Coraline And The Second Reality: Learn To Love Imperfections

When we think of animated movies, children always come to mind. But in some cases, animated movies even get the attention of adults. Coraline and the Second Reality (2009)  is an excellent example of this.

Both the mysterious plot of the film and its aesthetics make the film a complex story that is almost too scary. This film is made with a  stop motion animation  that reminds us of some of Tim Burton’s films, such as The  Nightmare Before Christmas  and  Corpse Bride. While many people believe that this film is also directed by Tim Burton, he has nothing to do with it. 

Coraline and another reality : a masterpiece of stop motion animation

The peculiar aesthetics of this film, truly Burton-style and Gothic, are not randomly designed. So it’s no coincidence that Burton’s films come to mind from this film. Coraline and another reality film director Henry Selick has been working with Tim Burton for a really long time. In fact, he directed the film  Nightmare Before Christmas,  not Burton.

It is true that the idea for the movie The  Nightmare Before Christmas  comes from a poem written by Burton. However, this film was directed by Selick, and produced by Burton. That’s why both directors have influenced each other, and this has led to really special and bizarre stop motion styles.

Coraline and another reality  is a visual gift for our children’s fantasies. This story reminds us of movies like  Wonderland of Oz  or  Liisa in Wonderland, of  girls experiencing the strangest adventures in which they face their greatest fears until they reach a higher level of maturity and wisdom.

Another world

Coraline is a girl whose parents are too busy with their jobs and don’t have time for her. He thinks his environment is really boring. Like Liisa, she finds her way into a secret world that only gets darker and darker.

He has just moved with his parents to an old house far from the city. He has no friends there. Coraline is bored and lonely. He hopes to be anywhere else. Her parents have a really messy garden, which is ironic as they work on a garden catalog. They are too busy and don’t have time to clean this old house, which makes the house anything but homey.

Mr. Robinsky, a Russian acrobat who trains mice, is one of Coraline’s neighbors. Coraline also meets Miss Spink and Miss Forcible. The film then meets Wybie, the granddaughter’s granddaughter, who is the same age as Coraline. She decides to give Coraline a ghostly doll that looks just like Coraline. 

In addition to these weird characters that Coraline doesn’t like so terribly, there’s also one black cat cared for by Wybie in the neighborhood, which is much more than just an ordinary cat.

Perfection is not always what it looks like

One day, one of the mice leads Coraline to something unusual: a small secret door that leads just like an improved version of his life.

In this “Second World,” Coraline sees a complete copy of her home. But this house is much more colorful and its garden is more beautiful. His parents also pay more attention to him. Whenever the quality of food to his neighbors, everything seems to be better on that little door on this side. In this new reality, everyone has an alter ego, another self, an exact copy of them, but instead of real eyes, they have buttons. Everyone else has this other self except Coraline and that black cat.

Coraline doesn’t seem to care about this, as her life is finally perfect. One of the qualities we pay attention to is Wybie, or actually “Another Wybie.” Coraline’s “Second Mother” has made her a perfect friend to Coraline because she can’t talk. But this Wybie is the most revealing character, though, and she seems to be afraid of “Another Mother.”

In this “Second World,” the cat is still similar. It has no buttons in place of the eyes. But then when this cat enters the Other World, it will be able to speak and it will become Coraline’s spiritual guide, an essential aid that warns Coraline of potential dangers.

In the Second World, everything seems to be perfect until Coraline finds out that there are also living trapped souls who have been alive for a long time. Among these, Coraline finds Wybie’s grandmother’s sister.

The film becomes darker and thicker until we see the evil intentions of the “Second Mother” and that the beauty of the  “Second World” is nothing more than a trap designed to trap children like Coraline.

What does  Coraline  teach us?

This film is full of metaphors whose quest is to show us that not everything is what things look like.

Coraline’s doll is nothing more than a doll, a copy of “The Second Mother,” a tool she uses to spy on Coraline and know all her secrets. By replacing the eyes with buttons, the “Second Mother” manages to capture the souls of the children forever.

The black cat helps Coraline see that this “Second World” is not as perfect as it looks.

The real name of Wybie is Wyborne, which refers to the English words “why born”. She lives with her grandmother and we know nothing about her parents, so her childhood may not have been easy. These two characters, whom Coraline did not like at first, have become the keys to her escape and victory over “The Second Mother.”

Coraline hates Wybie and the cat because of their appearance, and also the neighbors who seem boring and weird. None of these characters is perfect, but the perfection of the “Second World” is nothing but a dangerous temptation.

Learn to love imperfections

When Coraline realizes that her real parents are in danger and that the “Second Mother” only uses her, she learns to accept people as she is, and learns that she is not perfect either.

She overcomes her fears and saves her friends and family by showing “To the Second Mother” that love is about more than just looks.

Coraline and another reality is a lesson for all those parents who don’t have enough time for their children. In a world where we barely have time, sometimes we neglect what is important and forget our fundamental values.