Coraline Movie Review
Wybie gives Coraline a button-eyed ragdoll that resembles her. The doll then lures her to a small door in the living room, which is bricked up and can only be unlocked by a button key. That night, a mouse guides her through the door, where the bricks have been replaced by a corridor to the Other World, inhabited by button-eyed doppelgängers of people from her world. Coraline meets the Other Mother and Other Father, who are much more attentive and entertaining than her real parents.
After dinner, she goes to sleep in her Other Bedroom, but awakes in her real bedroom. Despite cryptic warnings from her neighbors, Coraline visits the Other World three times, where she meets the Other Mr. Bobinsky, the Other Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, and the Other Wybie, who is mute. Despite having no Other World counterpart, the black cat is able to speak in the Other World.
The Other Mother invites Coraline to stay forever, under the condition that a pair of buttons will be sewn over her eyes. Terrified, Coraline attempts to flee, but the Other Mother sees through her plan and blocks all the exits to the real world. The other cat appears and reveals to her the sinister truth about the Other World and the Other Mother. The Other Mother, appearing taller and more grotesque, then "disciplines" Coraline by imprisoning her behind a wall. There, Coraline meets the ghosts of previous victims, including the missing twin sister of Wybie's grandmother. They reveal that the Other Mother, whom they refer to as the Beldam, created and sent button-eyed rag dolls that resembled them in order to spy on their lives. With the promise of a better life, she lured them into the Other World, where she sewed buttons over their eyes and consumed their lives. To free their souls, their real eyes need to be found. Coraline promises to help.
Coraline is suddenly rescued from the mirror by the Other Wybie, whose mouth has been stitched by the Beldam. He helps her escape back to the real world, but Coraline discovers that her parents are missing. She eventually deduces that they have been kidnapped by the Beldam. The cat advises Coraline to propose a "game": if Coraline cannot find her parents and the ghosts' eyes, she will let buttons be sewn over her eyes, but if she can, they will all be set free. The Beldam reluctantly agrees.
One by one, Coraline finds the ghosts' eyes in the Other World, now turned nightmarish, from its deranged inhabitants. As she does, the Other Pink Palace Apartments' surroundings gradually disintegrate until only the living room is left. Inside, Coraline sees the Beldam in her arachnoid form. Warned that the Beldam will never accept Coraline's victory, she tricks her into unlocking the door. While the Beldam is distracted, Coraline finds her parents trapped in a snow globe, grabs it, and throws the cat at the Beldam's face, ripping her button eyes out. The Beldam furiously converts the floor into a spiderweb but Coraline manages to climb out of it, slam and lock the door shut on the Beldam's hand, severing it. Her parents reappear in the real world, with no memory of what happened. That night, the ghosts warn her to get rid of the button key to prevent the Beldam from accessing the real world. As Coraline prepares to drop it down the well, the severed hand attacks her and tries to drag her back to the Other World. Wybie smashes it with a rock, then throws the remains and the key into the well and seals it shut to prevent anyone else from entering the Other World.
The next day, Coraline and her parents, who have finally finished their work, host a garden party for the neighbors. Coraline also prepares to tell Mrs. Lovat the truth about her twin sister.
Comments
Post a Comment