Coraline (2009)

Synopsis

                Coraline (2009) is a film directed by Henry Selick and is an adaptation of a novel written by Neil Gaiman Coraline. The picture follows the main character Coraline through her new experiences in a new home, discovering an alternate reality in which characters have buttons as eyes and behave differently than their real world counterparts, usually being more joyous and filled with color. Problems arise when “Other Mother” (her mother in the alternate world) fails to persuade Coraline in staying in the world permanently and seals away her real parents, leaving Coraline to take actions to save her parents.

Production

Pre Production/Overview

                Coraline (2009) uses a combination of 3D film and stop motion to achieve its visual identity; with each asset inside of the film being handmade by the production team. Henry Selick was inspired to adapt Neil Gaiman’s novel into a film after becoming enamored with the idea of how as a child one would wish to live a different life at some point in their life. Selick would have the sets all built inside of a warehouse located in Hillsboro, Oregon, with set pieces and puppets all being physical objects. The puppets of Coraline would take a team of 10 people and an average time of three to four months to make a single copy of her, with a total of 6,300 replacement faces being created for her in order for the puppet to be able to express emotions (15,000 for the entire cast).  During the filming process, it would take animators a week to get 2.22 – 6.52 seconds of footage; with this process, it would take 500 people over four years to complete the film.

Henry Selick

Henry Selick 2009 (cropped)

                Henry Selick, the director of Coraline (2009) wanted to create two very visually distinct settings that Coraline would explore, with one being a massive Victorian with a dead world and the Other world being full of life, with it being heavily coated in lush colors and vivid imagery in contrast to the real world. When designing the set pieces for the real world, Selick wanted things to feel claustrophobic and uncomfortable, crushing the space and moving the background forward. He wanted it to symbolize how Coraline felt in her new home, with discomfort and a wish for freedom. The Other world’s sets would be designed with open spaces in order to give her the feeling that she was wishing for, freedom. When Selick wrote the first screenplay for the film, he believed that it was too faithful to the novel and rewrote it after consulting with Gaiman. His second screenwriting would introduce new characters like Whybie who would serve to be a friend to Coraline and then be used as one of the factors in showing the difference between the Other world and the real world. Another horror element that plays behind the scenes is the soundtrack, with it building tension and raising the blood pressure of the viewer. The songs sang in the film in the Other world also play a role in the horror, with Other father singing a song that contains foreshadowing to what Other mother had in store for her. “She’s as cute as a button, In the eyes” “When she comes around exploring, Mom and I will never ever make it boring, Our eyes will be on Coraline”

Themes and Style

Horror

                Coraline (2009) uses elements of horror to tell its narrative beats, with the artistic style being affected by it and plot points being driven by Other mother. One of the horrors that viewers will mention early on is how the characters in the Other world have button sewn into their eyes instead of normal eyes like in the real world, creating an sense of uncanniness to them despite their cheery and warm attitudes towards Coraline. The Other world itself is an artifact of horror within the story as it is a direct result of her unconscious desires, with it only manifesting itself after she wishes certain things in the real world. Coraline also holds the sole responsibility for the release of Other mother into the real world, with her being the one to open the door and allow her to escape. The direct responsibility of Coraline and the disappearance of her parents is her fault. Another horror element that plays behind the scenes is the soundtrack, with it building tension and raising the blood pressure of the viewer. The songs sang in the film in the Other world also play a role in the horror, with Other father singing a song that contains foreshadowing to what Other mother had in store for her. “She’s as cute as a button, In the eyes” “When she comes around exploring, Mom and I will never ever make it boring, Our eyes will be on Coraline”

Color

                The film experiments with the colors of the settings in the set pieces. The largest difference is in the color tone of the real world and Other world, with the real world being a much more bland and desaturated place compared to the lush and vivid coloration of the Other world. Selick brought in Tadahiro Uesugi into the project and he provided concept art and the idea of the muted tones in the real world along with the colorful depiction of the Other world. During the film in the real world, the main colors that pop to the viewers eyes is Coraline, with her bright yellow raincoat contrasting against the gloomy world and her bold blue hair streaking out against the desaturated backdrops of the world. Inside of the Other world however, Coraline becomes mixed with the color scheme, no longer standing out which foreshadows what would happen if she is to be convinced by Other mother to stay and allow her eyes to be replaced by buttons.

3D CGI and Stop Motion

                The main thematic choice of Coraline (2009) is the artistic direction of the media, with Selick choosing to make it in 3D stop motion. Naturally, with the film being made in this style every set piece and character would be made and interacted with by the animators. The puppets in the film would have replaceable faces for the different emotions that would have to be conveyed in the film, with it being the first feature length film that would use 3D printed resin-based faces to create parts of their puppets. During filming, animators would work with tweezers, a drill, and x-acto blade in order to move and pose the puppets. Props would be sourced from things that they found in the supermarket, with sunflowers being cut dog toys with leaves glued to them, which would allow for them to be filmed as they “bloomed.”