Was The Other World a dream or reality?

Rating: 7/10 (20 January 2012)

I liked the character Coraline, and the film certainly is creative. Unfortunately, for me, the movie lost some punch because I could not tell if The Other World was intended to be Coraline's dreams or her reality with dangerous things in it. Since the movie is a fantasy, I don't care which. I just wish the storyteller had chosen one or the other. If the former (Coraline's dreams), then the ending is hard to swallow. If the latter (Coraline's dangerous reality), then the movie needed to be clearer about it. After all, many of her visits to the Other World started with her in bed, implying that The Other World was a dream. Did I miss something?