Top 10 Things You Never Knew About Coraline

Sergei Alexander Bobinsky is one of the strangest characters in the film, which is saying a lot. Coraline’s upstairs neighbor is something of a mystery, although you can piece his puzzling past together based on his appearance. Mr. B wears a medal that reads, “4A3C,” which indicates Chernobilskaya Nuclear Power Plant. The text additionally states, “Participant in the Clean-Up Campaign.” This particular medal was awarded to individuals who helped deal with the fallout of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The radiation from this disaster might explain why Mr. B has blue skin, not to mention why his personality is so eccentric. It goes to show how the littlest details can tell a character’s whole backstory.

The two men that help Coraline’s family move into the Pink Palace had a much greater impact than you might’ve realized. Their van reads, “Ranft Bros. Moving Company,” which is a reference to Jerome Ranft and Joe Ranft. The movers are even modeled after these real life brothers, who worked with director Henry Selick on “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “James and the Giant Peach.” Joe’s life was tragically cut short when he died in a car accident in 2005. Selick described Joe as “the story giant of our generation” and Tim Burton's “Corpse Bride” was even dedicated to his memory. Jerome, meanwhile, works as a character sculptor and voice actor at Pixar.

“Coraline,” “ParaNorman,”“The Boxtrolls” - Laika has dished out one stop-motion success after another. In 2015, one year before the release of “Kubo and the Two Strings,” the production company auctioned off the puppets, sets, and props from their first three feature films. Coraline’s Evil Other Mother was a top seller, going for just above $50,000. Another Other Mother puppet sold for over $25,000 while a blue star sweater Coraline went for almost $24,000. Overall, the collection brought in over $1 million, a portion of which was donated to the Art of Elysium, a charity that encourages “artists and communities in need to join together and emotionally triumph over their circumstances through art.”

Whether it’s 2D or 3D, animation is always a lengthy, arduous process. You have to be especially patient when it comes to stop-motion, though. “Coraline” took 18 months to shoot and that’s not even including the two years that went into pre-production. To create a single puppet, a team of 10 people worked for 3-4 months. It’s not like there’s just one puppet per character either. For the film’s titular heroine, the filmmakers had to create 28 different puppets of various sizes, although the one that was primarily used stood at 9.5 inches. Plus, over 130 sets were constructed across 52 stages, spanning 183,000 square feet, which broke a record for a stop-motion animated feature.

The scene where Coraline and her mother go uniform shopping stands out as one of the few moments that take place outside of the Pink Palace. Because of this, the producers originally wanted it scrapped from the final product, but Selick fought to keep the scene in. While it had already been established that Coraline and her mother have a somewhat strenuous dynamic, Selick felt this scene added something extra to their relationship. It’s also one of the final moments the two share together before Coraline’s parents go missing. Furthermore, the scene has a nice payoff later on when Coraline’s mom buys her daughter the gloves she wanted, demonstrating the loving bond between them.

While the shopping sequence ultimately made it in, another notable scene ended up on the cutting room floor. When Coraline is finally reunited with her real parents, the family spends some quality time together. As Coraline’s father plays with his daughter’s stuffed octopus, it’s easy to overlook the ketchup stain on his shirt. The stain is given no explanation in the finished film, although a deleted moment offers us an idea. It’s briefly mentioned that the family had pizza for dinner, which means Mr. Jones must’ve split a little tomato sauce. Either that or he helped himself to a mustard ketchup salsa wrap.

You know how “The Wizard of Oz” starts off in a sepia tone, but transitions to Technicolor when Dorothy opens the door to Munchkinland? “Coraline” did something similar. To create a contrast between the real world and the Other World, the production team purposely made Coraline’s realm flat and depressing. When Coraline travels through the small door, however, we’re thrust into a seemingly more inviting world full of colorful and wonder. This is especially apparent when you watch the film in 3D, putting an even greater emphasis on the Other World’s eye-popping visuals. The shift made it clear that Coraline wasn’t in Kansas anymore, though she comes to learn that there’s no place like home.

“Coraline” is based on a 2002 children’s novella by Neil Gaiman. As with virtually any adaptation, the film made a few changes from its source material. In the book, the entrance to the Other World is large and wooden. Here, it’s shrunken down to the size of that door from “Being John Malkovich.” The filmmakers also added several elements, such as the ragdoll the Other Mother creates to spy on Coraline. Perhaps the most significant addition is Wyborn Lovat, who didn’t appear in the book, but who the filmmakers felt Coraline could play off of to avoid having her talk to herself for much of the movie.

Bruno Coulais’ musical score played a key role in setting the film’s creepy yet whimsical tone. Initially, though, They Might Be Giants were enlisted to work on the soundtrack for “Coraline.” The alternative rock group wrote numerous songs, but Selick felt their music didn’t quite fit the tone he was going for. While most of their songs were cut, the Other Father’s piano solo was used in the finished film. Band member John Linnell even provides the character’s singing voice. They Might Be Giants have expressed interest in releasing all the unused songs from “Coraline.” As a matter of fact,” the song, “Careful What You Pack,” actually came from their work on the film.


Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

There’s a Message in Other Father’s Song

Henry Selick on Dollar Bill


Henry Selick’s Sons Voiced Characters

While Dakota Fanning was attached to play Coraline pretty much from the beginning, the film was going to be done in live-action before Laika entered the mix. Selick felt the project would work better as an animated feature. Part of this had to do with the black cat, which Selick thought might come off as too gimmicky and scary in live-action. When it was decided that the film would take the animated route, Selick had his heart set on utilizing stop-motion. With CG animation dominating the market, stop-motion would give “Coraline” a distinctive look. Fanning was excited by the idea of voicing an animated character and watching the finished film proved very rewarding for her.