Coraline

Coraline is a 2009 stop motion film produced at Laika Studios and Universal Studios.

## *Coraline*

### Genre

Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Thriller

### Rating

Rated PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor

### Written by

Henry Selick ... (screenplay)Neil Gaiman ... (book)

### Produced by

Alex Heineman ... production executiveClaire Jennings ... producerHarry Linden ... line producerBill Mechanic ... producerMary Sandell ... producerHenry Selick ... producerMichael Zoumas ... executive producer

## Cast

Dakota Fanning... Coraline Jones

Teri Hatcher... Mel Jones / Other Mother / Beldam

Jennifer Saunders... Miss April Spink / Other Spink

Dawn French... Miss Miriam Forcible / Other Forcible

Keith David... The Cat

John Hodgman... Charlie Jones / Other Father

Robert Bailey Jr.... Wyborne 'Wybie' Lovat

Ian McShane... Mr. Sergei Alexander Bobinsky / Other Bobinsky

Ankha Neal... Sweet Ghost Girl

George Selick... Ghost Boy

Hannah Kaiser... Tall Ghost Girl

Harry Selick... Photo Friend

Marina Budovsky... Photo Friend

Emerson Tenney... Magic Dragonfly

Jerome Ranft... Mover

Christopher Murrie-Green... Toy

Jeremy Ryder... Toy

Carolyn Crawford... Wybie's Grandmother

Yona Prost... Shakespeare Rascal

John Linnell... Other Father (singing voice) (uncredited)

## Trivia

* 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.
* The on-screen snow was made from superglue and baking soda.
* At one hour and forty minutes long, this was the longest stop-motion film, until Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), also made by Laika.
* Initially the film was going to be live action, and Dakota Fanning was actually going to physically portray Coraline. When it was decided instead to make a stop-motion animated film, Fanning was asked if she would still be interested in providing Coraline's voice. She said yes, as she thought it would be fun to do, and grew even more excited when she saw what Coraline was going to look like.
* The first stop-motion animated feature to be shot entirely in 3-D.
* The film Coraline was shot over the course of 18 months, following two years of pre-production.
* The band They Might Be Giants wrote 10 songs for the movie, but a change in tone from a musical to a darker production meant that all but two was cut; one during a scene in which Coraline's other father sings along with a piano features John Linnell's voice and one being the end credits. The band has said they will release the other songs created for the movie in other projects, including albums.
* This film marks the first time that a stop-motion animated morphing sequence has ever been accomplished. The sequence runs for 130 frames, or nearly six seconds.
* Neil Gaiman has said that out of all the film and television adaptations of his books, Coraline is his favorite.
* During production, Laika Studios had students from The Art Institute of Portland help with the film in terms of sets and designs.
* All of the scenes in the Other Mother's world take place at night, even when Coraline visits during the daytime.
* Though not mentioned by name, the setting of the film is Ashland, Oregon (Laika Entertainment is based in Oregon). The stage performers and performances are references to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival held in Ashland.
* Many people have tried to decipher the meanings behind the lyrics of the haunting soundtrack to Coraline. In truth, although it sounds like some strange language, it is just a lot of gibberish words that really mean nothing. On a side note, one of the singers in the choir that sang the gibberish words was named Coraline, although she had no connection to the character or book.
* Neil Gaiman was typing the name "Caroline" but he made a mistake and it came out "Coraline." Gaiman says, "I looked at the word Coraline, and knew it was someone's name. I wanted to know what happened to her," which inspired him to write the novel on which this film is based.
* The crew spent 800 hours painting 250,000 pieces of popcorn--pink on the outside, red on the kernel--to stand in as blossoms for the nearly 70 trees.
* The source novel is set in Neil Gaiman's native England. While the film was altered to take place in the United States, voice actors Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, and Ian McShane are all English.
* The first animated film to be released by Focus Features.
* While serving dinner early in the movie, Coraline's father sings part of a verse written for the novel: "Oh--my twitchy witchy girl/I think you are so nice/I give you bowls of porridge/And I give you bowls of ice/Cream." Later, Coraline herself sings the song in the woods.
* The first of the three animated films of 2009 where sculptor Jerome Ranft was involved in, the later two being Up (2009) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009).
* Although this film was released in 2009, it was produced in 2008 according to the credits.

## External links

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327597/?ref\_=ttls\_li\_tt