History WesternAnimation / Coraline

* AbominableAuditorium: The Other World has its own theater run by the Other Miss Spink and the Other Miss Forcible; it seems a little bit on the grotesque side at first, given that the audience is composed entirely of dogs, while the only two performers are two old ladies performing a BawdySong and getting into a fight onstage -- up until the Other Spink and Forcible unzip their skins and reveal their beautiful true selves in an impressive display of acrobatics. [[spoiler: It's actually yet another one of the Other Mother's attempts to lure Coraline to her death; in the finale, as the glamour surrounding the other world breaks down, the theater becomes a haunting ruin, the audience has become a menacing flock of bat-dogs hanging from the ceilings, and the Other Spink and Forcible have been merged into a nightmarish taffy-like fusion.]]

* ActOfTrueLove: After the Other Mother imprisons Coraline in a mirror, the Other Wybie drags Coraline out and shoves her through the door leading to her world, even though he can't follow her without turning to dust and is at the mercy of the Other Mother in his own world. The Other Mother created him to be Coraline's friend, and he chooses to protect her even at the cost of defying his creator. [[spoiler: It costs him his life.]]

** Inverted later in the film as well. [[spoiler: The Other Mother's [[OneWingedAngel final form]]]] doesn't look anywhere near so [[TheGrotesque monstrous]] in the book.

* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: The Other Mother looks increasingly spider-like as the film progresses. [[spoiler: Near the end, the Other Worlds version of the room with the Other Worlds entrance turns into a giant spiderweb with bug themed furniture stuck to it.]]

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler: This happens at the end when Coraline releases the souls of the ghost children and they go to some kind of heavenly afterlife.]]

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Well, more like black and really-light/almost-white gray morality. Coraline begins as a grouchy girl frustrated with moving and her constantly busy parents, but gets better as the movie goes on. Her parents mean well but are tired and constantly overworked, Wybie is a good friend but socially awkward, and the neighbors are quirky, but overall good people. Even some of the Other Worlders are mostly good. Other Father and Other Wybie legitimately like and care for Coraline and help her, [[spoiler: but are ultimately done in by Other Mother, the only truly evil character of the movie]].

* BodyHorror: [[spoiler: This happens to the creations of the Other Mother once the Other World starts to come apart. It's a bit more surreal here than in the book[[note]]for example, the Other Father becomes a pumpkin rather than a grub-like blob, and the Other Spink and Forcible are melted together like the book, but this is because they turn into taffy[[/note]], but no less frightening.]]
* BondVillainStupidity: [[spoiler: After she's been trapped in the Other World, Coraline tricks the Other Mother into opening the door back to the real world (under the pretense that her parents have been hidden there) to create an escape route. Since the Other Mother spends some time gloating about Coraline being stupid, Coraline is able to think quickly and distract her, escaping through the still-open door back to her home.]]

** The bowl of candy owned by Miss April Spink and Miss Miriam Forcible. [[spoiler: It's later used to Coraline's advantage when she has to help the ghost children, save her parents, and stop the Beldam, as Spink and Forcible transform it into the stone with a hole in it that Coraline uses to find the ghost children's souls.]]

* ChangedMyMindKid: Wybie returns to help Coraline get rid of the black key and [[spoiler: the Other Mother's right hand]] after dismissing her as crazy earlier.

** The control knob on the mantis-mobile, the circus ball the mice use, and the pearl on the Other Forcible's ring. [[spoiler: Each contains the eyes of one of the previous victims of the Other Mother, which need to be taken back to the real world for them to have a happy afterlife.]]

** The snow globes on the Jones' mantelpiece. [[spoiler: The Other Mother later hides the Jones parents in the Other copy of their favorite snow globe.]]
** The deep well near the Pink Palace [[spoiler: proves to be an excellent place to dispose of the key to the Other World and the remains of the Beldam's right hand]].
** The Other Father's piano. As he mentions, he only needs to wear the mechanical gloves, and it "plays him". [[spoiler: At the end, he's been hooked up to the mantis vehicle and is forced to use it to attack Coraline by the mechanical gloves, which are now attached to it.]]
** Wybie has a pair of tongs which he uses to hunt for banana slugs, and [[spoiler: in the final encounter he uses them to snatch up the Other Mother's hand and take it off of Coraline.]]

