I used to feel bad that coraline's mom didn't wanna get her the gloves, but then I became an adult and a parent and realized that those gloves were over $24. I get ya mom...i get ya.

Bobinsky is blue because he was canonically involved in cleaning up the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. He's even wearing a medal that was awarded to the real life liquidators.

Its an interesting movie because as a kid you'll side with Coraline. As an adult, you realized the parents just moved, they're on a deadline for a magazine, the mom is injured, and you realize that the parents are broke. They are reliant on that paycheck when her mom says "if things go well". They don't even have food in the house, trying to put it off as long as possible with weird food combinations. There was no way she could afford the gloves and Coraline's mom probably doesn't want to let her know how bad their finances are. So the parents accidentally neglect her. They love her, but just at a hectic point in their lives and from Coraline's POV, they're being mean and cold.

Hey guys, editor here! There's a couple of freaky-looking Alex edits in this one lol. Hope you enjoy!

Keep in mind, the old ladies said "Tall handsome beast", so not necessarily a man. Also in the garden scene, you see snap dragons which in flower language mean deception, a colorful frog which are usually poisonous , and a pitcher plant which is a plant that traps and kills whatever falls into it. and a praying mantis which prays on things. Everything in that garden is a warning.

You looked just like the dad when you mimicked him typing.

I'm often blown away by how deep Alex is. His analysis of Other Mothers dependence relating to how some real life Mothers are along with the tactics they use actually made sense. Also I never noticed the three silhouette portraits before. They look like the three ghost children. Good on you Alex

So you wanna talk about "dark"? Years ago I read some trivia on the movie and the story behind Bobinsky is that he was a part of the crew that cleaned up the mess made from the nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl. He's wearing the actual medal that was given to them. This also answers the question about his appearance. He's suffering from radiation sickness.

Another point about the parents, particularly the mom - with the mention of the car accident they had while moving, and the meckbrace, she’s probably been given medication and that sort can really mess with your mood. So she may only been this cranky because of meds and being in pain.

My favorite thing about Coraline is all the bug imagery and symbolism. The ghost kids were all insects trapped in the Other Mother's spider web. The Other Father rides the Prying Mantis machine, and IRL female Prying Mantis consume the males after producing children. The Other Mother herself is a Black Widow, who tries to eat Coraline; but Coraline herself has a Dragonfly hair clip, and Dragonflies eat Spiders. 🤯

I watch a looooot of people react to this movie because it’s one of my favorites, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen ANYONE else on the first watch understand that the Beldam is clearly the “devouring mother“ trope in psychology! Exactly as you said, the mothers out there who are subconsciously terrified of their children becoming independent and leaving them, because they don’t know what their identity is without their children, so they try to give them everything they could ever want so that they’ll never, ever leave.

I’m really impressed that you got that on the first watch!!

Fun fact: Over 130 sets were built across 52 different stages at the studios. Spanning 183,000 square feet, the 52 different stages were the most ever deployed for a stop-motion animated feature. That is roughly 4.22 acres.

Fun fact: she’s using what she has left in the beginning, cheap materials because it’s been ages since she last ate a kid



Also, notice how in the scene where they first eat, other mother is not eating anything, she’s staring right at coraline, her meal

To me the ghosts are terrifying I think they have those expressions because that’s the last face they ever made, pure terror before dying, freezed in time

"Beldam" is an old middle-English term for a mistress. Specifically it means a senile old crone, but it was also used interchangeably to mean a witch. Essentially it's someone who acts sweet but can turn nasty at the drop of a hat; the usage to describe Other Mother is very appropriate.

I never realized, or at least didn’t remember, they do casually drop the car accident in that first convo with the Mom. They got into an accident, it put them so behind on their work that they literally had to relocate, what parent wouldn’t be stressed. Especially with a bored kid around.

12:51 indeed they are a lesbian couple i thought they were sisters at first but neil gaiman confirmed multiple times they are a couple

I once read a fan theory that The Beldam captured 4 children & ate them before Coraline, but 1 of their souls managed to escape & take over the body of a cat. Furthermore, there are 4 other beings with buttons for eyes besides The Beldam in her world, & each represents a child she ate & she manipuates their bodies to trap Coraline.

15:55 OHH!! The other mother sits in the chair when coralline goes to sleep and the doll is there when she wakes up! She's still watching her!

8:03 the song is actually the Other Dad warning Caroline about the Other Mother.

16:28 Coraline's parents are going through a hard time. It's been less than a week of them being stressed about this major deadline, which is their livelihood for a while. They just moved into a crumbling wreck of an apartment/unit and haven't been able to unpack much - they can barely afford food or new clothes until they get paid for this big book project. Coraline's mum is also injured after an accident (she is wearing a neck brace) which I'm sure doesn't make anyone feel like they are in a good mood, plus that might have also been a problem with money (depending on the healthcare in this universe lol). We are seeing Coraline's parents from her perspective, so because she is bored and alone in a new place for a few days, it suddenly seems like they are practically villains, when in reality they are tired and stressed for a little bit and after the deadline, they return to normal. Because we follow Coraline’s perspective, Coraline’s parents aren’t really developed as people early on in the story. You can also see in a few photos that Coraline recently had brown hair, so dying it blue happened around the time of the move - I always thought that was a trade-off for having to move to a new place, like 'you can dye your hair to boost your mood about this big move'. At the start, Coraline believes that her mother and father exist to provide for her, entertain her, and, in effect, worship her - this is why the Other Mother is able to easily sway Coraline. Ultimately, Coraline realizes that if her real parents gave her everything she asked for whenever she asked for it, doted on her constantly, and never gave her any rules or responsibilities, she’d be unhappy.