Coraline (2009)

An adventurous 11-year-old girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Director:

Henry Selick

Writers:

Henry Selick (screenplay), Neil Gaiman (book)

Stars:

Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 43 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dakota Fanning	...	Coraline Jones (voice)
Teri Hatcher	...	Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam (voice)
Jennifer Saunders	...	Miss April Spink / Other Spink (voice)
Dawn French	...	Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible (voice)
Keith David	...	The Cat (voice)
John Hodgman	...	Charlie Jones / Other Father (voice)
Robert Bailey Jr.	...	Wyborne 'Wybie' Lovat (voice)
Ian McShane	...	Mr. Sergei Alexander Bobinsky / Other Bobinsky (voice)
Aankha Neal	...	Sweet Ghost Girl (voice)
George Selick	...	Ghost Boy (voice)
Hannah Kaiser	...	Tall Ghost Girl (voice)
Harry Selick	...	Photo Friend (voice)
Marina Budovsky	...	Photo Friend (voice)
Emerson Tenney	...	Magic Dragonfly (voice) (as Emerson Hatcher)
Jerome Ranft	...	Mover (voice)

Storyline

When Coraline moves to an old house, she feels bored and neglected by her parents. She finds a hidden door with a bricked up passage. During the night, she crosses the passage and finds a parallel world where everybody has buttons instead of eyes, with caring parents and all her dreams coming true. When the Other Mother invites Coraline to stay in her world forever, the girl refuses and finds that the alternate reality where she is trapped is only a trick to lure her.

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Plot Keywords:

parallel worlds | stop motion | scissors | button eyes | body horror | 

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Taglines:

An Adventure too Weird for Words

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

6 February 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Coraline y la puerta secreta

Filming Locations:

Portland, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,849,646, 8 February 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$75,286,229

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$124,596,398

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Laika Entertainment, Pandemonium

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The on-screen snow was made from superglue and baking soda.

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Goofs

Mr. Bobinsky is Russian, but the flag in front of his door is Montenegran, with one minor difference: The real one has a lion passant in the centre, while Mr. Bobinsky's has a horseman.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Coraline Jones: [after hearing a creature while exploring the hills] Hello? Who's there?

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Crazy Credits

Partway through the credits, behind the scenes footage of the mice swirling around the portal is shown, giving a look at the process of animating in front of the blue screen.

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Connections

Featured in Lost in Adaptation: Coraline (2016)

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Soundtracks

Nellie Jean
Performed by Kent Melton
Written by Kent Melton
Copyright (c) 2008 Kent Melton

User Reviews

Saw a screening last night......FANTASTIC!!!

i went into this movie knowing 1 thing. It was by the same guy who did Nightmare Before Christmas. so right away i knew i was in for a pretty great movie visually, if nothing else.

as it turns out, the musical score was amazing, as well as the 3-D animation and the storyline.

to those who think it won't be as creepy as the book. i can't say much for the book, having not read it. but i can say that the movie is pretty creepy in it's own right! all i can say is that i'm going to see it again when it opens. probably for a 3rd and 4th time as well.

for those who are looking for a good time with the kids, i highly recommend this. for those who are looking for a good 'trip' movie, i highly recommend this. and for those who think the magic in movies are gone, PULL-EEEZ go see this!