* CobwebOfDisuse: There are a few in the Other Mother's workshop, as seen in the opening credits, implying the length of time since her last activity...[[spoiler: and how long she can go without feeding.]]

* CrazyCatLady: Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are a variation: they have at least identical Scottish terriers who live with them. In fact, they love them so much that when they die, they have them ''stuffed'', decorate them with angel costumes, and hang them from the ceiling. The Other Mother replicates this by having a huge audience of Scottish terriers for the Other Spink and Other Forcible's show. [[spoiler: The "angel" element is reflected by having the dogs sprout bat wings when Coraline goes to recover the ghost eye hidden in the theater.]]

* CreepyCircusMusic: At the end when Coraline visits the Other Bobinsky [[spoiler: to retrieve a ghost eye from him]], the music (not surprisingly) has a faint resemblance to circus music, but in a very creepy tone.

** When reading the tea leaves, Miss Spink sees a "very peculiar hand" crawling around, and indeed, [[spoiler: peculiar hands are a feature of the Other Mother, and one of them detaches and causes problems for Coraline later]]. Miss Forcible sees a giraffe, which is less relevant, to be sure, but one of the toys in the Other bedroom is part-giraffe.
** When giving Coraline the adder stone, Miss Spink says it's for "bad things", and Miss Forcible says it's for "lost things". Forcible is closer, as it is able to highlight the [[spoiler: hidden ghost eyes]] when looked through, but by that point, the entire situation is "bad things", so Spink isn't entirely wrong.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Coraline may be less than happy with her boring family, but [[spoiler: she would gladly take them over family that wants to sew buttons over her eyes.]]

* ExactWords: The Other Mother offers Coraline a chance to stay in the Other World forever. [[spoiler: We see three children who were given that chance before. They are ghosts now, having been killed by the Other Mother and gotten stuck haunting the Other World for seeming eternity.]]

* FalseUtopia: The Other World looks like an idealized, magical copy of the real world, where you'll be spoiled with endless enjoyment and attention, and anything you dream of can come true...[[spoiler: but to stay forever, you must have buttons sewn into your eyes, and you will be devoured and forgotten by the being calling herself your "other mother".]]

** The first thing the Other Mother says when she meets Coraline the first time is that she's "just in time for supper". [[spoiler: She means that for herself, as she plans to devour Coraline's essence. It's also implied that Coraline is a bit overdue on the Other Mother's feeding schedule, making her arrival timely indeed for the Other Mother.]]

** The Other Mother refers to her husband as "pumpkin". [[spoiler: He turns into a pumpkin-like beast in the last act. It's most likely that the Other Father was originally a pumpkin from the garden that gradually reverts back to its true form as the world starts to unravel; most other creations of the Other Mother end up seeming to have been appropriated from various flotsam like the rats and bugs.]]

** In the Other House's dining room, there's three frames, each with the silhouette portrait of a child in them. [[spoiler: These are the three children who were lured in and killed by the Other Mother before, and are now in the ghosts in the room behind the mirror.]]

** The tea leaves. Ms. Spink warns Coraline to be careful [[spoiler: because she sees a hand]]. Meanwhile, Ms. Forcible sees a giraffe and sees it as a good sign. However, it may also be foreshadowing, considering that she calls it a "tall, handsome beast". [[spoiler: The Other Mother is handsome in the beginning, and becomes more and more tall and ugly by the end]].
** "This piano... plays me." [[spoiler: The piano's hands then get used to censor the Other Father's warnings, and later still, to force him to fight Coraline against his will.]] Like his song, this is one way he tries to subtly warn Coraline about the real situation.
** The Other Father is shown driving a giant mechanical praying mantis. Female mantids are famous for killing and eating their males after mating with them. [[spoiler: The Other Father drowns after being forcibly stuck together with his mount after saving her life.]]

