was sent into...but ''there's no Other well.'' Coraline mentions it specifically. The Other World is always night, and fairy rings can be protected zones, too. That key (the only one) can never be used again.

* The Other Mother's starvation makes perfect sense with two offhand details that explain her history: the age of the Pink Palace and the old photograph of the Lovat sisters. Mr. Jones mentions the house is 150 years old, and we see the Other Mother claimed three victims prior to the film, within that 150-year period. According to fairy-tale rules which this film would definitely follow, that would mean she has an exact cycle of feeding once every fifty years, and the Ghost Children's apparent time periods seem to fit that rule if "year zero" was when the first victim was taken. She can survive between without feeding, but that mark needs to be met, like [[{{Literature/IT}} IT's 27-year rule]]. But Gramma Lovat, who was around the same age as her sister as seen in the photo (where they couldn't have been more than ten), is elderly. It's clearly been more than fifty years since her sister was taken, and thanks to her efforts, no children have come in in the years since. That means ''Coraline is overdue''. The Other Mother has had to hold on for perhaps twenty years longer than she expected to in order to feed again. That's why she's starving so quickly and why she's so desperate. That's why she gives up the act and the Other World falls to pieces. Coraline is quite literally her last chance, and she's a late one at that. She has broken the cycle beyond repair.

* It's noted that the Other Mother not shaking Coraline's hand foreshadows that she won't hold up her end of the bargain. However, she ''had'' offered her hand to Coraline to shake; Coraline simply refused until she was given a clue. At that point, the Other Mother made sure to disappear before the handshake could happen. Assuming shaking hands would force her to keep her word, it's possible she was open to it beforehand because, until she had to give a clue, she was confident Coraline wouldn't have had enough time to find the eyes and her parents. Note that even ''with'' the clue, she still technically fails since she didn't know where her parents were when time ran out, and she got the last eye with seconds to spare.

* The little circus ball that the mice use in the Other World during that cute and entertaining sequence? [[spoiler:That's ''the sweet ghost girl's soul.'']]

* While driving home from shopping for her school uniform, Coraline's conversation with Mel has her asking her mom why she locked the little door if she doesn't think it leads to a flat of "Jones Imposters". She responds "I found some rat crap and I thought you'd feel... safer." On the surface, it comes across as Mel [[KickTheDog snidely discrediting]] her daughter's claims (by mentioning "[[StealthInsult rat crap]]") and saying she's crazy (by implying ''she'd'' feel safer). This is meant to effectively paint Mel as not only being [[ParentalNeglect negligent]] but also [[{{Jerkass}} mean-spirited]]. [[spoiler: Second time watching it, one realizes it's a RedHerring, meant to hide that perhaps Mel ''did'' find rat feces from the Other Mother's rats, and she locked the door because she [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold was genuinely concerned about her daughter playing with diseased rodents]].]]

* While driving home from shopping for her school uniform, Coraline's conversation with Mel has her asking her mom why she locked the little door if she doesn't think it leads to a flat of "Jones Imposters". She responds "I found some rat crap and I thought you'd feel... safer." On the surface, it comes across as Mel [[KickTheDog snidely discrediting]] her daughter's claims (by mentioning "[[StealthInsult rat crap]]") and saying she's crazy (by implying ''she'd'' feel safer). [[spoiler: Second time watching it, one realizes it's a RedHerring, meant to hide that perhaps Mel ''did'' find rat feces from the Other Mother's rats, and she locked the door because she [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold was genuinely concerned about her daughter mingling with pests]].]]

* Pay careful attention to the promises each of the two Mothers make. Coraline's real mother says "I promise, if things go well, I'll make it up to you". The Other Mother "promises" that if Coraline does find the ghost eyes and her real parents, then she will let go of all her captives. [[spoiler: Only one of them keeps their end of the bargain when Coraline keeps her end (saving her parents' lives does count as "things go well," even if she doesn't remember).]]

* On reflection, the film is similar to the legend of {{Theatre/Faust}}. Both main characters are dissatisfied with what they have. The Other Mother is pratically an {{expy}} of the devil in the legend in that she gives Coraline her desires. It's only when she offers buttons for her eyes is when Coraline realizes that she made a DealWithTheDevil.

* There are theories that Coraline just delivered the hand and the key right back to the Other Mother by dropping it down that well...after all, it's in a fairy ring and you can apparently see stars from inside, like those the doll was sent into...but ''there's no Other well.'' Remember that seemingly apart from most of the house (the attic or whichever room the Other Mother's stationary is in), everything is fake. Coraline mentions it specifically. The Other World is always night, and fairy rings can be protected zones, too. That key (the only one) can never be used again.
** Except there ''is no need for an Other well''. Not every location in the real world is a portal to the Other world counterpart. The only two portal locations that we know of are the door and the well, which both matches the appearance of the tunnel Coraline goes through, and how if you were to go down it, you could see stars during the middle of the day. Now think back to the beginning of the movie, [[OhCrap where the doll appeared to be floating through space, even though the Other Mother isn't even in space...]]

