Press play when you start the movie. These notes follow along, minute by minute. Questions to think about are at the end.
The needle hands are remaking an old doll to look like Coraline. That doll comes back soon, and it has a job to do.
Laika, the studio that made the film, is based outside Portland. The town is never named, but director Henry Selick set it in Ashland, home of a big Shakespeare festival.
Source · IMDb triviaHenry Selick put his own face on the bill the mover gets as a tip. The mover is modeled on animator Joe Ranft, who worked with Selick on The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Source · IMDb triviaThe filmmakers added him so Coraline would have someone to talk to. In the book she spends most of the story alone, thinking to herself.
Source · IMDb triviaBased on how long Coraline's pebble takes to drop, fans worked out the well is about 381 feet deep.
Source · IMDb triviaThey work from home on a deadline, which is why no one has time to explore the house with her.
Source · IMDb triviaThe sets filled a warehouse outside Portland, down to tiny wallpaper and doorknobs.
Source · IMDb triviaEvery frame was shot twice, from two camera spots set slightly apart, the way your two eyes see the world.
Source · Design WeekDakota Fanning was first meant to play her on screen. When it became stop-motion, she stayed on as the voice.
Source · IMDb triviaThe band wrote ten songs for the film, but this is the only one that made the final cut. John Linnell from the band does the singing here. John Hodgman voices both fathers everywhere else.
Source · IMDb triviaHer face came in swappable top and bottom halves, many made on 3D printers. A Laika exhibit put the number at 207,336. Teri Hatcher voices both mothers.
Source · IMDb triviaEach one took a team of about ten people three to four months to build.
Source · IMDb triviaIt's a real Soviet medal given to people who helped clean up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. It may explain his blue skin.
Source · IMDb triviaThe actor from Deadwood voices Mr. Bobinsky, the acrobat upstairs. Keep an eye on his "mice" later in the movie.
Source · IMDb triviaThe book's author has said he mistyped "Caroline" and liked the new name better. In the movie, grown-ups keep getting it wrong.
Source · IMDb triviaJennifer Saunders and Dawn French have worked together since the 1980s. In the UK they're known as French and Saunders.
Source · IMDb triviaDawn French first voiced Miss Spink and Jennifer Saunders voiced Miss Forcible. Selick had them trade parts and record again, which is why each character looks like the other actress.
Source · IMDb triviaWhen the camera rises, the flowers make the shape of Coraline's face. The Other Mother built this whole world to draw her in.
Source · IMDb triviaFiber artist Althea Crome made it, along with Coraline's striped gloves, using thread instead of yarn. The Other Mother leaves the sweater for her in a box.
Source · ReactorHe voices the cat, who has no name in the book either. In the real world, the cat never says a word.
Source · IMDb triviaComposer Bruno Coulais wrote the score with a children's choir singing words that don't belong to any language. It makes the music feel strange and dreamlike.
Source · IMDb triviaThat came after two years of planning and design.
Source · IMDb triviaIt's an old English word. It first meant grandmother, and later came to mean an old woman to be feared, or a witch.
Source · Merriam-WebsterIn a family photo on her parents' bed, her hair is brown, which hints that she dyes it.
Source · IMDb triviaIt held that record until Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio came out in 2022.
Source · IMDb triviaIn the book, Coraline gets rid of the hand on her own. Adding Wybie changed how the story ends.
Source · IMDb triviaPeople often think he did. Henry Selick directed it, and he also directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, which Burton produced. Coraline was nominated for the Oscar for best animated feature and lost to Up.
Source · Academy of Motion Picture Arts and SciencesHe has seen many of his books made into films and shows, and he picks this one.
Source · IMDb triviaQuestions to think about on your own, or to talk through with whoever you watched with.
Coraline's parents are home all day, but they don't have time for her. Have you ever felt alone in a full house?
The cat tells Coraline the truth when no one else will. Who does that for you?
The Other Mother offers Coraline everything she wanted, for a price. What would you give up to feel seen?
Times are matched to the film's subtitles, so they may be off by a minute on some versions. Each note links to its source. Still images will come from the studio's press materials.