** At the end of the mouse circus act, the mice all crawl into the Other Bobinsky's outfit, with one going under his hat. [[spoiler: When the Other World is falling apart, the Other Bobinsky is revealed to be TheWormThatWalks, and is operated by a swarm of rats under his outfit; the bandleader under his hat has the ghost eye.]]
** The vision Coraline sees of her parents shows them shivering and covered with snow, and when she's in the living room in the Other World, the sound of them finger-writing on frosty glass can be heard.[[spoiler: They've been hidden in one of the snow globes on the mantel.]]

** At the end of Coraline's second visit to the Other World, as she falls asleep, the Other Mother hushes the silent Other Father. [[spoiler: While it seems like a cute "shh, she's trying to sleep" moment, it turns out that the Other Father has already subverted the Other Mother's influence by that point, having dropped hints to Coraline in his song. She's not being a sweet parent, she's trying to reassert her control over a problematic lackey...correctly, as the Other Father tries to defy her further, resulting his own destruction.]]
** The words on Coraline's "Welcome Home" cake from the Other Mother contain [[spoiler: what's been described by handwriting experts as a "liar's O", where the cursive O has an irregular loop inside it, something that often emerges in cases of written deceit. The liar's O itself is in the word "home" here, foreshadowing that while the Other Mother wants her to feel "welcome", the Other World is not what it seems to be -- it's not her "home".]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: The Other Mother cheats like ''crazy''. and wouldn't have let Coraline go whether she'd won the game or not, but is ''furious'' when Coraline [[spoiler: throws the cat at her to turn the tables. "You horrible, cheating girl!!!"]]

* ImpossibleHourglassFigure: The Other Spink and Forcible. [[spoiler: This is later done more horrifically with the Other Mother.]]

* JacobMarleyWarning: The three ghost children give this to Coraline when she meets them behind the mirror, telling her how their [[spoiler: souls were devoured by the Other Mother.]]

* MiniMe: The doll that Wybie gives Coraline early on looks a lot like her, which she nicknames "Little Me". [[spoiler: It turns out that the Other Mother uses the doll's eyes to spy on Coraline, and she remakes the doll to look like each of her victims in turn.]]

* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: [[spoiler: The Other Mother's final form resembles a spidery skeleton woman with a face like a porcelain doll, hands made of sewing needles, and button eyes. Unfortunately, it's more scary then awesome.]]

** The Other Mother starts out looking like Coraline's mother, along with her legs. Gradually, she morphs and transforms throughout the story [[spoiler: into a wizened, vaguely human creature with four spidery legs and arms made out of sewing needles]].

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: [[spoiler: The Beldam begs Coraline not to leave her as Coraline escapes the Other World.]]

* RegularlyScheduledEvil: [[spoiler: The Other Mother goes dormant for long periods between enchanting and devouring her young victims, as evidenced by the time gaps between each of the ghost children's fashion, the cobwebs in her workshop, and the time since her last victim was taken, which was when Wybie's grandma Ms. Lovat was a young girl. Mr. Jones dates the Pink Palace at around 150 years old, and since we see three previous victims from that time span, it's implied that the Other Mother operates on a cycle of feeding every fifty years. It's further hinted that the evil is actually running behind schedule this time, given the young age of Ms. Lovat's sister in the last photo taken of her. For Ms. Lovat to be as old as she is in the present, ''more'' than fifty years would have passed since the photo was taken, suggesting that thanks to her efforts, Coraline is overdue, and that is why the Other Mother is so desperate.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: While Coraline is burning [[spoiler: the doll, the fireplace holds a roaring fire. But as the scene turns quiet, the flames die down, signifying that all of Coraline's anger is spent.]]. Also, near the end, after Coraline and Wybie defeat the Other Mother's hand in the real world, the full moon is shown being uncovered by two clouds which resemble clawed hands, signifying the end of the Other Mother's threat.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: The second Coraline [[spoiler: learns the conditions for staying in the Other World]], she tries to leave with no hesitation. Unfortunately, she isn't allowed.