* There are theories that Coraline just delivered the hand and the key right back to the Other Mother by dropping it down that well...after all, it's in a fairy ring and you can apparently see stars from inside, like those the doll was sent into...but ''there's no Other well.'' Coraline mentions it specifically. The Other World is always night, and fairy rings can be protected zones, too. That key (the only one) can never be used again.

** Incidentally, the Other Father plumps up with each visit as he's stuffed with her magical food. [[spoiler: And because he's turning back into a pumpkin.]]

** It's also possible that the Other Mother was so obsessed with making everything ''perfect'', either as a neurosis or just to lure in Coraline, that she fixed Wybie's deformity to match.

** It's possible that the Other Mother got screwed over by Fairy Rules, so [[ExactWords her captives would be freed the moment Coraline collected all the eyes. In that case, this explains how her parents escaped and why the Ghost Children literally broke free]].

** It could also add brilliance to why [[spoiler: the Other Mother waited until the third visit to invite Coraline to stay in the Other World for good. She was waiting for the moment Coraline would come in person. And it's also why she wasn't bothered when Coraline refused to have buttons sewn onto her eyes, because she was [[SmugSnake certain]] she wouldn't be able to escape.]]
** Perhaps it's not that exactly. But the third visit taking place during the day is absolutely significant. Coraline herself thought she was dreaming before. But visiting in the day, she realized it was all real, and the Other Mother knew, and felt it was the right time to spring the proposal on her, now that Coraline thinks the dream could come true. Why doesn't Coraline leave when she sleeps that time? Simple. The Other Mother doesn't want to give her the chance to leave the Other World behind. She could sense Coraline's unease, and likely feared that Coraline would never return to the Other World if she ever got back home. This is why she takes Coraline's parents; to call her back when she ''does'' escape. Keeping Coraline there was her best bet to win Coraline's agreement to the deal.
** Also, Coraline blocked the door, [[WeaksauceWeakness meaning that it could have actually worked]]. Beldam is running out of power; and fast. It's possible that if she used her power to break the door down she would be drained.

** There are lots of little things that reflect the specialness of their relationship. Coraline's crooked nose mirrors her dad's, and his favorite color is blue.
** During that dinner when he sang his little song, [[spoiler: the little doll was there. In other words, the Other Mother spied on their meal time, saw Coraline's father singing, and made the Other Father [[UpToEleven a great singer]].]]
** As further proof, Coraline sings the real father's song to comfort herself as she goes to dispose of the key.

** Notice how the Other Mother's final form is very long and has 4 legs ''like'' a giraffe...
** The "handsome beast" could mean the cat. Although it isn't particularly tall... the voice actor, Creator/KeithDavid, certainly is.
** The "handsome beast" might well be the Other Mother herself, if one uses "handsome" in the archaic sense of "beautiful/attractive."

** The one time she does eat, she's eating writhing bugs. Chocolate-covered or not, it highlights her spider theme and is one of several examples of how poorly she understands Coraline. Also, she offers them to Coraline as a treat, but makes a point of eating one, presumably to prove that they're okay to eat and won't hurt Coraline. Unfortunately for the Other Mother, the safety of the food probably wasn't Coraline's immediate concern.

** On that note, in the film at least, the Other Mother straps the Other Father to a giant praying mantis. Female praying mantises are famous for eating their own mates, as are some female spiders.

** Also, a lot of cats like to catch and eat spiders if they find them...

** It may also be a reference to [[spoiler:the argument the real Spink and Forcible made regarding their eyesight]]...

** Likewise, Bobinski and Spink & Forcible are the only ones in the real world who tell Coraline she is in danger and give her useful advice and at least one tool that will help her. The otherworld versions of the above three are the secondary antagonists who outright try to stop Coraline from succeeding.
** And is it any wonder the story turns on its head, mirroring itself, right after a scene involving the Other World's hall mirror?

** Then again, knowing how this movie uses impossible body types with real people such as Bobinski, and how the Other Mother has been heavily implied to have lived at least since the beginning of the Pink Palace, it's highly plausible that Other Spink & Other Forcible's ImpossibleHourglassFigure's ''are'' accurate.

** When Other Mother first brings up replacing her eyes with buttons, Other Father chimes in with "So sharp you won't feel a thing!" until the Other Mother shushes him. He delivers the line like it's a good thing, but no child has ever reacted positively to the thought of sharp needles. He was trying to drive home to Coraline how horrific the procedure would be, in case she was wavering.

** To be fair, it's also established in the book that the Other World has a dulling effect on the mind, which becomes more pronounced when Coraline enters for the last time. Without the adder stone, she would have been much less quick-thinking. And remember, magical contracts don't care if you weren't in your right mind when you agreed...
** If we accept the theory discussed below that Coraline arrived well after the Other Mother's regular feeding schedule, it could be that the Other Mother acted too quickly because she was starving. Perhaps with the other children she had much more time with them to make them so dependent on her world that they were prepared to do anything to be allowed to stay, but by the time Coraline showed up, the Other Mother was do desperate for a meal that she tipped her cards too early.

** The word "beldam" is an archaic term for "witch" that long predates the poem, and in the film, the door is a crawlspace best suited to children, so probably not.

