Coraline (Not Just for Kids)

Quick, make a wish!

Have you heard of Coraline? If not, let me first introduce you to what it is all about. Coraline is a 2009 American stop-motion animated dark fantasy horror film written and directed by Henry Selick and based on Neil Gaiman's novella of the same name. Watched the film when I was in grade six and read the novella last year. There is no much difference between the two. The only difference for me, is that the movie is more elaborated. However, the novella is much scarier because of the selection of words. Bottom line is that both the movie and the novella can be quite problematic to be left to a child alone without any adult supervision.

Fair warning, do not continue reading this if you have not yet watched the movie or is still about to watch it.

What I like about the horror film movie is that it is relatable even as an adult. It shows us so much different possible perspectives in our lives. These are just my personal opinions and not supported by any actual evidence from Neil Geiman, the author and maker of Coraline.

"When she comes around exploring
Mom and I will never, ever make it boring
Our eyes will be on Coraline"

Sweet, right? I will give you few minutes to think about what is wrong in this phrases of words. Time's up! What disturbed you, is it the last line or the entirety of it? For me, the entirety of this song just make me feel nauseous even as an adult.

As a grown up, there are two things that can break us. It can either be the loss of a loved one or loss of a job. That is the most common answers. Anyway, loss of a loved one can be interpreted in different ways. One of it is the literal meaning of it. That is death of a loved one. The other one is more about the absence of the presence of a loved one. That is, they are still there with us, however if we look into their eyes we could see that they are no longer the person that we used to be with.

Now, back to the lyrics of the song. Some or even majority of us fear to be abandoned by our loved ones, that is why we always seek for intimacy and will make them our world. Now, let us correlate the lyrics of the song with intimacy in a relationship. What are the limits of being in a relationship? That is a personal question and I am leaving it to you to answer it.

Friendly reminder, sensitive topics will be further discussed. Breathe if you must.

Let us go to the beginning of the story. The family of Coraline decides to move into the Pink Palace, both of her parents are busy with the garden selection catalogue. No matter what Coraline does, her parents are busy ignoring her. Her father ignored her when she was just asking for some attention. Even when Coraline nearly fell on the well and she informed her mother, she was ignored. If this scenario is familiar, there is a tendency that you will be attracted to an emotionally unavailable partner in the future and by being loved by them you will feel validated. That is for you to check on your dating history. I will not judge.

This makes me feel guilty, for seven years I have been attracted to such people. Instead of dating people who are willing to make efforts and sacrifices just to spend some time with me and get to know me better.

Now, let us move on with another topic, shall we?

The scenario where Coraline is sad and decides to distract herself by wandering around the Pink Palace is not only applicable to children but to adults as well. Us adults, usually distract ourselves or numb the pain every time we feel sad either by using too much social media and by drinking or smoking or partying too much. I know these because not only have I seen people do such things and I also have experienced it as well in the past years. Moderation is the solution.

Another perspective.

A perfect illusion. Remember that in the story there are two versions of Miss Spink and Forcible, Mr. Bobinksy and Wybie. Coraline hated their "authentic" version, that is why they were "fixed" by the other mother. The real ones advised Coraline not to through the door and that she is in danger but she did not listen because she classifies them as "dimwits". She wanted the other world and their "perfect" versions because she feels loved, without even knowing of their true intentions. Then reality decides to reveal itself. The other mother wants her love for herself without giving anything genuine in return. When Coraline realizes this, she refuses to let the other mother put buttons on her eyes. This frustrates the other mother and so, when Coraline further disobeys her, the other mother locked her in a room and it was revealed that the other mother plans to steal her life away from her.

What does that teaches us?

That sometimes, the quirky ones, the silent ones or the real ones have better intentions than others who seem too perfect. That we never can really know the intention that someone has until we have an argument. In the end, the real ones can choose to be kind during an argument.

Last but not the least, let us talk about the fact that there are memories that will never leave our heart. Remember the grandmother of Wybie? At first she was hesitant of not allowing any children in the Pink Palace it seems very unkind of her, however, as the movie continues we could see that the reason was that she was only protecting other children from the possibility of being lost. Just like what happened to her twin sister.

But hope is not lost. Despite of the scary things that the real world has to offer us, we are not alone.

Remember the black cat? Coraline does not like him, in fact he is described as a "big fat wuspuss" . The black cat never spoke a word until he needed to. However, he is a very good listener and has been watching Coraline very carefully. He made sure that Coraline is not alone and even gave her guidance.

In real life, there are people who we do not know but have been with us. We never spoke to them but they have a clear intention to help us. They are silently cheering on us and wishing the best for us and will give us courage during the dark times.

The cat is my favorite character.

Sometimes we just need a good listener and a buddy that can guide us navigate life if we feel lost.

Thoughts?