** Much of the Other Father's creepy dialogue when [[spoiler: the Other Mother]] isn't around seems similar to Film/{{Psycho}}.

*** "What a piece of work is a man; how noble in reason; how infinite in faculty, in form and moving how express and admirable in action; how like an angel in apprehension; how like a god." Done awesomely, especially since [[spoiler: they're saying it sarcastically]], though Coraline and unfamiliar viewers wouldn't know it at the time.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Subverted. [[spoiler: Coraline throws the stone at the rat trying to run away with the "eye". The rat easily dodges it.]]

* VillainousBreakdown: The Other Mother's GlamourFailure happens gradually throughout the whole film, but she completely loses it when [[spoiler: Coraline sees through her tricks and gets the cat to claw out the Other Mother's eyes,]] complete with a heaping helping of {{Hypocrisy}}.

Coraline continues to go to the Other World at night and is entertained by the various delights present, including idealized versions of her neighbors, a beautiful garden built in her image, and delicious food. Coraline begins to prefer the Other World to her real one, finding that her Other Parents give her all the love and attention she lacks at home. Eventually, the Other Mother offers to let Coraline stay in their world forever, on one condition:

[[MoodWhiplash She has to have buttons sewn]] [[EyeScream into her eyes.]]

* OffscreenDeath: Coraline finds [[spoiler:the Other Wybie's clothes]] hanging on a flag pole, implying that the Other Mother killed him.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* PinkIsErotic: Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are a pair of retired burlesque actresses who live in The Pink Palace. When Coraline visits them, their posters have them colored pink as they starred in films like "Julius sees-her" and "King Leer", which are obviously themed around voyeurism. Miss Spink also has her hair dyed pink and the posters make it very clear that they were sex symbols when they were in their prime.

** The small door that leads to an alternate world version of Pink Palace is similar in concept to the clock tower door at Midwich Elementary School in ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. The other world here is much more inviting but still just as sinister due to the Other Mother's presence. Like the ''Silent Hill'' Otherworld, this Otherworld also has AlienGeometries like rooms that are impossibly BiggerOnTheInside, and Coraline even advances to the FinalBoss by solvivg a puzzle. The Other Mother's final form also wouldn't be out of place as ''Silent Hill'' boss and an idealized loved one being a monster in disguise is a fundamental plot point of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.

* PinkIsErotic: Miss Spink and Miss Forcible are a pair of retired burlesque actresses who live in The Pink Palace. When Coraline visits them, their posters have them colored in pink as they starred in films like "Julius sees-her" and "King Leer".

Coraline Jones (Creator/DakotaFanning) moves from Pontiac, Michigan with her mother Mel (Creator/TeriHatcher) and father Charlie (Creator/JohnHodgman) to the Pink Palace Apartments, an old house subdivided into three residences, in Ashland, Oregon. With her parents frantically working on a gardening catalog in order to make ends meet, and thus not paying much attention to her, Coraline begins to feel neglected. While exploring the house, she discovers a small door with a brick wall behind it. That night, she is awoken by a mouse in her room, which she chases to the small door. She opens it, but instead of a brick wall, she finds a long, glowing passage, leading to another world.

* EvilDetectingDog: Several animals around the Pink Palace know ''for a fact'' that whatever's behind the small bricked up door is ''pure evil'' and ought to be avoided at all costs. The Cat is the most prominent example being that he follows Coraline into the Other World and outright says Coraline is wrong to think this world is a dream come true and he tries to talk her out of going back, only relenting when she says she has to save her parents and gives her tips on beating the Other Mother. The other (albeit unseen) example is Mr. Bobinski's circus mice.