** Counter argument: The theory doesn't need to rely on an Other Well as there ''is no need for one''. Think of the way the doll exits the Other World: it exits the window and floats through space. That's seemingly impossible though, right? The Other World isn't actually in space for all we know. So where was this? Well, Wybie's grandma did say that if you fell through the well you could see stars during the middle of the day, after all... In other words, the doll wasn't floating through space- it was through ''water''.

** "Our eyes will be on Coraline" is a particularly clever lyric because it has a triple meaning: If you don't know the sinister turn things will take later, it sounds like he's just saying that Coraline will have their full attention, something that she feels she lacks from her real parents. Then there's the already pointed out LiteralMetaphor aspect, since The Other Mother wants to sew button eyes onto Coraline's face, and the fact that Coraline has been unknowingly watched via button eyes from the very beginning.
** When Coraline tells her father the food is ready, the piano raises its hand and slaps the Other Father. Could've just been a goofy accident... could've been the piano telling him off for trying to warn Coraline, like how it tries to shut him up later.
*** Of course, it could also be a response to what he'd just said. "Who's starving, raise your hand." And, as the piano is esentially an extension of the Other Mother, well...

* Since the Other Mother has a mother in the book, she can procreate. But species that procreate are rarely single. There could be ''more'' "other mothers" around... it might be that she wasn't lying when she told Coraline everyone has one.
** And if they procreate the same way real spiders do...

** There are two "other rooms" we haven't seen in the real world. First is the dark, damp cellar-type room we saw the Ghost Kids being held up in. Second is the workspace Beldam makes her dolls in, although that's more likely in the attic considering the window and the general aesthetic.

** If you take it that the movie takes place in 2009, ''after'' the crash of '08, then, she might have really needed the money and probably thought the Beldam wouldn't be an issue.

* [[spoiler: Coraline is charged with finding the eyes of the ''three'' ghost children. Her mission is complete after retrieving only three eyes, which begs the question of why each ghost child has two buttons if they are all suffer from cyclopia. Apparently they were symbolic eyes, not literal ones, unless the balls were just containers for the eyes.]]
** [[spoiler: The balls being containers for the eyes seem rather unlikely, unless they decomposed within the balls and the souls were released from the eyes afterwards.]]

* Mister Bobinsky sports a badge from the Chernobyl cleanup. Which is why he's blue. Selick himself states on the DVD commentary that he also likes to spend time outdoors and exercise, and it's winter... also a reason why he's blue. And possibly why he's so "eccentric" if you're bitter enough not to believe in the mice.
* The neckbrace that Coraline's mother is wearing is a stealth pun: to her mother, Coraline's antics are a ''pain in the neck''.

* Pay careful attention to the promises each of the two Mothers make. Coraline's real mother says "I promise, if things go well, I'll make it up to you". The Other Mother "promises" that if Coraline does find the ghost eyes and her real parents, then she will let go of all her captives. [[spoiler: Only one of them keeps their end of the bargain when Coraline keeps her end (Saving her parents' lives does count as "things go well", even if she doesn't remember).]]

* The Other Father calls the Other Mother "Mother." It's not ''just'' because the Other Mother means to replace Coraline's real mother in the girl's eyes, it's because ''the Other Mother created him.'' In a sense, she really ''is'' his mother! (Can add another layer of horror to how she [[BodyHorror mutilates]] and/or destroys her own "children".)

* Wybie said that his grandmother, Mrs. Lovat, never rents the Pink Palace to families with children. Why now did she decide to rent it out to a family with a child? Well, Wybie's the same age as Coraline and he loves to wander around, sometimes a little too close to the Pink Palace. Wybie is just a susceptible child as Coraline was to being lured to the Other World. Is it then, out of fear over her kin, she rented out the flat to a family with a kid, to use as a ''scapegoat''?

!!FridgeLogic

* [=TheTheorizer=] made a theory that the stone that Miss Spink and Forcible gave to Coraline is just an ordinary stone, allowing Coraline to view hidden things in the Other World. While some people think the stone itself is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adder_stone adder stone]] as they have similar functions, the old ladies didn't make "adder stones" in the way they ''should'' be made. Adder stones cannot be made by humans and must instead be created by nature, with water boring a natural hole through it. Therefore, [=TheTheorizer=]'s theory makes more sense.

* [=TheTheorizer=] made a theory that the stone that Miss Spink and Forcible gave to Coraline is just an ordinary stone, allowing Coraline to view hidden things in the Other World. While some people think the stone itself is an [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adder_stone adder stone]] as they have similar functions, the old ladies didn't make adder stones the way they ''should'' be made. Adder stones cannot be made by humans and must instead be created by nature, with water boring a natural hole through it. Therefore, [=TheTheorizer=]'s theory makes more sense.

** [[spoiler: The balls being containers for the eyes seem rather unlikely, unless they decomposed within the balls and the [[WindowsOfTheSoul souls were released from the eyes afterwards]].]]

** It's possible that the Other Mother got screwed over by Fairy Rules, so [[ExactWords her captives would be freed the moment Coraline collected the all eyes. In that case, this explains how her parents escaped and why the Ghost Children literally broke free]].