** The small door that leads to an alternate world version of Pink Palace is similar in concept to the clock tower door at Midwich Elementary School in ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. The other world here is much more inviting but still just as sinister due to the Other Mother's presence. Like the ''Silent Hill'' Otherworld, this Otherworld also has AlienGeometries like rooms that are impossibly BiggerOnTheInside, Coraline even advances to the FinalBoss by solvivg a puzzle. The Other Mother's final form also wouldn't be out of place as ''Silent Hill'' boss and an idealized loved one being a monster in disguise is a fundamental plot point of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.

** The small door that leads to an alternate world version of Pink Palace is similar in concept to the clock tower door at Midwich Elementary School in ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. The other world here is much more inviting but still just as sinister due to the Other Mother's presence. Like the ''Silent Hill'' Otherworld, this Otherworld also has AlienGeometries like rooms that are impossibly BiggerOnTheInside. The Other Mother's final form also wouldn't be out of place as ''Silent Hill'' boss and an idealized loved one being a monster in disguise is a fundamental plot point of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.

** The small door that leads to an alternate world version of Pink Palace is similar in concept to the clock tower door at Midwich Elementary School in ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. The other world here is much more inviting but still just as sinister due to the Other Mother's presence. The Other Mother's final form also wouldn't be out of place as ''Silent Hill'' boss and an idealized loved one being a monster in disguise is a fundamental plot point of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.

* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: The Other Mother looks increasingly spider-like as the film progresses. As it crumbles, the last bits of the Other World even turn into a web filled with "insects"!

* BigEater: With the exception of her father's cooking, Coraline eats quite a bit throughout the film.

* SpiritualAntithesis: To ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'', as the movies share similar design aesthetics, characters, and situations, but the horror in ''Coraline'' is played straight while ''Beetlejuice'' is more comedic.

->''"You could stay here forever, if you want to. There's just one tiny little thing we need to do..."''

* PictorialLetterSubstitution: The film's title "Coraline" has the letter O replaced by a button and the L is replaced by a cat sticking out its tail in the poster.

** Overlapping with BookEnds, Coraline's first interaction with her mom has her accusing her of hating dirt [[{{Hypocrite}} despite writing about gardening for a living]]. [[spoiler:Their last interaction in the movie has the mom admit her admitting to her daughter (and herself) that she was right about her aversion to dirt.]]

Coraline Jones (Creator/DakotaFanning) moves from Pontiac, Michigan with her mother and father to the Pink Palace Apartments, an old house subdivided into three residences, in Ashland, Oregon. With her parents frantically working on a gardening catalog in order to make ends meet, and thus not paying much attention to her, Coraline begins to feel neglected. While exploring the house, she discovers a small door with a brick wall behind it. That night, she is awoken by a mouse in her room, which she chases to the small door. She opens it, but instead of a brick wall, she finds a long, glowing passage, leading to another world.

At the other end, Coraline finds herself in the "Other World", which is inhabited by her "Other Mother" (Creator/TeriHatcher) and "Other Father", (Creator/JohnHodgman) idealized doubles of her parents (except for the black buttons sewn into their eyes) who pay close attention to Coraline and spoil her with treats. After enjoying a home-cooked meal made by the Other Mother, she spends the night in the Other World and awakens back in her bed in the real world.

** The other Spink and Forcible perform the "What A Piece of Work Is Man" monologue. [[spoiler:''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' is a tragedy.]]

** In the film, the Other Mother starts off looking exactly like Coraline's mother, but with button-eyes, then transforms into a creepier, taller, skinnier form. The book has her in the latter form from the start.

** The small door that leads to an alternate world version of Pink Palace is similar in concept to the clock tower door at Midwich Elementary School in ''VideoGame/SilentHill1''. The other world here is much more inviting but still just as sinister due to the Other Mother's presence. The Other Mother's final form also wouldn't be out of place as ''Silent Hill'' boss.

** The small door that leads to an alternate world version of Pink Palace is similar in concept to the clock tower door at Midwich Elementary School in ''VideoGame/SilentHill''. The other world here is much more inviting but still just as sinister due to the Other Mother's presence. The Other Mother's final form also wouldn't be out of place as ''Silent Hill'' boss.